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R SOCIAL IMPACTDESIGN FORSOCIACT DESIGN FOR SOCIAL IMPACT D
WORKBOOK
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ESIGN FORSOCIALIMPAC
MPACT DESIG
OCIAL IMPACESIGN FOR S
INTRODUCT ION
This workbook accompanies Design for Social Impact:
How-to Guide and is intended to help design firms navigate
through the modes of engagement. Use the activities that
follow to prompt discussions with your team and to develop
an action plan for engaging in social impact work in a way
that makes sense for your firm.
Keep in mind that the focus of these activities is on process
and not content. There is an ongoing tension within every
design firm to balance the desire to engage in impactful
work with the need to run a business. This workbook is not
intended to be prescriptive, rather it is intended to help
you think through your strategy for engaging in this work.
We hope the exercises prompt you to think of new ways to
continue the impactful work you are already doing and to
increase your involvement in a sustainable way.
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OALS GOALS GOAL
OALS GOALS GOALOALS GOALS GOAL
OALS GOALS GOALOALS GOALS GOAL
OALS GOALS GOALOALS GOALS GOAL
OALS GOALS GOAL
S TEPO NE
Prioritize Your Drivers
Construct Your Dream Project
Define Social Impact
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ARTICULATE YOUR I NTENTI ON S
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H M LSOCIAL IMPACTDo you want to use your design expertise to have social
impact? Are you proud of your current portfolio? How
important is a global reach to your work?
H M L
H ONI NGD ES I G NS K I LLSWould this type of work put you on the cutting edge of design?
Could you use these projects to sharpen the skills of your team
and present them with new challenges?
H M L
RETENTI ON
Do you have people in your firm who are really passionate
about this work? Do they currently have sufficient outlets
for doing it? Would doing more projects strengthen
employee loyalty?
WORKSHEET NO . 01
REPUTATION
What is your firm known for? Could social impact projects
improve your reputation or attract more attention? What
stories might attract new clients or employees to your firm?
H M L
PROF I T
Could you imagine making social impact a core part of your
business? Might social impact work lead to projects with
corporate clients? Can you afford to do this work pro bono?
H M L
To start off, its important to think about why your firm wants to
get involved in social impact work. Whats motivating you to move
into this sector? Why will it be beneficial to your firm? Start with
the drivers below and indicate the level of importance of each (low,
medium, or high). Reflect on the associated questions and jot your
notes below. Identifying the drivers will help you select the offerings
with which to experiment.
PRIORITIZE YOUR DRIVEDRIVERS PRIORITIZE YOU
PRIORITIZE YOUR DRIVE
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S EC TOR
Basic services
Health
Environment
Education
Livelihoods
Technology
Other:
OF F ERI NG
Product design
Service design
Brand strategy and
communication
Growth strategy
Organizational transformation
Ethnographic need finding
Technology strategy
Other:
FO R WH OM
Rural
Urban
Women
Children
Bottom billion
Working poor
Middle class
Other:
PARTNERS/CLIENTS
Foundation
Government
Non-governmental Organization
(NGO)
Social Enterprise
Multinational Corporation (MNC)
Other Design Firms
University
Other:
DURATION
One hour
One week
One month
Three months
Six months
One year
Other:
BRIEFLY D ES C RI BEAPROJ EC TYO U I MAG I NE.
Keep this in the back of your mind as you do the other
activities in this book.
G EOG RAPH Y
Asia
China India
Africa
Latin America
Europe
North America
Other:
Use this tool to quickly identify where your passions lie for engaging
in social impact work. As you think about projects to bring in,
consider using these passions as your initial targets. Defining your
view of a social i mpact project will enable you to be more concrete in
your responses in the remaining activities.
By checking all the boxes that apply, design your dream social
impact project.
WORKSHEET NO . 02
CONSTRUCT YOUR DREADREAM PROJECT CONST
CONSTRUCT YOUR DREA
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willD E S I G NF I R M
identify projects as social impact if they positively affect
in . We can make
AD JE C T I V E
PLACE
communities/individuals
the most impact by working with organizations that are
AD JE C T I V E
AD JE C T I V E
AD JE C T I V E
, ,
impact in our clients by
AD JE C T I V E
. We expect to seeand
NO U N
conducting and
D E S I G NF I R M
NO U N NOU N
V E R B (- IN G)
.
and measuring
will have contributed to
and
In five years, we hope that
P L AC E
.N O U N
in
NO U N
WORKSHEET NO . 03
What does social impact mean to you? What types of change do you
want to make? Fill in the blanks to create your statement about what
social impact means to your firm and how you plan to measure it.
