Discussing design thinking

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From the course by University of Cape Town

Becoming a changemaker: Introduction to Social Innovation

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University of Cape Town

Becoming a changemaker: Introduction to Social Innovation

290 ratings

This free 6 week course is for anyone who wants to make a difference. Whether you are already familiar with the field of social innovation or social entrepreneurship, working for an organization that wants to increase its social impact, or just starting out, this course will take you on a journey of exploring the complex problems that surround us and how to start thinking about solutions. We will debunk common assumptions around what resources are needed to begin acting as a social innovator. We will learn from the numerous examples of social innovations happening all over the world. You will be challenged to get out of your comfort zone and start engaging with the diverse spaces around you. By the end of the course, you will have formed your own approach to social innovation, and you will have begun to develop the concepts, mindset, skills, and relationships that will enable you to start and evolve as a changemaker. You will be able to purchase a Verified Certificate if you wish to show evidence of your achievements, but this is optional, and you may apply for Financial Aid if you are unable to pay the certificate fee. The Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship co-created this course with RLabs, a social movement ‘born-and-bred’ in Bridgetown, Cape Town that is now active in 22 countries. The movement empowers youth through innovative and disruptive technology by teaching them vital skills and providing much needed support and a sense of community. Advocating and supporting initiatives such as RLabs forms part of the Bertha Centre’s mandate. The Centre is a specialised unit at University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, and is the first academic centre in Africa dedicated to advancing social innovation and entrepreneurship. You can view the course trailer at www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcWYG64WO20 Tweet about this course using the hashtag #socinnMOOC

From the lesson

Innovating by design

A number of methodologies and processes can help generate ideas and creative opportunities, and some of these have been used in business to generate new products and services, and are starting to be applied in social innovation. Human-centred design is incredibly important, and the Design Thinking process allows you to start early and wherever you are with whatever you’ve got. Design Thinking has evolved as a way to respond to deeper user insights, to connect more with people and with communities so that we can actually design solutions that are human-centred. Design Thinking is not just about products, but also helps create new processes, new systems, new services, and importantly even user experiences. Following a Design Thinking process will help you iterate and test your solution with end users, with an emphasis on failing early and often through trying things out and prototyping. Powerful Design Thinking methodology can help you to come up with human-centred design solutions that manifest economic viability, technical feasibility and social desirability in your social innovation.

Rlabs: Journey of Hope Part 47:33

Generating ideas3:00

Design thinking principles7:26

Design thinking steps3:26

Design thinking case studies5:23

Discussing design thinking7:12

Reflecting with RLabs: design in social innovation10:09

Meet the Instructors

François Bonnici
Director
Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town
Warren Nilsson
Associate Professor
Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town
Marlon Parker
Founder
RLabs

[MUSIC]

Mugendi, it's been very interesting to me over the last several years to see design

thinking penetrating into the social innovation space.

And, as you said,

design thinking came out of a very professional designer oriented context.

Yes. But now there are many people who never

thought of themselves as designers, who've played many different roles in life.

Who are starting to try to apply these principles.

So it's a bit of a different game for them,

when they may never even thought of themselves as a creative person.

So what would be the one piece of advice you would give to someone who's not only

new to design thinking.

But might even be new to social innovation, and

is just moved by desire to do something good in their community?

I think the most important point I'd like to emphasise Warren, is empathy.

As long as we remain empathic to people, we'll see challenges or

observe instances where design thinking could help.

So as long as one remains open to that the other skills just follow.

Another thing that's been interesting from design thinking is this emphasis on

failing early and often.

On getting right out there, trying things out, prototyping, coming back and back.

And this is very much a designer's mentality.

Yes it is. And

in some ways I think it's a great boon to the social innovation landscape.

But we're also dealing with communities, with human beings, with lives.

And there are some kinds of risks to that that maybe aren't there for

designing a new cell phone.

True. I can design a phone,

it doesn't work the way I want it to, I design another and another.

Here if I go in to do a social innovation project there might be real consequences.

Lowering the quality of people’s lives, or creating expectations and

then breaking trust when those expectations aren’t met.

So how do you deal with that as someone trying to apply design thinking in in

a very complex real human social context.

