Social Design toolkit

maricarmen sierradmba / may 2012
SOCIAL DESIGN TOOLKIT
Our objective: support and inspire
change-agents to advance collaborative
community design.
“
“
COMMUNITY
REVITALIZATION
SUSTAINABILITY
DESIGN THINKING
RESILIENCE
COLLABORATION
COMMUNITY
RESILIENCE

Urban cities are dynamic and fluid centers for pleasure and productivity as well as magnets for crime,
disease and poverty. We know you are trying to change how we live inside cities. As a change-agent
we want to help you achieve better, greater and smarter systemic solutions. Our objective is to help
you advance a collaborative community design process by helping you understand real human needs
and translating them into meaningful and resilient solutions.
How can social design help create a more human-centered city? How can we engage the community
to help redesign itself? We believe design thinking principles can be applied to advance a Participatory
Community Revitalization process. Trust, Collaboration and Resilience are the key values needed to
make social design truly impactful. This toolkit puts together successful examples of frameworks,
methods, templates to inspire you to coordinate a collaborative design process.
Our study example is Central Market (CM) area of downtown San Francisco, a neighborhood that’s
transforming it’s essence and becoming a new destination for the tech scene. However CM also suffers
from historic social urban blight. The community desperately needs to transform how it functions. Lack
of opportunities, crime, drug abuse, food dessert and no community engagement are all patterns that
need radical change. Throughout this document, we share different techniques we used to best reveal
a sustainable solution based on the meaningful common experiences of the neighborhood. One that
can bring economic and cultural inclusion and ultimately create more resilient community opportuni-
ties.
PREFACE
DESIGN
PROCESS
SOCIAL
WHAT IS
WHAT
COULD BE
WHAT
WORKS
MAPPING THE
LARGER SYSTEM
IDENTIFYING
INTENT
WHAT
WORKS

Why Social Design Toolkit
Cities are living ecosystems that need and share resources from each of its parts. These
interdependent exchanges have ripple effects.
This toolkit is meant to help you get real. We will help hone in on your intent and guide you
through the steps of a Participatory Community Design process. You'll learn to collect insights
from the community and translate their voices into actionable ideas to revitalize and increase
resilience. Share this toolkit and you will be able to:
Gain a holistic view of the system
Identify real human needs
Come up with deep insights
Identify opportunities to arrive to collective solutions
Measure economic and social impact
Learn to engage stakeholders and communicate with vibrancy

Mapping The Larger System
Cities are living ecosystems that need and share resources from each of its parts. These
interdependent exchanges have ripple effects.
Community design is a result of zoning
laws designed by legislators, low-
density buildings designed by develop-
ers, marketing strategies designed by
ad agencies, tax breaks designed by
economists, credit lines designed by
bankers, low-nutrient food designed
by hamburger chains. The interactions
between all these systems are compli-
cated and hard to understand, but
they are not the result of chance. So
there has to be ways to improve them.
“
“
If you are involved in community design, you need to have sensitivity to con-
text, relationships and consequences in order to understand how a community
can adapt to our changeable future.
Use the Stakeholder Pentad to make a map
of the larger system you live in to understand
what types of exchange you could foster. The
line represents a structure inherent in the
relationships between stakeholders that
enables them to be in harmony.
Move from point to point along the connect-
ing lines of the star. Always start with the
customer - the people who will receive your
service and then move to co-creator; the
range of people that will make your service
happen.
Then move to the third point; Earth - our
living source of energy and materials. From
Earth move to communities; the local people
and institutions that are affected by your
presence.
Finally move to the investors who supply the
financial capital needed for organizations to
evolve. Essentially look for new opportunities on
how to engage these stakeholders as partners
and collaborators in a mutually added-value kind
of relationship.
TARGET AUDIENCE
PENTAD DIAGRAM FOR STAKEHOLDER
ENGAGEMENT [APPENDIX 1]
CO-CREATORS
EARTH COMMUNITIES
INVESTORS
[APPENDIX 2- EXERCISE FOR A PENTAD]

