Facilitating Community Engagement @ Designing for Digital

Facilitating
Community Engagement
Designing for Digital, March 6, 2018
University of Texas at Austin
Lee-Sean Huang / @leesean / ls@foossa.com

Facilitating
Community
Engagement
This workshop will cover community
engagement/facilitation techniques for
design innovation, including engaging
and co-creating with diverse groups.
Participants will get concrete examples
of design projects that featured
community engagement, experience
engagement/facilitation activities first
hand, and also gain insights, tactics, and
strategies for conducting their own
community engagement activities.

We are a creative
consultancy that works
for and with communities
to tell stories, design
services, and build new
forms of shared value.

Community
Engagement
Storytelling
Service
Design
Community
Centered
Design

Stories
Strategies
Conversation

Why
Community Engagement?

Why
are YOU here today?

“Always design a thing by considering it in its
next larger context– a chair in a room, a
room in a house, a house in an environment,
an environment in a city plan.
Eliel Saarinen
”

“Men often oppose a thing merely because they
have no agency in planning it, or because it may
have been planned by those whom they dislike.
Alexander Hamilton
”

L O R E M
https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/news-opinion/design-process-what-double-diamond

Design
Dictatorial Democratic

“If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, go together.
Faux African Proverb
”

Activity:
Story Circle

Outreach
≠
Engagement
Community

Engagement
is about shared stakes
and shared agency

What is your
M.U.E.
(Minimum Unit of Engagement)?

Sequence actions to level up
engagement over time.

Fill out short online
questionnaire

questionnaire
Share contact
information for
follow-up

questionnaire
Share contact
information for
follow-up
Participate in
phone interview

questionnaire
Share contact
information for
follow-up
Participate in
phone interview
Participate in in-
person interview

questionnaire
Share contact
information for
follow-up
Participate in
phone interview
Participate in in-
person interview
Attend co-
design session

Facilitating Community Engagement @ Designing for Digital

Share:
The story of a personal artifact

Build:
Something with 2 colors

Build:
Something with a partner

Build:
Something that connects people

Build:
a Minimum Unit of Engagement

31
Leverage the discipline and top
practitioners of user experience
design to help solve pressing,
complex social challenges.

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
IxDA Prototype
Chicago, IL
5 non-proﬁts
50 designers
Chicago, IL
New Orleans, LA
People’s Choice winner
for NOLA efforts
Vancouver, BC
Kigali & London
Social Good Hackathon
Heart Shaped Toolbox
DLC launches Hear-
Mind Online

How do we turn profound
emotional experiences
into action?

EMPATHIC 
FEELING
COMPASSIONATE 
ACTION
BURNOUT 
RISK
SHUTDOWN 
RISK

The Inzovu Curve maps a
prototypical journey of a person
going through the transformative
experience of a museum reaching
a state of motivation and action.

INZOVU CURVE 2.0
ACTIONHOPEPAINPREPARATION
EMPATHY
COMPASSION
HERO
BURNOUT / SHUTDOWN
REFLECTION

MAPPING THE JOURNEY TO ACTION
PAIN PAIN ACTION

PAIN PAIN ACTION
At the beginning there’s a
neutral state before being
slowly introduced to the
context.
If the beginning is too
brutal, people could feel
disoriented and unable to
establish an emotional
connection.

PAIN PAIN ACTION
A genocide memorial is
meant to trigger a profound
personal reaction.
This is a moment of
suffering and creates a
strong emotional
connection to what
happened.

PAIN PAIN ACTION
This moment should
happen multiple times
during the experience itself.
It’s meant as a way to
decompress for sensible
people, and a space to
think for everyone.

PAIN PAIN ACTION
While genocides are terrible
events, there are always
heroes that shine through.
These people are often
highly relatable because are
normal people that do
positive acts.

PAIN PAIN ACTION
While it’s difﬁcult to
generate action in each
and every person, this
moment is made possible
by the ones before.
Hope gives examples to
follow and show how others
acted positively.

UX for GOOD | Redesigning Museums for Good, Amsterdam
ANNE FRANK HOUSE EXPERIENCE ASSESSMENT
Expand the experience before
by setting the context
Leverage opportunities
for pain and reﬂection
Strengthen connections with the
existing world to raise motivation
Leverage the role of the
helpers to create hope
HOW THE EXPERIENCE COULD BE…..

69
How do you want visitors
to tell your story?
WE ASKED GENOCIDE SURVIVORS AND AEGIS / KGM STAFF

70
“The people of Rwanda died but the
struggle for the spirit of a dignified
and peaceful country is now
promoted, sustained, encouraged.”
SURVIVOR

“Beauty from ashes.”
KGM STAFF

72
How can the memorial
experience be improved?
WE ASKED GENOCIDE SURVIVORS AND AEGIS / KGM STAFF

“This is a place of teaching peace.”
KGM STAFF

“We need a quiet space for survivors
to reflect and write messages.”
SURVIVOR

IDEAS FOR SURVIVORS, VISITORS AND AEGIS/KGM

PAVILION &
REFLECTION GARDEN
Give Survivors a
dedicated place for
remembrance and
reﬂection. A private
space for fellowship
and a place to share
messages of hope and
love.

COUNSELING &
SUPPORT SYSTEM
AND INTEGRATED
FACILITIES
The Counseling Support
Program will provide
Survivors with much needed
services and facilities
necessary for continued
recovery and guidance.

REST POD
A private space that
provides grief recovery,
comfort and respite for
those Survivors overcome
by the emotional strains of
their visit.

SCHOOL OF
PEACEBUILDING
How might KGM serve as a
place for training future
multidisciplinary
peacebuilders?

ANATOMY OF AN EXPERIMENT
1. HYPOTHESIS
• A hypothesis is a question
and a possible idea for
solving that question.
• “What if we changed X to
improve Y?”
2. TEST
• What are metrics for
success?
• Test the hypothesis for a
set period of time. One
week, one month.
• Observe what happens and
gather data.
3. EVALUATE
• What worked? What didn’t?
• What should we start
doing?
• What should we continuing
doing?
• What should we stop
doing?
4. ITERATE
• How can we reﬁne the
hypothesis?
• What happens if we try
something diﬀerent?

Dear Friend,
We are all angered by what happened in Rwanda, but we can channel our energy into
action and prevent it from ever happening again.
Be heroic. Help save lives by taking action. Injustice happens around the world. The
Central African Republic has been descending into ethno-religious violence, with thousands
of people fleeing their homes. The UN is warning that the country is at high risk of genocide.
Learn how you can raise awareness about this issue. Volunteer to spread the word in your
community, on campus, or at events.
Be a partner. Pledge your support and helps us fund our life sustaining social programs,
youth and teacher education programs and commemoration work. Our youth programs teach
the new generation about Rwanda’s history and how to move forward in peace and unity.
Be a resident artist. Create work to tell the story of Rwanda through artistic expression.
Visit our website at www.globalumuganda.com/toolkit to learn more.
Together we can build and sustain peace.
Amahoro,
The Aegis Trust team

DESIGNING FOR
FINANCIAL
EMPOWERMENT

SOCIO-POLITICAL Thesis
•  There is disconnect and distrust of public institutions,
politicians, policymakers.
•  This is not only a crisis of service delivery, but also a crisis
of governability and political representation.
•  There are traditional separations that insulate the
apparatus of government from community action/
perspectives.
•  Citizen engagement can complement government
efficiency.
•  There is a relational and caring ethos that public services
can offer, that is distinct from emphasizing solely the
transactional and the efficient.

DESIGN strategies
•  Promote participation and inclusion.
•  Create methods for engagement and dialogue.
•  Enhance imagination and hope.
•  Work with citizens as co-designers and co-producers.
•  Redistribute power and decision-making.
•  Foster cultures of innovation, by hiring creative talent,
partnering with external organizations, investing in
authorizing environments.

How can Financial Empowerment
Centers encourage more long-term
engagement from their clients?

