Five Good Ideas about using human-centred design for social change

In this session, originally recorded on March 29, 2022, we asked Nandita Bijur and Galen MacLusky to share the mindsets and principles that have helped their organization, Prosper Canada, introduce and integrate human-centred design into their projects.

Download the session handout at https://maytree.com/wp-content/uploads/5GI-Mar2022.pdf.

Five Good Ideas

1. More poetry, less long-division
2. Use design tools as a scaffold, not a checklist
3. Start and end with people’s experience
4. Focus on the “why’s” when creating together, not the “what’s”
5. Use boundaries and constraints as creative springboards

Resources

• Creative Reaction Lab’s Equity-Centred Community Design (ECCD) approach – An excellent guide to doing values-based and equity-driven design work. This includes a field guide on how to centre equity in the design work you’re doing. 
• IDEO.org  + Acumen’s free Introduction to Human Centred Design course – A free, online, seven-week course that takes you through the basic tools and approach behind Human-Centred Design. It’s a great way to build your toolkit and understanding of what this practice can offer you in your work, from two amazing organizations.  
• Service Design Tools – A curated selection of service design (a practice within Human-Centred Design) tools that you can use as a scaffold for your own explorations into research, idea-generation, prototyping, and implementation activities.  
• Mental Wellness at Work in Toronto’s Downtown East – A helpful case study by the Health Commons Solution Lab that gives insight to how to frame challenges and design an approach that meets the needs of participants. 
• Conceptual Blockbusting, by James L. Adams – Complete with activities and stories, this book can  help you understand the psychological barriers to creativity and how you can ‘unblock’ them. A great resource for anyone who wants to support their own and others’ creative ideas.  

About the presenters

Nandita Bijur
Nandita (she/her) is a senior officer at Prosper Canada, working with municipal and community partners to integrate financial empowerment into existing services. As a service designer who has worked with frontline organizations and governments, she is most energized by learning how to make complex systems accessible and understandable.

Galen MacLusky
Galen is responsible for managing Prosper Canada’s Technology-Enabled Financial Empowerment projects, including the Benefits wayfinder. Galen is passionate about working with community organizations to help build and scale new ideas that deepen their impact. The foundations of his work are approaches that help organizations engage with those who are impacted by their services and test new programs and services with minimal investment. He has ten years of experience as a service designer in the private, public, and non-profit sectors, as well as a Master’s Degree in Engineering, Design, and Innovation from Northwestern University.