“Never doubt that a small group of
thoughtful committed citizens can
change the world., Indeed it is the
only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead
“
“
IDENTIFYING INTENT
Write down your intent and measure the projected impact from your efforts. In order to
deliver a service which truly satisfies the need of the community, it requires that you make
a constant assessment of your projected impact. You need to aspire for something that is
disruptive, but simple and real enough to be actionable.
Helps you to truly understand why you are doing this and how will you make
an effective impact. We recommend you start by doing a thorough assessment
of your real intent of change.
Before you set out on a journey to explore
your contribution to the system (city, commu-
nity or neighborhood), think why would you
like to do things differently as compared to
the existing programs. This could be based on
your own:
WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH:
Frame a simple mission statement. Reformu-
lating the traditional mission statement to
three simple components is the key. This will
be the overarching theme that will guide
your research and strategy development.
Values
Outcomes
Process
Level of Engagement
With Stakeholders
A TARGET POPULATION1
A VERB2
OUTCOME[IMPLIES SOMETHING TO MEASURE]3
EXAMPLE -Create job opportunities for San Francisco low income population.

WHAT IS...
Two phases will mark your exploration:
Primary research is direct interaction with community members and may include street
intercepts, expert, individual or group interviews.
Secondary research investigates earlier sources, competition, uses government or public data
and real/ fictional analogies. Use what’s out there and build on the shoulders of giants!
Get an accurate up to date understanding of your community’s most desired
meaningful experience living in the area, as well as their biggest pain points.
Look at this list of universal human needs
[APPENDIX ] and follow these steps.
STEP 1
Craft your questionnaire to answer “What
are the essential experiences people want in
this community?”
STEP 2
You want to interview at least 15 people
and practice active listening skills. Go in pairs
and try to fit-in by dressing neutrally.
STEP 3
Record responses and photos if possible.
People aren’t accustomed to talk about their
deep needs and experiences so use the “ex-
perience cards” in the following page to help
them identify theirs. (see definitions in
Appendix 4). Appropriate visuals make it easy
for respondents to choose their desired feel-
ing for the area.
State your objective clearly, be easy to
talk to and listen with your heart. Once
you create trust, most people are happy
to talk about themselves. After talking
with one self-described ‘homeless
hermit’ for a few minutes, he felt our
honest passion and eventually per-
formed a 15 minute long mime of living
on the streets. Community, Beauty and
Security were the most meaningful
experiences residents are looking for.
And the combination of the three tend
towards Harmony, a vibrant and peace-
ful cohabitation. This insight inspired
every part of our design process.
CENTRAL MARKET EXAMPLE

WHAT IS...
EXPERIENCE CARDS
WONDER
ENLIGHTENMENT
TRUTH
BEAUTY CREATION HARMONY
REDEMPTION ACCOMPLISHMENT
JUSTICE SECURITY
DUTYCOMMUNITY ONENESS
VALIDATION FREEDOM

WHAT COULD BE...
Brainstorming is one of the most fun parts of following a design process but needs to
preparation to shine. The art lies in setting constraints, getting a variety of ideas and
framing questions relevantly. A stimulation starting point could be:
“In this difficult climate, X needs a way to ______ in order to ______.”
Focusing on the community needs as a guide, brainstorm with your team
about which might be 2-3 ideas to test with the community. Use this chart to
vet your ideas and see how feasible, viable and desirable are your ideas.
TIPS
1) Write down everything: Get Dry Erase
pens and lots of sticky notes to record
one Idea per note.
2) Have some fun, get active and get loose!
3) Create visuals like journey-maps or
diagrams to explain a day in the life of
X . This is an indispensable task.
Comfort with ambiguity and change during
this phase is a valuable skill. In community
design you’re looking to change behavior,
beliefs and/or actions on the broadest over-
lap possible.
To try to understand better how to segment
your target population, you can focus on
their state of change. How willing are they to
adapt to change. Have they started thinking
on changing a behaviour? what is stopping
them? what can accelerate their adoption of
change?
Through out our several brainstorming
sessions we found different ways to
understand the CM residents better.
We played roles to understand how
willing would these individuals be to
engage with each change. Thanks to an
empathetic approach, we were able to
construct 4 segments: Idlers, Settlers,
Tippers and Changemakers.
Based on their needs
(community,beauty, security=harmony)
and their willingness to adapt and
engage with change.