Co-DesignDiscovery Prototyping Synthesis
Our Process

Site Visits 424
Research Activities
Observations, Interviews with
Clients and Counselors, Shadowing
Counselors, etc.
45
out of 5
boroughs
DESIS Team
Members
7
Parsons
students
16

Break down the problem into parts
Reframe the original brief
Problem (Re)deﬁnition

Idea Name:
Summary:
Sketch:
Tags:

Optimize Existing FECs
#Artifact #PhysicalSpace
Redesign existing FECs to make them comfortable and
credible. Make visual branding consistent. Set guidelines for
choosing future locations.
existing locations
∙ brand consistency
∙ comfort & credible
∙ skype with experts
∙ criteria for choosing locations
“PAPER” SERVICE
NIMBLE
BRANDING

portable centers
∙ physical and digital resources
∙ councelor in movement
financial truck
∙ physical and digital resources
∙ accessibility and convenience
∙ service and brand consistency
Portable/Pop-up FECs
#Artifact #PhysicalSpace #Programming
Bring FECs to where the people are.
Portable centers or an FEC truck allow for centers to be
deployed in more ﬂexible locations and more customization
of existing spaces.
local businesses
∙ local embassadors
∙ familiar environments
∙ fec information (maps,schedules)
shelters
∙ accessible service
∙ portable center

Training Events
#Event
Organize trainings for peer mentors, educators, and
community ambassadors to develop their skills in outreach
and ﬁnancial literacy.
training events
∙ workshops for mentors,
educators,embassadors
∙ capacity building
∙ talks

mentorship programs
∙ peer to peer support
∙ sharing experiences
Peer Mentorship
#Programming
Design peer to peer
programming that allows
FEC clients to support
each other and share
stories. Leverage social
dynamics parallel to gym
workout buddies or
going on a diet with a
friend.

Storytelling Events
#Event
Organize public programming to introduce FECs to
neighbors, share stories from counselors, peer mentors, and
testimonials from former clients. Events would not just be
marketing but also start to shift culture around discussing
ﬁnances.
storytelling events
∙ network creation
∙ introduction to the programs
∙ learning stories
∙ sharing experiences

SERVICE PARTNERSHIPS
SYNCHRONIZED
SERVICES
Childcare/Youth Programming
How can FECs be accessible to parents without access to
childcare? And what can kids do while their parents/
guardians attend counseling?
We could introduce artifacts, programming, and learning
materials to engage kids in early ﬁnancial education. Or just
give them something age-appropriate to do.
financial empowerment for youth
∙ fec’s waiting roooms
∙ learning financial counsciousness
∙ child care
∙ socializing
#Artifacts #PhysicalSpace #Service

portable information for users
∙ digital and physical
∙ box with forms,videos,calendar
“The Map” Client Artifacts
Provide physical and
digital artifacts to help
clients remember their
appointments, plan
their ﬁnances, and
provide wayﬁnding/
encouragement along
the way.
#Artifacts #Digital
“PAPER” SERVICE
THE MAP
VISUAL
ENCOURAGEMENT

Local Business Partnerships
Partner with local businesses to oﬀer services or deals for
FEC clients. i.e. free coﬀee with setting direct deposit savings,
Metrocard discount, etc. Parallel: free museum memberships
for ID NYC.
#Artifacts #Programming
SYNCHRONIZED
SERVICES
LOCAL BUSINESS
PARTNERSHIP

311 App Integration
Allow clients to book FEC appointments with 311 App.
#Digital
DIGITAL SERVICE
311 APP
INTEGRATION

School Programming
Start them young. Design FEC-branded ﬁnancial education
curriculum aimed at students.
#Artifacts #Curriculum
PROGRAM
CONNECTION

311 Call Center Training & Scripts
Create consistent scripts for 311 operators about FECs.
Empower them to problem-solve for clients, i.e. suggest
alternate sites with childcare or handicap accessible, etc.
#Process #Training
“PAPER” SERVICE
HUMAN
CALL CENTER

Integrated Client Apps
Create an integrated digital experience for clients, so they can
view and administer their own ﬁnancial picture from their own
device using the free WiFi from the FEC.
#Digital
DIGITAL SERVICE
DIGITAL
INTEGRATED
EXPERIENCE

FEC Online
Oﬀer counselor appointments via Skype for emergencies or
initial intake.
#Digital
DIGITAL SERVICE
EMERGENCY
SKYPE SESSION