(circle one)
DEFINE SOCIAL IMPACTSOCIAL IMPACTDEFINE S
DEFINE SOCIAL IMPACT
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OOLS TOOLS TOOL
OOLS TOOLS TOOLOOLS TOOLS TOOL
OOLS TOOLS TOOLOOLS TOOLS TOOL
OOLS TOOLS TOOLOOLS TOOLS TOOL
OOLS TOOLS TOOL
S TEPT WO
Record What Youre Already Doing
Take an Inventory of Your Resources
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ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR STARTING POI NT
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O F F E R I N G (AR E YO UAL R E AD Y) WHATYO U VE D O NE
MOD I F Y I NGTH EWA YYO UWORK ?
Concept incubation
Design + implementation
Business as usual
Scale to fit
Guide clients
Sabbatical
MOD I F Y I NGTH E WAYYO U WORK? (CONT.)
Catalogue of design challenges
Project scoping
Design review
Concept brainstorm
Other
O F F E R I N G (AR EYO UAL R E AD Y) WHATYO U VE D O NE
WORKSHEET NO . 04 A
RECORD WHAT RECORDYOURE ALREADY DOING
DOING RECORDWHAT Y
Think about your portfolio of volunteer, pro-bono, low-bono,
non-profit, and government projects. Flip through the menu
of offerings and check the ones youre already doing. Use
the blank spaces below to add a ny offerings not included here.
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WORKSHEET NO . 04 B
D EVELOPI NGNETWORK S ?
Local partners
Design competitions
Contribute to existing networks
Other
O F F E R I N G (AR EYO UAL R E AD Y) WHATYO U VE D ONE OF F ER I NG (AR E YO UAL R E AD Y) WHATYO U VE D O NE
EDUCATING OTH ERS ?
d.school .in/.za
Empathy field trips
Design certification
Intern hosting
Publishing
Process workshop
Other
RECORD WHAT RECORD WHAT YOURE ALREADYOURE ALREADY DOING RECORD WHAT YOUR
DOING RECORDWHAT YOURE ALREADY DOIN(C ONTI N U ED)
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WORKSHEET NO . 04 C
O F F E R I N G (AR EYO UAL R E AD Y) WHATYO U VE D O NE
I D ENTI F Y I NGF U ND I NGS TREAMS ?
Design industry fund
Raise and manage a pot of money
Internal subsidies
3rd party sponsorship
Project financing
Other
MOD I F Y I NGYOUR S TRU C TU RE?
.org
.in/.za
Center of excellence
Other
O F F E R I N G (AR E YO UAL R E AD Y) WHATYO U VE D O NE
RECORD WHAT RECORD WHAT YOURE ALREADYOURE ALREADY DOING RECORD WHAT YOUR
DOING RECORDWHAT YOURE ALREADY DOIN(C ONTI N U ED)
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PEOPLE
Do you have people
with expertise in design
for social impact?
A Lot A LotA Little A LittleNone NoneNeed to get Need to getDont need Dont need
Who? Who?
What blocks time? What blocks time?
Who? Who?
Who? Who?
What process? What process?
How much? How much?
PAS S I ON
Do you have people
with passion for social
impact work?
PROC ES S
Do you have a
process that works
in this context?
LEG EN D LEG EN D
WORKSHEET NO . 05
TI ME
Do you have time to
commit to building
these capabilities and
doing these projects?
NETWORKDo you have
connections in
the social sector?
MON EY
Do you have financial
resources to dedicate
to this work?
HAVE NEE D HAVE NEE D
Think about the resources that you already have and could dedicate to
social impact work. Then, think about what resources you might need.
Recognize that this initiative must fit within the realities and obj ectives
of your business and be realistic a bout what makes sense to commit.
TAKE AN INVENTORY OFOF YOUR RESOURCES AK
TAKE AN INVENTORY OF
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LANS PLANS PLAN
LANS PLANS PLANLANS PLANS PLAN
LANS PLANS PLANLANS PLANS PLAN
LANS PLANS PLANLANS PLANS PLAN
LANS PLANS PLAN
S TEPTH REE
Portfolio Suggestions
Consider a Portfolio
Define your First Steps
Planning Sheets
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D EC LAREYOUR PORTF OLI O
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CONSIDER STARTING WITH :
A sabbatical
(to build expertise)
A concept brainstorm
(to engage your employees)
Intern hosting(to raise awareness in your firm)
A process workshop
(to build your network)
Contributing to existing networks
(to build expertise)
CONSIDER :
Concept incubation
(to increase impact)
Design + implementation
(to create a network of partners)
Publishing(to share your expertise)
.org
(to show your commitment)
.in/.za
(to make yourself more accessible)
CONSIDER F O C U S I NGON :
Scale to fit
(to increase # of clients)
A process guide
(to increase # of projects)
A catalogue of challenges
(to utilize unstaffed time)
3rd party sponsorship
(to bring in full-scale projects)
A center of excellence
(to leverage your expertise)
CONSIDER :
dschool in .in/za
(to build capacity)
Design certification
(to build a network)
Publishing
(to share your vision)
An industry pact (to raise aware-
ness in and of the industry)
A design industry fund
(to allow more firms to participate)
IF YO U AR EN EWTO THESOCIAL IMPACT ARENA
I FYO U WANTTO MAK ESOCIAL IMPACTTHE C ENTERPOI NTOF YOUR OF F ERI NG
IF YO U WANTTO HAVEALARG ER S OC I AL IMPACT WI TH OU TD ETRAC TI NGTO O MU C HF ROMYOUR BOTTOML I N E
I FYO U WANTTO CATALYZETHE D ES I G N I ND U S TRY
Engaging in social i mpact work is a journey and a choice. You may
decide from doing these exercises that youd like to stick your toe in
or jump in head first. Or, the exercises may guide you to choose not
to engage at this particular time. Wherever you are in the journey,
we have envisioned a series of offerings that might be right for you.
PORTFOLIO SUGGESTIONSUGGESTIONS PORTFOL
PORTFOLIO SUGGESTION
SABBAT ICAL
C O N C E P TB R A I N S T O R M
P R O C R E S SW O R K S H O P
I N T E R NH O S T I N G
CONT RIBUT E TO E X I S I T I N GNET WORKS
CAT ALOGUE OF C H A L L E N G E S
P R O C E S SG U I D E
S C A L ETO FIT
3 RD PART YS P O N S O R S H I P
C E N T E ROF E X C E L L E N C E
C O N C E P TI N C U B A T I O N
D E S I G N +IMPLEMENT AT ION
P U B L I S H I N G
.ORG
. IN/ZA
D .S C H O O L. IN/.ZA
P U B L I S H I N G
D E S I G NC E R T I F I C A T I O N
I N D U S T R YPACT
D E S I G NI N D U S T R Y
F U N D
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Youve now identified what youre already doing, the resources you
currently have, and what more you might need to pursue social impact
work. Now, think about the future. Pick five offerings from the resource
guide that intrigue you. Think back to your drivers. Which might create the
most impact? Which would thrill your team? Which might you learn from
most? Which could win you some great press? Which might make you some
01 .
02 .
03 .
04 .
05 .
WORKSHEET NO . 06
S O C I A L I M P A C T
BENEFIT
TO
THEF
IRM
INVESTMENT S I ZE
CONSIDER A PORTFOLIOPORTFOLIO CONSIDER A
CONSIDER A PORTFOLIOS TEPO NE
Using your own judgement, estimate the required investment
(small, medium, or large), the social impact, and the benefit to
your firm for each of your five selected offerings.
S TEPT WO
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EVALUATE YOUR PORTFOPORTFOLIO EVALUATE Y
EVALUATE YOUR PORTFO
NE W
E XI STI N G NEWC L I E NT/PARTNER
O
FFERING
HO WTO I NT E R P R E TT HI S
Notice where the majority of your selected offerings fall .
1 : INCREMENTAL
These offerings are the closest to what youre currently doing and could
be great as quick wins. Incremental offerings require execution-focused
processes and people. If the majority of your selections fall into this
quadrant, think about whether you want to stretch yourself a bit farther.
2 : R E V O L U T I O NAR Y
These offerings are the furthest from what you currently do and have the
potential to stretch your firm and bring you to very different places. Revo-
lutionary offerings require exploration-focused processes and people. If the
majority of your selections fall into this quadrant, think about whether this is
realistic. Would you rather start with a few initiatives that are more similar to
what you already do?
3 : EVOLUTIONARY
These offerings provide a mix of the novel and familiar. Evolutionary
offerings require a mix of execution and exploration-focused processes
and people. If the majority of your selections fall into this section, think
about whether you want to be more radical or more conservative? Do
you feel comfortable sitting in the middle ground between the two?
Plot your selections on the matrix below. The x axis indicates how
similar the potential clients or par tners might be to your existing clients
or partners. For instance, if youve never been involved in publishing,
the partners you would need would be new (i.e. far on the right). The
y axis indicates how similar the offering or project might be to your
existing offerings. For instance, if you have never taught your process,
a process workshop would be new (i.e. at the top).
2
1 3
3
WORKSHEET NO . 07
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WORKSHEET NO . 08
Now, look back through the menu of offerings and consider replacing any
that you dropped. Think about what initially a ppealed to you about the
dropped offerings and find similar of ferings that seem more attainable.
