Design for Social Impact Lab

What does it mean to truly center justice in the stories we tell?

In many nonprofits, innovation often mirrors privilege. Who gets to dream up solutions? Whose ideas are embraced as “bold” or “innovative”? Too often, decision-making is concentrated in leadership or external consultants, leaving grassroots, community-driven insights underutilized. This perpetuates inequity and stifles transformative potential within our own organizations. Here’s the truth: Privilege shapes perceptions of innovation: Ideas from leadership or external experts are often prioritized, while community-driven ideas are dismissed as “too risky” or “impractical.” Communities with lived experience are sidelined: Those who deeply understand systemic challenges are excluded from shaping the solutions meant to address them. The result? Nonprofits risk replicating the same inequities they aim to dismantle by ignoring the imaginative potential of those closest to the issues. When imagination is confined to decision-makers in positions of power, we limit our ability to create truly transformative solutions. As nonprofit practitioners, we can start shifting this dynamic by fostering equity within our organizations: * Redistribute decision-making power: Engage community members and frontline staff in brainstorming and strategic discussions. Elevate their voices in decision-making processes. * Value lived experience as expertise: Treat the insights of those who experience systemic challenges as central to innovation, not secondary. * Create space for experimentation: Advocate for internal processes that allow for piloting bold, community-driven ideas, even if they challenge traditional approaches. * Focus on capacity-mobilisation: Invest in staff and community partners through training, mentorship, and resources that empower them to lead imaginative projects. * Rethink impact metrics: Develop evaluation systems that prioritize community-defined success over traditional donor-centric metrics. What practices has your organization used to centre community-driven ideas? Share your insights—I’d love to learn from you! Want to hear more: https://lnkd.in/gXp76ssF

If you are interested in a PhD in #design focussed on creative and practical approaches to #value capturing, please do consider applying for this opportunity at The Open University. If successful, the candidate will have the chance to work with PDT London to develop an impact and evaluation playbook for community-based organisations. Deadline 31.1.25 Vera Hale Folasayo Enoch Olalere Theodore Zamenopoulos https://lnkd.in/d45aqZ8c Please share!

How can Afrofuturism, Imagination and Hope can radically transform evidence-based program design ?

Design Decisions shape social inequity

What gets counted, counts. Structural inequalities often seem anecdotal until we see their full scale. Data helps reveal the bigger picture. But how we collect data matters just as much as what we measure. Far too often, inequities in how information is gathered distort the picture. If you work in the social impact sector, this really matters. Why? Well, when data practices are flawed or extractive, they lead to flawed programs and interventions. For true social impact, we need equitable, thoughtful approaches to data collection, ones that centre communities, honour lived experiences, and prioritise accuracy over convenience. Without this, we risk building social interventions on shaky foundations. Responsible data practices require context, power analysis, and prioritizing those most affected That's why I find myself returning time and time again to "Data Feminism" by Catherine D'Ignazio and Lauren Klein (link to their open source book down below) According to them, an "intersectional feminist approach to counting insists that we examine and, if necessary, rethink the assumptions and beliefs behind our classification infrastructure, as well as consistently probe who is doing the counting and whose interests are served." For example, they argue that Data feminism requires us to challenge the gender binary, along with other systems of counting and classification that perpetuate oppression. Counting gender, after all, is never just a technical decision, it’s deeply ethical and tied to power. Questions about counting must be accompanied by questions about consent, as well as of personal safety, cultural dignity, and historical context. It is complex, but it’s complexity we must embrace if we want to drive real, equitable change. That is why Design for Social Impact Lab offers practical ways to discuss and design inclusive, equity-centered data practices that amplify diversity within communities, challenge biases, and drive systemic change. I'd love to hear from you ( please feel free to add comments, links in the chat): * When was the last time you questioned how or why something was being measured in your field? What did you learn? * In your experience, what’s the most powerful example of data being used to challenge structural inequalities? _______________________________________________________________________ Want to learn more? Check out * Take a look at some of the considerations in the free handout below * Read Data Feminism: https://shorturl.at/HxftF * Sign up for Design for Social Impact Lab upcoming Research Design for Social Impact course : https://shorturl.at/IFzzd #nonprofits #socialimpact #data

