How Social Sector Organizations Can Design Human Connections in the Digital Age

This 90-minute interactive SSIR Live! webinar-workshop will include:

An introduction to the principles, conditions, and methods of the “Human Connection Framework”
A walk-through of the human-centered design thinking process, showcasing co-creation examples from the social sector
A “service diagnostic” that will help you to assess the level of human connection within your services
A step-by-step toolkit to build more human connections into your service experiences, that you can take away and work on tomorrow
Case studies of the implementation of this framework in the field, with key results, benefits, and impact, featuring both large and small nonprofits

A recent survey has shown that, of the US workforce currently working from home, 73 percent are worried about going back to the office due to concerns over personal health and safety. In response to these sentiments, many tech companies are declaring that “the 9-to-5 day is dead,” and are creating futuristic, hybrid work-models. The nonprofit sector has also been catapulted forward into social distancing and as our lives increasingly experienced through a digital lens, the switch to digital-first services is likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future. Developing the relational aspects of our organizations has only become more important with the trend towards remote working and the growing prominence of AI and machine learning. But in an ever more virtual reality, we are left with very little room for the sort of spontaneous human interactions that are so crucial to both our physical and mental health.

In this 90-minute interactive SSIR Live! program (available on-demand later), we will share an effective framework—rooted in the principles of design thinking—to better enable social sector leaders to design human-centered connections in the experiences of their teams and their constituents. By examining the conditions and methods integral to human connection, this live session will explore the potential positive outcomes this approach can bring to a team’s work and overall well-being, as well as provide you with takeaway templates and actionable learnings that you can immediately begin to introduce in your work environment.

This webinar-workshop is developed, facilitated, and presented by Holly May Mahoney and Matthew McStravick, two service-design experts. Holly was a teaching fellow at Stanford University’s d.school and is currently a service designer at Deepr, a service design studio. Matt, the founder of Deepr, was also the former head of interaction design at CAST/Catalyst, UK. Working with 60+ UK nonprofits, these experts have developed a simple yet effective framework to enable organizations to maximize both the impact of their work and the well-being of their people, by applying a human-centered lens and focusing on human connection in the digital space. Designed as an experiential session, this program is intended to build your knowledge of relational design as well as share a roadmap to build human connection into your digital work culture and service offerings.

This SSIR Live! session will provide critical understanding and insights, including…

An understanding of the “human connection problem” in digital services
A mapping process to identify your organization’s existing strengths in human connection, as well as the resources needed to build on those strengths
The ability to share this work back with your teams, aided by the “Human-Connection Framework,” templates, and method cards

Program Features:

Designed by Experts:
This webinar-workshop is developed, facilitated, and presented by Holly May Mahoney and Matthew McStravick. Holly was a former teaching fellow at Stanford University’s d.school and currently a service designer at Deepr. Matt, the founder of Deepr (a service design studio) was also the head of interaction design at CAST/Catalyst, UK.

Highly Interactive:
This program will be conducted as an active, hands-on, and immersive e-workshop. You will explore the key concepts through activities, illustrative examples, and case studies. Come ready to think and work actively during the session!

Real-world Case Studies:
We will delve into multiple effective case studies that are specific to the landscape of the social sector.

Who Should Join?
This program will be particularly relevant for those who…

Recognize the importance of human connection in services, but are unsure how to methodically design it in
Are responsible for a face-to-face service that has gone online
Are concerned about the impact that remote working is having on the wellbeing of their teams and beneficiaries
Service designers and design thinkers who want to bring a human connection agenda to their digital services

Closed Captioning Available: Live transcription is available for this program. To activate Closed Captioning during the LIVE broadcast, click on the upward arrow next to the CC icon and select the Subtitling option. To disable Closed Captioning, click on the upward arrow next to the CC icon and select the Hide Subtitling option.

On-Demand Version:
Register and access the recording of the live event on-demand 24 hours after the webinar ends and anytime over the next 12 months.

Price for this webinar: $69
This price includes access to the live interactive webinar and unlimited access to the recorded webinar video and resources for 12 months from the date of broadcast.

If you have any questions about this program, write to us at [email protected].

Presenters

Holly May Mahoney
Susan Athey is the Economics of Technology Professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business. She received her bachelor’s degree from Duke University and her PhD from Stanford, and she holds an honorary doctorate from Duke University. She previously taught at the economics departments at MIT, Stanford, and Harvard. Her current research focuses on the economics of digitization, marketplace design, and the intersection of econometrics and machine learning. She has worked on several application areas, including timber auctions, internet search, online advertising, the news media, and the application of digital technology to social impact applications. As one of the first “tech economists,” she served as consulting chief economist for Microsoft for six years, and now serves on the boards of Expedia, Lending Club, Rover, Turo, and Ripple, as well as the nonprofit Innovations for Poverty Action. She also serves as a long-term advisor to the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, helping architect and implement their auction-based pricing system. She is the founding director of the Golub Capital Social Impact Lab at Stanford GSB, and associate director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence.

Former Teaching Fellow,
Stanford University's d.school
& Service Designer, Deepr
Matthew McStravick
Matthew McStravick is the founder and creative director of Deepr, a service design studio. McStravick founded Echo, Sharing Economy UK and was head of interaction design at CAST/Catalyst. He's also worked agency-side and supported national nonprofits at director level in developing digital services and cultures – always with meaningful human connection as the mechanism for change. McStravick is a Clore Fellow, an accredited coach and design thinking trainer.

Founder & Creative Director,
Deepr
Moderator

Aaron Bady
Aaron Bady is an editor at Stanford Social Innovation Review. Previously, he was an editor at Popula and The New Inquiry. His writing and interviews have appeared in publications including The Week, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The New Yorker, The New Republic, The Nation, and Pacific Standard. He has a bachelor's degree in English from Ohio State and a PhD in literature from the University of California, Berkeley.

Editor,
Stanford Social Innovation Review