WHAT COULD BE...
PERSONA AND JOURNEY MAP
Latin American woman, CM resident
32 Years old, married, one kid
Works as receptionist at a Hotel in CM
Goes to Episcopal Church for her community
Wishes to have better opportunities for her kid
She lives here because of affordable housing
Doesn’t feel safe while walking back home
late at night.
TIME
Makes
Breakfast
for her Kid
8:00 am 8:30 am 9:30 am
Takes
Kid to
School
Buys Groceries
Walks
to Work
(Hotel)
Walks
in Park
Goes To
Church
Prepares Dinner
Makes Sure No
Homeless Person is
at her Doorstep
HIGH
LOW
EMOTIONS
5:30 pm 6:30 pm 7:00 pm 8:00 pm 8:30 pm
PERSONA
BERTHA’S JOURNEY MAP THROUGH THE DAY
BERTHA

WHAT WOWS...
Social Prototype: After having brainstormed and created your segments, you need to tell
compelling stories to further validate your concepts with the community.
Now it’s time to prototype.
Identify mutually beneficial strategies for all stakeholders involved and com-
municate them clearly, with empathy, and compelling visuals.
Your solution doesn’t need to be perfect, it
needs to be expressive and it needs to be
quick. Our motto is “Fail early and Fail fast.”
Get feedback on a quick visual prototype.
Are you addressing the pain points people
identified? Does it solve a deep need in a
meaningful, sustainable way? How many
people are affected?
Most importantly look for understanding,
desire and joy in the faces of your audience.
Make the presentation personal, tell a com-
pelling story throughout and give some
easily remembered phrases from your
research.
Have you visualized a better future together?
Lead with your true heart and watch resis-
tance dissolve. End with a call to action
because your audience will become the hero
of your project.
Our team was formed by Urbanists,
Designers, Anthropologists and Busi-
ness Consultants.
We all did sketches of our ideas
(whether drawing in squiggles on
paper or crunching numbers in Excel)
and pitched to each other on our vari-
ous sessions.
Collectively we created one solid con-
cept to further validate with the com-
munity members.

WHAT WORKS...
DISTILLATION AND FOCUS ON CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
Hosting a workshop to present your concept gives you the opportunity to hear the voice of
your community. Sometimes the best ideas are born in a collective discussion.
Bring a diverse group together and hear in their own voice how desirable the
concept you are proposing really is.
To validate your concepts, invite as many
voices you feel will add diversity, perspective
and constructive feedback.
Suggested number of participants may vary
depending the size of your location, staff size
and your community. We recommend
around 12 to 40 people.
TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL SESSION
* Create Hospitable Space
* Explore Questions That Matter
* Connect Diverse People and Ideas
* Encourage Each Person's Contribution
* Listen Together for Patterns,
Insights and Deeper Questions
* Make Collective Knowledge Visible

WHAT WORKS...
1. Separate the group into tables of 4 to 6
people and ask them to share what
resources, channels and capabilities they can
contribute to help you on your
challenge/vision. Fill out post-it’s with one
answer at a time and leave them on a big
white sheet of paper in the table.
(20 minutes)
2. Ask each table to mix around and
exchange places with other tables. Ask them
to review the post-it’s from the previous
round and add some new ideas.
(Do two more rounds of 20 minutes if the
crowd is bigger).
WORKSHOP SESSION PATTERN FOR EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION
SESSION 1: Engagement, sharing and collaboration
OFFER CHANNELSRESOURCES POTENTIAL
1. Present your ideas and insights from the
research. Ask each table to ideate how could
the collective resources, channels and capa-
bilities could help improve the delivery of
that service.
This is the point where the collective intelli-
gence could really help hone in on a better
solution. You may need to pivot so be open
to accepting constructive feedback.
SESSION 2: Interlinking and cross-pollinating ideas:
ON BOARD STICKY-NOTE PROCESS
COMBINING RESOURCES, ETC TO
FACILITATE COLLECTIVE COLLABORATION
IDEATION PANEL
OFFER CHANNELSRESOURCES POTENTIAL

When approaching future partners or patrons to support you with resources, inform theabout
your community design process. The fact that you have based your design on real needs and
then validated your concepts with the community members adds credibility and relevance.
This is a learning prototype. Let’s keep learning, adapting and iterating together while we try
bringing meaningful solutions to our communities.
CONCLUSIONS

1. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PENTAD
CUSTOMERS / TARGET AUDIENCE:
They are the integrators of your output and make their own value from it.
CO-CREATORS (employees, contractors, suppliers, etc):
They contribute with value and discover meaning for themselves while doing so.
EARTH:
Principal supplier and recipient of everything.
COMMUNITIES:
The social context where organizations operate.
INVESTORS:
They contribute social capital.
2. EXERCISE:
After mapping this 5 stakeholders, draw all the various relationships that happen or may need
to happen in order for your service to be delivered successfully in the community. Reflect on the
connections and the purposeful activities of all.
4. MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES DEFINITIONS:
What types of meaningful experiences do people value? In the course of helping companies
develop products and services that suit their markets, every year we interview over 100,000 indi-
viduals from countries and cultures around the world. In these interviews, we’ve found com-
monalities among the meanings people feel strongly about, whether we’re studying the adop-
tion of new software in Poland or the purchase of toothbrushes in Florida.
We’ve compiled a list of these meanings, but it is far from exhaustive. We’ve found potentially
dozens of types of meaningful experiences and at least as many possible ways to characterize
them. What we concentrate on here are 15 of the meanings that emerge most frequently in
these interviews and appear to be universal among people’s values. While the relative impor-
tance of these meaningful experiences might vary and their interpretation could differ slightly,
all cultures seem to recognize their significance. This is good news for businesses, because it
means that there is a certain constancy among human needs that transcends the distinctions of
culture and language.
(Since none of these meaningful experiences is more or less important than any other, we’ve
presented them in alphabetical order)
APPENDIX

1. Accomplishment
Achieving goals and making something of oneself; a sense of satisfaction that can result from
productivity, focus, talent, or status. American Express has long benefited from transmitting a
hint of this meaning to its card holders by establishing itself as a credit card intended for those
who are successful. Nike relies on the essence of this meaning for many in its “Just Do It” cam-
paign.
2. Beauty
The appreciation of qualities that give pleasure to the senses or spirit. Of course beauty is in the
eye of the beholder and thus highly subjective, but our desire for it is ubiquitous. We aspire to
beauty in all that surrounds us, from architecture and fine furnishing to clothing and cars. Enor-
mous industries thrive on the promise of beauty stemming from shinier hair, whiter teeth, and
clearer skin. Beauty can also be more than mere appearance. For some, it is a sense that some-
thing is created “correctly” or efficiently with an elegance of purpose and use. Companies such
as Bang & Olufsen audio equipment and Jaguar automobiles distinguish themselves through
the beauty of their design.
3. Community
A sense of unity with others around us and a general connection with other human beings. Reli-
gious communities, unions, fraternities, clubs, and sewing circles are all expressions of a desire
for belonging. The promise and delivery of community underlies the offerings of several
successful organizations including NASCAR with its centralizing focus on car racing and leagues
of loyal fans that follow the race circuit, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and their Harley Owners
Group (HOG), and Jimmy Buffet with his dedicated Parrotheads. These businesses attract and
support user communities who embody specific values tied to their products and services.
4. Creation
The sense of having produced something new and original, and in so doing, to have made a
lasting contribution. Besides driving our species to propagate, we enjoy this experience through
our hobbies, the way we decorate our home, in telling our stories, and in anything else that
reflects our personal choices. Creation is what makes “customizable” seem like a desirable attri-
bute, rather than more work for the buyer, for example, making the salad bar a pleasure rather
than a chore.
APPENDIX

5. Duty
The willing application of oneself to a responsibility. The military in any country counts on the
power of this meaning, as do most employers. Duty can also relate to responsibilities to oneself
or family, such as reading the daily paper to stay abreast
of the news. Commercially, anything regarded as “good for you,” including vitamins, medica-
tions, Cross-Your-Heart bras, and cushioned insoles relays some sense of duty and the satisfac-
tion it brings.
6. Enlightenment
Clear understanding through logic or inspiration. This experience is not limited to those who
meditate and fast, it is a core expectation of offerings from Fox News, which promises “fair and
balanced” reporting, the Wall Street Journal, which many consider the ultimate authority for
business news, and the Sierra Club, which provides perspective on environmental threats and
conservation.
7. Freedom
The sense of living without unwanted constraints. This experience often plays tug-of-war with
the desire for security; more of one tends to decrease the other. Nevertheless, freedom is entic-
ing, whether it’s freedom from dictators, or in the case of Google, the freedom to quickly search
the Web learning and interacting with millions of people and resources.
8. Harmony
The balanced and pleasing relationship of parts to a whole, whether in nature, society, or an
individual. When we seek a work/life balance, we are in pursuit of harmony. Likewise, when we
shop at Target for a toaster that matches our mixer, we are in pursuit of harmony. Much of the
aesthetic appeal of design depends on our personal desire for the visual experience of harmony.
9. Justice
The assurance of equitable and unbiased treatment. This is the sense of fairness and equality
that underlies our concept of “everyman” or Average Joe. It helps explain the immense popu-
larity of the Taurus and the Camry, the ranch house, Levi jeans, and white cotton T-shirts—all
products with a simple, impartial appeal to a very broad audience.
APPENDIX