FEC Advertising
Display total client money saved, debt paid oﬀ, etc. digitally
or on bus/subway
#Digital
DIGITAL SERVICE
DIGITAL
ADVERTISING
“PAPER” SERVICE
PUBLIC
ADVERTISEMENT

Personalized Follow-up with “Snooze”
Counselor checks in on your to see if you’ve completed your
goal. “Snooze” feature. Are you ready? If not, let’s reschedule
to make best use of your time.
#Digital
“PAPER” SERVICE
PERSONALIZED
FOLLOW UP

iPad Intake
Use iPad to ﬁll out forms more communally rather than with
back turned to desk--building trust and relationship, more
engaging experience
#Digital

Value Artifacts
Tangible objects that carry “value icons”. System of
iconography can repeat in tracking on digital forms and other
objects throughout the process to remind of values rather
than just numbers
#Artifact

Spending Journal
Current spending journal is bland/call to action is boring. It
only asks for dollar amounts. Proposal to encourage clients to
ﬁll out spending journal with questions such as “This purchase
made me feel…” “I bought this because…” or using a sticker
system of previously mentioned icons to highlight purchases
that align and don’t align with values.
#Artifact

Knowledge Exchange
Peer-to-peer sharing of information among counselors
Peer-to-peer skill building Power-Hours across diﬀerent
centers (cross-pollination)
#Digital

Supervisor Assessment
This is rooted in an evaluation system that recognizes
counselors eﬀorts in building relationships and trust with
clients. Asks them to record/make tangible more of these
“soft skills” and require supervisors to evaluate counselors on
these more amorphous skillsets, emphasizing both their
challenge and importance.
#Management

Partner Sessions
The partner sponsored sessions are partnerships developed
between a Financial Empowerment Center and an external
partner (NGO, governmental agency,
Each session is a conversation on a particular topic through
the lens of preventative finance (for example. education and
finance, or healthcare and finance).
Each session culminates with an output, such as a short
publication or zine.
#Programming #Event

Publications
Publication for students to take home after their partner
session.
#Artifact #Content

FEC Lapel Pin for Counselors
Create a branded pin or name tag for FEC counselors to wear
while at work. Helps clients identify counselors. Helps foster
sense of professional identity among counselors, signal brand
aﬃliation without a uniform, and could balance the relative
lack of control over the branding/experience of physical
spaces.
#Artifact #Branding

Environment
Financial Empowerment Tree
Design a visual tool for clients to help them understand the
elements of ﬁnancial empowerment and the journey to get
there. The ﬁnancial equivalent to the food pyramid.
#Artifact #Branding
Income-> -> Expenses
Savings
Assets

Selection Criteria
Relevance
Scalability
Generativeness
Momentum

Physical
Experiential
Video
http://dfe.nyc/our-journey-fec/
Prototyping

Barack Obama
2008
David Palmer
2001
DFE.NYC

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
consectetur adipiscing elit
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris dignissim,
diam et auctor condimentum, est lectus lacinia massa, et euismod est
tortor at massa. Integer semper felis dolor, non maximus augue
consequat vitae. Proin et velit condimentum, posuere dui nec, vestibulum
purus. Donec in consectetur magna. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in
faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Ut vel libero cursus,
gravida tortor sodales, convallis massa. In hac habitasse platea dictumst.
DFE.NYC

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
consectetur adipiscing elit
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris dignissim,
diam et auctor condimentum, est lectus lacinia massa, et euismod est
tortor at massa. Integer semper felis dolor, non maximus augue
consequat vitae. Proin et velit condimentum, posuere dui nec, vestibulum
purus. Donec in consectetur magna. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in
faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Ut vel libero cursus,
gravida tortor sodales, convallis massa. In hac habitasse platea dictumst.

Build and Reﬂect

Questions?

Thanks.

Facilitating Community Engagement @ Designing for Digital

Facilitating Community Engagement @ Designing for Digital

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Facilitating Community Engagement @ Designing for Digital

Similar to Facilitating Community Engagement @ Designing for Digital(20)

More from Lee-Sean Huang

More from Lee-Sean Huang(20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded(20)

Facilitating Community Engagement @ Designing for Digital