Well my experience is that one has to be authentic.

You must be also driven by a code of ethics that means that you

don't want to cause any harm.

You also need to be able to manage expectations.

Because with community members the minute you step in,

there's an expectation that you're going to bring something with you.

And most of the instances where we've dealt with communities we've had to tell

them up front, this is what we're here for.

We are also trying, we're learning, this is experimental.

We will test it with you, you are part of the co-design process.

And that they're equal members.

So the idea of you being the expert and them being at a lower level,

has to be immediately debunked.

Otherwise you don't get the kind of buy in that you need.

But you must manage expectations, you must be authentic.

And you must have a level of ethics that means that you don't take

advantage of even the most vulnerable of the community members.

So it sounds like we have to spend quite a bit of time up front

building this transparent, co-creative relationship.

That doesn't happen the first time we walk in the door.

And speaking of that, some people would argue that the idea of an outside person

coming in to do design for a community is problematic right upfront.

And that what we actually

want to see is more social innovation coming from within communities.

Or I design from my community, and so RLabs is a great example.

Nobody came from the outside to do RLabs,

it was all people that were already in the community.

At the same time it was great to have a creative experienced person come

in to help us.

Whether we're in an organization or community or any other kind of setting.

So how do you make sense of that tension?

Well this is actually the the most challenging bit of design profession.

Because as designers you're trained to be a problem solver.

And many times like you say correctly when you step into a different context,

you deal with community members that you're not familiar with.

We are seen as the other, you are from the outside.

So our challenge initially is to identify within the community context champions and

allies.

Who become the people who introduce you to the community.

And you need to take as short a time as possible

to connect with the community members.

And it helps when there is trust that is built through a relationship that exists.

So that's a first step.

And then, also to diffuse the model so that everyone in that setting knows that

they actually can be, not a designer, but they're creative.

And you need to unlock that creativity.

That creative confidence, if you may, that even you can actually solve problems.

And that design thinking gives you those skills even as a layperson.

We look at human-centered design as the core of design thinking.

And again, I think this has been a really wonderful evolution.

We walk about empathy, that that's the key to understanding design thinking.

What about the human who's the designer?

What about understanding ourselves and empathy for ourselves?

How often do we have to turn that lens inward to be an effective designer or

social innovator?

I think you've hit onto something that is really a big, big challenge.

We have to walk the talk.

Many times we speak about empathy as if it's something that you learn but

you don't necessarily have.

You cannot be empathic just from an abstract and rational sense.

There's a beautiful proverb that says,

don't insult the crocodile until you've crossed the water.

And it means that the designer has to be humble to realize he's entering a new

context, the crocodile in the river.

And that for him to succeed in anything he does, he must humble himself and

actually learn.

And be willing to be pushed beyond his own comfort zone so

that he can grow as an individual.

And you use words like humility, like delight.

Yes.

And surprise.

Many of these words,

aren't words we typically associate with social innovation.

Social innovation often feels a little heavy, and we're looking at problems.

And these are desperate and real problems, and we're trying to solve them.

But I like the idea of not ignoring the problems but

bringing in some of this energy that's around delight.

And creating beautiful new things in the world.

Can you tell us a little bit about your own journey as a designer.

As someone who's been working in this space designing and teaching people for

a long time.

How does it feel?

What's that experience been like for you?

Yeah, it's interesting you'd ask that, because when we design for

need, the energy that you tap into is one of survival.

It's one moving from a point where you're struggling to a point where maybe you're

surviving a little better.

But when you tap into people's aspirations,

even the most basic person who doesn't have a lot of material possessions

around them still has aspirations.

And when you tap into aspirations, that's when your really start to now engage with

the person in what he could be beyond his present context.

So the ability to surprise and to delight actually speaks to that aspiration and

not so much the need, which is a basic survival thing.

And if the design also has the intent of doing something beyond the ordinary.

So that the community member is actually excited about the process because they can

see ways of living that they have not even anticipated.

Then I think we are onto something.

But, if we just say, you need to move from point a to point b that's fine.

But if you can actually make that person see that it's not just transport, but

the destination that needs to be exciting.

Then you have much better and

a much richer experience in the co-design process.

[MUSIC]

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