Tag: international development

Announcing Scale x Design Accelerator’s Cohort 2!

by Savannah Miller

It’s been a crazy month here at SxD! Cohort 2 is fully in the swing of things. We have just finished up our first Core Lab – Mindsets & Methods for Innovation (previously Human Centered Design) and are on to our second Core Lab – Designing for Scale.

We will be picking up on the frequency of our posts here on the blog to keep everyone up to date on all of the new teams, events, plus updates on all of your Cohort 1 favorites!

Without further ado, Scale x Design presents Cohort 2:

Fee-based SMS of Weather Forecast and Agricultural Advisory – Vietnam

Making Treasure from Trash – Ghana

Financial Product for Digital Purchase of Agri-input by Poor Farmers – Bangladesh

Farmer Field & Business School – Mali

Community-led Safe Water Supply System for Urban Resilience – Bangladesh

Vijana Juu/Up with Youth – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Circles of Change – Egypt

Security Unit Global Training Initiative – USA/Global

Teaching Resource Laboratories – India

The Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab – West Bank/Gaza

The Cooperative Fund – Georgia

VSLA for Community Resilience – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Additionally, we are ecstatic to welcome Habitat for Humanity International, World Wildlife Fund, and Population Services International (PSI) to SxD! They have dedicated teams to participate side-by-side with our internal CARE teams. Look for a separate post on these partnerships in the coming weeks.

 

What we’re listening to: USAID’s 2nd Episode of the Learning Lab Podcast asks us to “Stop, Collaborate and Listen”

by Savannah Miller

In their second podcast, the USAID Learning Lab team focuses on the “C” in USAID’s Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) Framework. Good collaboration can be difficult to visualize and is often misinterpreted as an impediment to progress and decision making. The Learning Lab does a great job here demonstrating why collaboration and good collaboration-nurturing techniques (including human-centered design), can elevate all aspects of your work!

Utilizing case studies, they highlight Search for Common Ground and their use of human-centered design in workshop facilitation, Grassroots Soccer using “digital storytelling to build bridges between women in South Africa” and USAID’s own collaborative process among stakeholders in Guatemala. Plus listen till the end to learn why Jazz music is the perfect example of collaboration.

Community Score Card featured on Huffington Post!

by Savannah Miller

Huffington Post and USAID’s Flagship Maternal and Child Survival Program have been collaborating on content highlighting the necessity of community health in reaching those not currently accessing key health services. This week’s blog features our own Community Score Card and their transformational work in Malawi and beyond. The article is called  Generating local solutions: How CARE’s Community Score Card is helping achieve health access for all. Happy Reading!

Scale X Design Challenge Corporate Sponsorship

by Savannah Miller Leave a comment

The Scale X Design Challenge countdown has kicked into high gear for us at the Accelerator! While we are coordinating with participant teams from across the globe, making the logistical plans to get them to the event and nurturing the very best in development innovation, we also have some fantastic corporate sponsors providing financial support to make the Scale X Design Challenge truly a can’t miss event.

The Scale X Design Challenge is a way for our teams to show off all of the hard work and significant progress they have made in areas of development need. This is an opportunity to get unprecedented visibility for their work that they could not achieve in their home region. We have teams flying in from India, Ethiopia, the Balkans, and beyond to work with their peers in interactive workshops that will elevate their skills. Events surrounding the Challenge give teams the chance to connect to potential donors, business and specialized mentors, and global partners that will enable them to multiply their impact. The Scale X Design Challenge’s corporate sponsors gain high profile promotion and advertising during and surrounding the Challenge and ensure a lasting impact through all 15 of our participating teams.
Would you or your company like to join the likes of Delta in supporting the next group of change makers in their quest for scale? Check out our sponsorship brochure below for all of the perks and make sure to RSVP to the Scale X Design Challenge!

 

Scale X Design Challenge Practice Pitch Event Save the Date

by Stephanie Carey Yeargan Leave a comment

Before the Scale X Design Challenge in New York City, we are hosting the first stage of the SxD competition- Pitch Practice- in Atlanta, where CARE is headquartered. Register now to attend!

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With financial resources and the agility to implement their programs on a global scale, these teams will lead the way with shared intelligence, a unified vision and a singular focus to empower millions of people and inspire lasting change. Send your questions to atlanta@care.org.

Thursday, January 19, 2017 at Atlanta Tech Village

  • 6:30 – 7:00 p.m.: Reception
  • 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.: Scale X Design Challenge Practice Pitch
  • 8:00 – 9:00 p.m.: Pitch Wrap Up & Feedback

If you will be in Atlanta on January 19th, join us to help decide who advances to the final competition in New York!

What We’re Reading: How to Develop a Human-Centered Design Mindset

by Whitney Pyles Adams Leave a comment

It’s official, human-centered design is a hot topic in the development space! There seem to be more people writing about it than are actually doing it, though.

Check out the latest article from Devex on “How to develop a human-centered design mindset” 

Jocelyn Wyatt, Executive Director of Ideo, sat down with Devex to discuss the most common shoulder shrug reaction that we hear in response human-centered design: “Well, that’s just good development.”

True! It’s not necessarily new, but it’s definitely not universally applied.   Check out Jocelyn’s reflections here: