Case Study: IDEO's Social Impact Labs
IDEO invites social entrepreneurs to attend brainstorming sessions in which IDEO designers use their expertise to address project-specific design challenges.
The Opportunity
Social entrepreneurs and their organizations find innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. Knowledgeable design expertise can have measurable impact for entrepreneurs tackling unique needs with few resources.
IDEO’s Pro Bono Investment
As a global design consultancy, IDEO hosts internal social impact labs in order to provide design talent to interesting and impactful challenges and expose its designers to inspirational social enterprises. The labs convene approximately 20 employees to brainstorm design solutions for organizations. IDEO’s Jocelyn Wyatt, who leads the firm’s Social Impact domain, built on a previous program of sustainability labs at IDEO and suggested using the same format to work directly with social-sector entrepreneurs and therefore expand the impact of the labs.
IDEO selects entrepreneurs in need of design thinking, but who can’t afford an engagement with a design firm, to participate in the bi-monthly labs. In an effort to directly involve IDEO staff, Wyatt opens the labs up to employees with a typical attendance of between 10 and 20 IDEO designers. Each lab begins with a brief presentation from the guest entrepreneur on their particular design challenge, followed by a 45 minute brainstorming session involving all attending employees. These sessions provide a valuable knowledge share for the entrepreneur who leaves with diverse design ideas from consultants with design expertise. The network of interested employees and prospective guest entrepreneurs continues to grow as IDEO begins to host labs in a number of their office locations, and continues to balance both local and international entrepreneurs.
The Impact
The social impact labs have proven an effective forum for developing powerful collaborations. Social entrepreneurs leave the lab sessions with a host of useable design ideas they would otherwise not have access to. In the past year, IDEO Palo Alto has hosted 21 labs covering a range of design needs: an ambulance company in India seeking ways to promote their business; a microfinance organization wanting to design an innovative insurance project for the developing world; a social investment firm needing novel ideas for creating a remarkable conference experience.
These labs have provided participating IDEO designers with a comprehensive understanding of the complexities that social sector organizations face. Brainstorming viable solutions to address society’s toughest challenges has strengthened IDEO designers’ understanding of the difficulties facing social sector organizations.
About IDEO
IDEO helps organizations innovate through design. The sole design strategy firm on a 2008 list of the world’s 50 most innovative companies, IDEO brings sustainable growth to the business, government, education, and social sectors with its human-centered approach. Included in IDEO’s legacy are such standard-setting designs as the first notebook computer, Apple’s first mouse, the Palm V, and the LifePort Kidney Transporter. More recently, IDEO’s multidisciplinary teams have addressed in their work such themes as sustainability, the design of communities, health and wellness, and enterprise for people in developing nations and emerging economies.