List the offerings in your new portfolio below.
Now, that youve chosen your first set of experiments, think through your
road map for social impact work. Think about where each offering could
lead you. In the long-term, what involvement makes sense for your firm?
S TEPT WO STEP TH REE
S TEPONE
S HO R T-TER M MED I U M-TE R M LO NG-T E R M
Now that youve done Worksheets 6 and 7, list any offerings that no
longer seem appropriate and your brief rationale.
OF F ER I NG CO NCE R N
01 .
02 .
03 .
04 .
05 .
DEFINE YOUR FIRST STEFIRST STEPS DEFINE YOU
DEFINE YOUR FIRST STE
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Complete one planning sheet for each of fering you would like to try.
Within
1 Month
Within6 Months
Within
1 Year
Within
5 Years
ACTIONP L AN
WHAT WHO
EX PERI MENTTO TRY :
T HI SC O U L DL E A DTO :
WORKSHEET NO . 09 A
PLANNING SHEET PLANNSHEET PLANNING SHEET
PLANNING SHEET PLANN
HO WT HI SCONNECTS TO WHATWE DO
How does this enhance our brand?
How would this challenge us?
Who could we partner or work with?
H M L
T HI SS U P P O R T SMY GOAL OF :
Social Impact
Retention
Honing Design Skills
Building Reputation
Profit
Other:
WH YT HI SAP P E AL STO ME
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PLANNING SHEET PLANNSHEET PLANNING SHEET
PLANNING SHEET PLANN
HO WT HI SCONNECTS TO WHATWE DO
How does this enhance our brand?
How would this challenge us?
Who could we partner or work with?
WORKSHEET NO . 09 B
H M L
T HI SS U P P O R T SMY GOAL OF :
Social Impact
Retention
Honing Design Skills
Building Reputation
Profit
Other:
WH YT HI SAP P E AL STO ME
Complete one planning sheet for each of fering you would like to try.
Within
1 Month
Within6 Months
Within
1 Year
Within
5 Years
ACTIONP L AN
WHAT WHO
EX PERI MENTTO TRY :
T HI SC O U L DL E A DTO :
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PLANNING SHEET PLANNSHEET PLANNING SHEET
PLANNING SHEET PLANN
HO WT HI SCONNECTS TO WHATWE DO
How does this enhance our brand?
How would this challenge us?
Who could we partner or work with?
WORKSHEET NO . 09 C
H M L
T HI SS U P P O R T SMY GOAL OF :
Social Impact
Retention
Honing Design Skills
Building Reputation
Profit
Other:
WH YT HI SAP P E AL STO ME
Complete one planning sheet for each of fering you would like to try.
Within
1 Month
Within6 Months
Within
1 Year
Within
5 Years
ACTIONP L AN
WHAT WHO
EX PERI MENTTO TRY :
T HI SC O U L DL E A DTO :
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PLANNING SHEET PLANNSHEET PLANNING SHEET
PLANNING SHEET PLANN
HO WT HI SCONNECTS TO WHATWE DO
How does this enhance our brand?
How would this challenge us?
Who could we partner or work with?
WORKSHEET NO . 09 D
H M L
T HI SS U P P O R T SMY GOAL OF :
Social Impact
Retention
Honing Design Skills
Building Reputation
Profit
Other:
WH YT HI SAP P E AL STO ME
Complete one planning sheet for each of fering you would like to try.
Within
1 Month
Within6 Months
Within
1 Year
Within
5 Years
ACTIONP L AN
WHAT WHO
EX PERI MENTTO TRY :
T HI SC O U L DL E A DTO :
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PLANNING SHEET PLANNSHEET PLANNING SHEET
PLANNING SHEET PLANN
HO WT HI SCONNECTS TO WHATWE DO
How does this enhance our brand?
How would this challenge us?
Who could we partner or work with?
WORKSHEET NO . 09 E
H M L
T HI SS U P P O R T SMY GOAL OF :
Social Impact
Retention
Honing Design Skills
Building Reputation
Profit
Other:
WH YT HI SAP P E AL STO ME
Complete one planning sheet for each of fering you would like to try.
Within
1 Month
Within6 Months
Within
1 Year
Within
5 Years
ACTIONP L AN
WHAT WHO
EX PERI MENTTO TRY :
T HI SC O U L DL E A DTO :
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Tara Acharya
Demmy Adesina
Maria Blair
Tim Brown
Aaron Sklar
Sandy Speicher
Doug Solomon
Jocelyn Wyatt
THANK YOU FOR JOINI
JOINING IN THIS EXPL
EXPLORATION THANK
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