IDEO.org

Tomorrow, our Executive Design Director, Mary Katica, and Partnerships Director, Luan Nio, will lead two Creative Tensions sessions at #SOCAP2024, tackling the complexities of systems change, both broadly and in the context of carbon markets. We'll explore the push-and-pull dynamics driving social impact work: balancing speed with trust, navigating between global frameworks and local adaptations, and choosing when to scale vs. shift mindsets. Join us as we confront the tough questions and lean into the tensions that fuel meaningful transformation—see you there! Oct 29, 10:45am | Creative Tensions: Risk & Rewards of the Carbon Market with Luan Nio and Liz Diebold Oct 29, 1:30pm | Creative Tensions: Powering Systems Change with Mary Katica and Luan Nio

Last week, our Senior Business Designer Agnes Ogallo spoke at #FinclusionWeek about our work designing Bright Futures—a financial empowerment program supporting garment workers in Vietnam. During our panel with local design partner Doodle Design, Agnes shared how designing for financial inclusion isn’t just about economic mobility—it’s an opportunity to transform gender narratives, norms, and inequities. By designing with the whole human experience in mind, we create solutions that address the root causes of exclusion and foster impact beyond surface-level fixes. Check out a recording of the session here: https://lnkd.in/e7wexZgE Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) #FinancialInclusion #BrightFutures #GenderEquality #FIW24

Excited for this chat with Mary Katica, AIGA Design & IDEO.org about gender transformative design, what it looks like to tangibly move women from the margins in service and product design, & some of our fav tools Join us: https://lnkd.in/e2wEN2HC

Join us at Mercy Corps AgriFin's 8th Learning Event! On October 15, join IDEO.org’s Design Director Alex Nana-Sinkam and Program Director Larrissa Bachia for a masterclass on combining the analytical power of systems thinking with the creative approach of human-centered design. Learn mapping tools to sharpen your focus, uncover insights, and identify impactful solutions. Through our case studies, we'll explore how these methods have transformed systems that support smallholder farmers. https://lnkd.in/gzki_DR2 #ALE2024 #AgriFinALE2024 #Agrifoodtech #agtech #agrifoodsystems

In today’s social impact landscape, strategies need to do more than just fit an organization's capabilities—they need to stand out, secure funding, and drive real collaboration. IDEO.org Design Director Ademide Adefarasin shares how participatory strategies, rooted in the real experiences of people and communities, provide a meaningful competitive advantage. https://lnkd.in/eqKsVEWd

Human Centered Design (HCD) plays a crucial part in Bright Futures, a collaborative project between Doodle Design and IDEO.org, funded by Primark and Standard Chartered.  HCD is not only about putting people’s needs but also about creating inclusive solutions for all, especially the underserved population. We asked Nhu Vo, founder, Doodle Design/Doodle A and Agnes Ogallo, Senior Business Designer, IDEO.org on the roles of HCD in approaching Financial Inclusion initiatives for Vietnamese garment workers.  Let’s hear them out at: https://lnkd.in/gyMwTQp8 #HumanCenteredDesign #BrightFuture #FinancialInclusive #PeopleFirst #Vietnam Chris Elkin Nhu Vo Doodle Design Doodle A

How do you choose the right direction when designing in the zero-to-one space? Over the past month, we’ve been working with the National Domestic Workers Alliance to understand what really matters to home cleaners and caregivers. Our goal is to develop a digital tool that supports their immediate needs while empowering them to advocate for fair working conditions. While data offers one perspective, Senior Business Designer Claudia Sosa Lazo notes that true understanding comes from deep listening and thoughtful engagement.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at kyu House for A Gender Transformative Approach to Climate Resilience during #ClimateWeekNYC! We’re still buzzing from the energy of a packed room of people working at the nexus of climate and gender, as well as those committed to integrating these agendas.  A huge thank you to our panelists—Teju N. Adisa-Farrar, Phoebe Lane, Soraya Hassanali, and Margaret E. Greene, PhD—for sharing their insights as donors and implementers on how operating at this intersection has lead to more sustainable solutions, and what's needed to truly move the needle. We also loved hearing from you, our audience, about the challenges you’re facing and what you need from our ecosystem to get this work done. For more resources and tools on how to adopt a gender-transformative approach to climate solutions, check out https://lnkd.in/eZCa2jhx. kyu Collective Photos by: David Dini, Joan Encarnacion

We're thrilled to partner with Citi Foundation as they announce their second cohort of Global Innovation Challenge grantees, all focused on addressing homelessness. Fifty community organizations worldwide will each receive $500,000 in catalytic funding to drive impactful solutions over the next two years. As part of this initiative, IDEO.org will facilitate a learning community where grantees can connect, share insights, and exchange best practices, amplifying their work in tackling housing insecurity on a global scale. Excited to support this critical effort! #InnovationChallenge #SocialImpact #HousingSolutions #IDEOorg

Yesterday, we kicked off kyu House by focusing on coalitions, gender equality, the leadership needed to bring about true climate action, and more! 🤝 SYPartners and The Aspen Institute taught us how true collaboration can make all the difference in the climate fight. However, working across organizations requires intention and know-how. “Coalitions have to find the productive space to navigate conflict,” said María Ortiz Pérez (The Aspen Institute). ⚖️ The kyu House Cafe was a full house for IDEO.org’s session. Margaret E. Greene, PhD introduced a gender x climate framework, that IDEO.org co-created with The Chroma Collective, which evaluates projects along an axis of exploitative to transformative and harmful to regenerative. IDEO.org’s Victoria Yan chatted with an expert panel (Teju N. Adisa-Farrar, Phoebe Lane, and Soraya Hassanali) about the opportunities and challenges that arise when considering gender and climate action together.  “We need an ecosystem of solutions,” said Adisa-Farrar, of the Black Fiber & Textile Network. 🥂 Opening Night was all about connecting the climate community around some friendly debate. 🗣️ Kite Insights and BSR brought the drama (in the best possible way) with the question: “𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱?” Debaters Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Genevieve Guenther, PhD, Kirsten Dunlop, Clover Hogan, Gerald Butts, and Aron Cramer battled it out with persuasive arguments before jury members Tim Brown, Azeem Azhar, and Kathy Baughman McLeod. The night’s biggest surprise was when the “against” debaters managed to pull the rapt audience over to their side. 🧠 👬 IDEO brought back a kyu House classic, the “Creative Tensions" exercise. Brown and Bryan Walker led the room in a series of literal floor debates, asking questions like, “Where is greater creative leadership needed? In the realm of policy or desirability? In iconic or systemic innovation? Fear versus hope?” It was a joy to see friends old and new mix, mingle, and swap solutions around climate action in our 395 Hudson Street space. Bring on Day 2 of kyu House! 📸: David Dini #kyuhouse #ClimateWeekNYC #ClimateAction