10. Oneness
A sense of unity with everything around us. It is what some seek from the practice of spirituality
and what others expect from a good tequila. Although we don’t normally think of them as a
company, the Grateful Dead sustained its revenues for decades building an experience that con-
nected with its fans’ desire for oneness. Similarly, organizations that connects their members
into nature or a broader sense of the world, like the Monterey Bay Aquarium or the United
Nations, are capable of evoking a meaning of oneness.
11. Redemption
Atonement or deliverance from past failure or decline. Though this might seem to stem from
negative experiences, the impact of the redemptive experience is highly positive. Like commu-
nity and enlightenment, redemption has a basis in religion, but it also attracts customers to
Weight Watchers, Bliss spas, and the grocery store candy aisle. Any sensation that delivers us
from a less desirable condition to another, more pleasing, one can be redemptive.
12. Security
The freedom from worry about loss. This experience has been a cornerstone of civilization but
in the U.S. in particular, acquired increased meaning and relevance after 9/11. On the commer-
cial side, the desire for this experience created the insurance business, and it continues to sell a
wide range of products from automatic rifles to Depends undergarments to credit cards that
offer protection from identity theft.
13. Truth
A commitment to honesty and integrity. This experience plays an important role in most per-
sonal relationships, but it also is a key component of companies like Whole Foods, Volkswagen,
and Newman’s Own, all of which portray themselves as simple, upright, and candid.
14. Validation
The recognition of oneself as a valued individual worthy of respect. Every externally branded
piece of clothing counts on the attraction of this meaningful experience whether it’s Ralph
Lauren Polo or Old Navy, as does Mercedes Benz, the Four Seasons hotel chain, and any other
brand with status identification as a core value.
APPENDIX

15. Wonder
Awe in the presence of a creation beyond one’s understanding. While this might sound mystical
and unattainable, consider the wonder that Las Vegas hotels create simply through plaster and
lights. Disney has been a master of this experience for decades, and technology companies rou-
tinely evoke awe as they enable their users to do what seemed impossible the year before.
APPENDIX
- Business in the Community. (2011). Retrieved August 24, 2011, from Community Footprint
–Presentation: http://www.bitc.org.uk/community/community_footprint/presentation.html
- Rowson, J., Broome, S. and Jones, A. (2010). Connected Communities. London: RSA.
- In the Bubble, Designing a complex world. John Thackara
- Responsible Business, Carol Sanford
- Design for Growth, Jeanne Liedtka
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- SROI Framework: http://www.gsvc.org/
- Service Design Tools: http://www.servicedesigntools.org/
- Community Footprint: http://www.thersa.org/projects/connected-communities
OTHER RESOURCES

WHAT WOWS...
BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS
What are the most important costs inherent in our business model?
Which Key Resources are most expensive?
Which Key Activities are most expensive?
Through which Channels do our Customer Segments
want to be reached?
How are we reaching them now?
How are our Channels integrated?
Which ones work best?
Which ones are most cost-efficient?
How are we integrating them with customer routines?
For what value are our customers really willing to pay?
For what do they currently pay?
How are they currently paying?
How would they prefer to pay?
How much does each Revenue Stream contribute to overall revenues?
For whom are we creating value?
Who are our most important customers?
What type of relationship does each of our Customer
Segments expect us to establish and maintain with them?
Which ones have we established?
How are they integrated with the rest of our business model?
How costly are they?
What value do we deliver to the customer?
Which one of our customer’s problems are we helping to solve?
What bundles of products and services are we offering to each Customer Segment?
Which customer needs are we satisfying?
What Key Activities do our Value Propositions require?
Our Distribution Channels?
Customer Relationships?
Revenue streams?
Who are our Key Partners?
Who are our key suppliers?
Which Key Resources are we acquiring from partners?
Which Key Activities do partners perform?
What Key Resources do our Value Propositions require?
Our Distribution Channels? Customer Relationships?
Revenue Streams?
Day Month Year
No.
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