IMPACT PLAYGROUND
(Duration: 2 Days)
Day 1
INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN FOR SYSTEM CHANGE
Participants are introduced to design for system change—an approach that goes beyond individual users or isolated solutions to examine the structures, incentives, and power dynamics that shape social challenges. This sets a shared foundation for working on complex, real-world problems where simple fixes don’t work.
Participants are introduced to design for system change—an approach that goes beyond individual users or isolated solutions to examine the structures, incentives, and power dynamics that shape social challenges. This sets a shared foundation for working on complex, real-world problems where simple fixes don’t work.
PROBLEM DECONSTRUCTION
IDEA JAMS
Instead of jumping to solutions, teams generate
and explore multiple intervention pathways grounded in their system insights. These idea
jams emphasize feasibility, responsibility, and impact—encouraging bold thinking while staying rooted in real-world constraints.
Day 2
PEOPLE AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Day 2 begins by shifting the focus from ideas to people. Participants explore how trust, participation, ownership, and power shape whether initiatives succeed or fail. Teams identify the roles different actors—community members, institutions, partners—must play to move an intervention forward. Problems are explored through the perspectives of the people and communities closest to them to design with communities rather than for them.
SUSTAINABILITY FIT
Participants examine sustainability in a holistic way, looking beyond revenue to include operational, institutional, and social sustainability. Teams reflect on what must be true for their intervention to survive, grow, and remain relevant over time.
TESTING SOCIAL BUSINESS MODEL
Ideas are translated into clear, testable models. Teams explore how their interventions could be delivered, who enables them, what resources are required, and what risks or trade-offs exist. The emphasis is on learning fast and designing
for real-world adoption.
Who Should Attend?
Professionals and practitioners working in or exploring fields such as education, health, climate, livelihoods, urban development, governance, or civic innovation who want to strengthen their ability to design for systemic change.
This Social Impact Weekend is for people who want to engage with complex social challenges thoughtfully and responsibly—and are interested in moving beyond ideas to meaningful action.
Founders and early-stage social entrepreneurs looking to stress-test ideas, deepen their understanding of communities, and build models that are viable in real-world contexts.
Policy, nonprofit, and development sector professionals who want to apply design and systems thinking more rigorously to programs, reforms, and service delivery.
Students and young professionals with a strong interest in social impact who are ready to move from awareness to structured problem-solving and collective action.
Designers, strategists, technologists, and researchers who want to apply their skills to challenges involving access, equity, and large-scale service delivery.