How do social sector leaders create change in people’s lives without getting lost in ambiguity, tangled up in complex systems, and disempowered by limited resources? 

In this two-part 180-minute live participation e-certification series, we will introduce design practices developed for the unique challenges of the social sector. Integrative Design blends four essential practices that will help you navigate your work: Human-Centered Design centers people’s experiences, behaviors, beliefs, and needs; Systems Thinking explores the relationships and forces that affect the challenge of making change; a Strategy Approach hones your goals and develops the path to reach them; and an Equity Mindset engages power, bias, and identity, with intentionality. 

For those who are new to Human-Centered Design (HCD), this program will provide a solid foundation for your emerging design practice. For those who have had some experience with HCD, this course will provide the structure and tools to more successfully apply it to the challenges you face.

In this hands-on online workshop, we will practice using strategic and systems lenses to identify and investigate the issues and questions at the core of your challenges. Using your own work, you’ll select one project you’re working on to evaluate your strategy and see how HCD and systems explorations can help test your assumptions and gain new insights. You will leave with tangible tools that will provide clarity on the direction of your projects and give you confidence in knowing what steps to take next to move your work forward.

Demonstrate your commitment to building your skills. Your participation entitles you to receive a downloadable participation e-certificate from Stanford Social Innovation Review and Stanford d.school, the Hasso Plattner Institute for Design at Stanford University, after attending this SSIR Live! two-part webinar-workshop. 

Part I: Creating a Foundation for Design Exploration

Date: Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Time: 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. PT / 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET [90-minute session]

The exploratory nature of design practices allows for the discovery of important insights that shape more effective solutions and programs, to support more creative, human-centered, and effective work. In Part I, we will introduce Integrative Design practices and discuss how strategy work and project scoping set the proper foundation.

• Understand how practices of human-centered design, strategy, systems, and equity can be used together, complementarily
• Learn a simple but valuable structure for articulating your strategy to make a change
• Examine your current conception of your strategy to see where exploration is needed and beneficial

Part II: Scope Your Project Work and Shape Your Design Process

Date: Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Time: 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. PT / 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET [90-minute session]

Depending on its complexity, unknowns, and scope, your work will require different design processes, and how you deepen your understanding will vary. In Part II, we will discuss how to think about which approaches will benefit your project.

• Understanding how systems work and human-centered design work each can benefit your progress
• Utilize a few simple considerations of your current understanding to gauge how much effort to invest into systems work and/or human-centered design
• Scope the exploratory design and systems project work and understand the tools you can use to do that work

Program Features:

 Who Should Join? Practitioners and leaders in the social sector, or mission-driven companies, seeking insight in how to tackle project and program challenges. This workshop and the methodology is developed specifically for the social sector.

 Designed by Experts: This SSIR Live! two-part webinar-workshop is developed, facilitated, and presented by Thomas Both and Nadia Roumani from the Stanford d.school. Both is a designer and design educator with a passion for helping people understand the practice of human-centered design, and nurturing their ability to innovate how they learn, think, and solve problems. For over a decade, Thomas Both has been teaching, coaching, and mentoring practitioners across many sectors. He is the director of the Designing for Social Systems program at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school) at Stanford University. In this program, he teaches social sector professionals how to apply design thinking to complex social challenges and develop a more human and strategic practice. Roumani is the co-founder and senior designer with Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design’s (the d.school) Designing for Social Systems Program.

 Highly Interactive: This LIVE program will be conducted as an interactive session. You will explore the key concepts through activities and illustrative real-world examples and participate in engaging homework. Come ready to think and participate actively!

 Extensive Learning:  This program is produced in conjunction with the Stanford d.school, Stanford University. It is 180-minutes long, divided into two 90-minute sessions:
Part I: Creating a Foundation for Design Exploration [October 18]

Part II: Scope Your Project Work and Shape Your Design Process [October 25]

 Real-world Examples: Explore on-the-ground real-world examples specific to the landscape and challenges of the social sector.

 Participation e-Certificate: Demonstrate your commitment to building your skills. Your participation entitles you to receive a downloadable participation e-certificate from Stanford Social Innovation Review and Stanford d.school, the Hasso Plattner Institute for Design at Stanford University, after attending this SSIR Live! two-part webinar-workshop. You are eligible to receive the participation e-certificate once you have successfully participated in both Part I & II of this program.

 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 extended two-part webinar-workshop: $249. This price includes access to the live interactive webinar, unlimited access to the recorded webinar video, and downloadable slides for twelve months.

Webinar Refund Policy

Recordings of all webinars and any associated presentation materials are accessible asynchronously after the live program for 12-months from the date of the program. As a standard policy, SSIR does not offer refunds on webinar registrations. Any requests for refunds should be submitted in writing to [email protected] and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Should a refund be warranted, it will be processed after the webinar.

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