Often where the problem surfaces, is not where it began Ever notice how the most visible challenges are often just the tip of the iceberg? For years, I worked in the education sector, where there are countless studies of school "dropouts" But really, we should have been looking at research approaches by people like Michelle Fine, who argues that that many young people don’t choose to leave school but are "pushed out" by systemic factors like inequitable policies, racial bias, underfunding, and punitive discipline This is why systemic inquiry is so important for those of us working in the social impact space. Rather than blaming individuals for "dropping out," systemic inquiry examines the broader systems of oppression and institutional practices that shape their experiences and limit their opportunities Systemic inquiry is about digging deeper—tracing issues back to their roots to uncover the forces shaping them. It is about looking at both the big picture (systems) and the small details (individual experiences). It helps us understand how larger structures like policies, economies, or histories shape the lives of people in specific communities. On the Research Design for Social Impact course, we explore systemic inquiry in practical, actionable ways. It is one of Design for Social Impact Lab eight principles that we believe are critical to designing socially-just research and program design From framing the right questions to designing research that informs real-world solutions, you'll learn to tackle complex problems with clarity and confidence. You'll have a chance to learn with practitioners and researchers around the world, from a global faculty with lived experience of using research design to tackle social inequities Read Design for Social Impact Lab free guide below to find out more about systemic inquiry and why it is important to research design for social impact Check out our upcoming course, kicking off January 10th 2025 : https://shorturl.at/CSiQk * We offer parity pricing, which means adjusted pricing for organisations based in the global majority as well as our commitment to providing paid facilitation work to people most impacted by structural inequities.

If we are to build alternative futures, we must collectively untether from entrenched ideas and start from a very different foundation. As someone who convenes and facilitates learning spaces, I am always on the lookout for new tools that can enable us to dream new dreams and invest in our imagination in ways that allow us to think about what is not yet present. I was delighted to come across the Collective Imagination Toolkit Across six thematic sections, this toolkit shares frameworks, infrastructures and guided visioning, reflection, mediation and reorientation practices for individuals, groups and organisations to experiment with seeing, feeling and thinking differently, in order to act differently. The content has been developed by a wide range of brilliant thinkers, practitioners, and artists who have practised in this space for many years. https://lnkd.in/eaxQ6zKg

Registration for our next Research Design for SOCIAL IMPACT cohort starting January 10th 2025 is now open! An intimate, global, group program for non-profit, UX and academic changemakers who want to design equity-centred, anti-oppressive monitoring, evaluation and research for social action At Design for Social Impact Lab, we offer more than just a course—we foster a global community of practice committed to anti-oppressive, equity-centered research and evaluation. Using our eight guiding principles—Co-Design, Pedagogies of Care and Solidarity, Anti-Oppressive Approaches, Environmental Justice, Intersectionality, Systems Thinking, Structural Change, and Action—you’ll learn how to embed these concepts into your work and transform research into a force for justice.  So, are you....? * In a programs role  where you design “evidence” based social impact programs? * A social impact/non-profit learning specialist or evaluator seeking practical tools to challenge extractive practices.  * An academic researcher or postgraduate student committed to ethical, equity-focused methodologies. * A UX researcher or technical advisor interested in shifting power through inclusive evidence design. * A learning specialist or evaluator seeking practical tools to challenge extractive practices. Fed up with tokenistic approaches to inclusion and ready to explore alternatives. Eager to apply theory to practice and connect with like-minded changemakers. Excited to learn from diverse guest speakers, including facilitators with lived experience of systemic injustice. https://lnkd.in/eW5t7PRW

Most people do not want to take part in focus group discussions-and for good reason