DI 2010 - 2011 Annual Report

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ANNUAL REPORT

D E S I G N I M P A C T

OUR Mission:

innovation where it’s needed most

Design Impact works with resource-poor communities, designers, and organizations to drive innovation where it’s needed most. We empower communities through sustainable business models and design solutions that change lives.

OUR Statement of Belief: At Design Impact we believe that change comes through intimate relationships. That’s why we partner with organizations that are closely aligned with their communities, and stay with that organization from idea generation through measuring impact. Our team lives and works on the ground full-time with the non-profits they serve, embedding the design process within the organization and the local community. We believe that fostering diverse teams, listening to local leaders, and using local resources are the best ways to create sustainable growth.

Our work is centered on design but is rooted in the best practices of international development.

D E S I G N I M P A C T

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From our founders Dear friends, There is no doubt that 2010-2011 was a catalytic year for Design Impact. When we began this work in May 2009 we were a small start-up of two, bound for India with the goal of partnering with non-profit organizations to design products and services that address basic human needs. We knew we had a world of listening, learning, and relationship building ahead of us.

As we write this letter, our first two projects (the Erikoodu Charcoal Briquette and the Paruva Kalaam soap project) have grown from concepts to pilot projects. We’ve kicked off an international design fellowship program to connect professional designers, non-profit organizations, and low-income communities in face-to-face, long-term relationships. We’ve expanded to five staff positions on two continents, we’re kicking off five new projects this year, and our non-profit partners in India have grown from one to six. Our Board and Advisory Board have developed in size and scope, challenging us to hold ourselves accountable to our partners, funders, and most importantly, the communities we design with. We’ve internalized the benefit, firsthand, of designing on-site as opposed to designing from abroad, and the insights we’ve gained from those first two years of living in rural Tamil Nadu, India are now being directly translated into our strategic plan.

In short, our model has matured.

“We had a world of listening, learning, and relationship building ahead of us.”

In many ways, however, we’re just getting started. By 2013 we plan to expand the fellowship program beyond India and have a goal of reaching 300,000 individuals through the implementation of nine life-improving design solutions by 2015. We know we have a great deal of learning ahead of us. Designing product and service solutions to address some of the world’s most pressing needs—like better access to potable water, nutritious foods, safe environments, and healthcare requires input and expertise from multiple disciplines.

We are excited to see what our partners, local communities, and fellows accomplish in 2012, and we hope you’ll think about joining our team and adding your voice.

Sincerely,

Kate Hanisian

Executive Director

Ramsey Ford Design Director

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We believe that those working on society’s toughest issues need and deserve access to quality design services.

WHY INDIA?

Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. Those that exist with such poverty often cannot afford to meet their basic human needs, such as clean water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. This underscores two major problems: 1) people lack access to income-generating opportunities (employment); and 2) products and services that address basic human needs are not affordable for most people. In short, we need better solutions.

Enter design.

While India is home to 1/3 of the world’s poor and struggles with extreme poverty, India also offers incredible innovation networks and opportunities for design. We chose India as our launching site with the goal of expanding the DI Fellowship Program throughout Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the US.

In business, designers work with companies to drive innovation, creatively and effectively solve problems, and use skill sets such as user research, prototyping, and ideation to turn new ideas into impact. From consumer designs like the SmartCar or the iPod, to lifechanging designs such as the prosthesis or the wheelchair, design can dramatically improve the way people interact with products, services, or the environment. Unfortunately, most design efforts today focus on creating consumer goods for the wealthiest 10% of the world, and many of these goods are arguably not “needed” by society. At the same time, most designers currently lack professional opportunities to create products and services that address true human needs.

As a result of DI’s immersive design approach, the insights gained are deep, reflective, and community specific, allowing for more appropriate and sustainable solutions.

In 2009 Kate Hanisian and Ramsey Ford started Design Impact (DI) with the aim to change that, providing design-thinking and technical skills to non-profit organizations that work with communities affected by poverty. By creating a platform for professional designers, local communities and social sector organizations to work together, DI serves as a catalyst for incubating solutions which reduce poverty and improve the standard of living.

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DI PROJECTS Design Impact designs with the end user, by living and working in the same environment over an extended period of time.

FAIR TRADE SOAP

Design Impact partnered with ODAM to develop the Paruva Kaalam line of handmade soaps, providing life-changing rural employment through fair trade wages and practices. Design Impact provided soap formula research, user research, market audits and prototype and packaging designs, while facilitating community brainstorming sessions and partnership development to bring this soap to market.

We believe it’s the smartest and most effective way to design scalable solutions to address some of society’s most pressing issues.

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FROM HERE

Safer cooking environments

Families in India often use wood or kerosene for their cooking needs—both of which emit severe, sometimes fatal, indoor air pollutants and cause numerous short- and long-term health problems.

The smokeless Erikoodu charcoal briquette is a safe and cost effective alternative, manufactured locally in rural Tamil Nadu and sourced sustainably.

An estimated 28% of all deaths due to indoor air pollution in developing countries occur in India.

Improved Nutrition

The smokeless Erikoodu is an environment-friendly, low cost cooking-fuel solution..

TO HERE

Labor saving Bicycle Based innovations

Design Impact will partner with National Innovation Foundation (NIF) to assess and develop their current portfolio of bicycle innovations. NIF has collected several concepts and prototypes from rural innovators, and Design Impact will partner with NIF to refine, produce, and market the best innovations.

Design Impact will partner with Deep Griha Society (DGS) to analyze and improve their community nutrition program that provides meals in three Pune slums. This project aims to develop a new program that enables DGS to provide more nutritious meals (characterized by an increase in protein and iron) while maintaining or reducing existing costs.

Job Training Curriculum

CHILDreN’s education

REDUCING INDOOR AIR POLUTION

Design Impact will partner with Manav Sadhna to redesign their “Earn N’ Learn” educational program to improve program efficiency and learning outcomes. The “Earn N’ Learn” program provides education, meals and income generating opportunities for street children while engaging them in the production of paper crafts.

Design Impact will partner with Quest in an effort to update and improve their current training curriculum and user interface. The updated curriculum will be based upon student input. Design Impact will observe usage, extract user insights and apply these to developing an updated program.

Design Impact will partner with ARTI to improve their Sarai cooking system. The Sarai cooking system reduces traditional wood consumption and improves indoor air-quality for users.

“After partnering with DI we now have the ability to use locally available resources to create tools that reduce the burden of the rural poor.”

– J. Elango, ODAM (DI Project partner)

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Embedded Design //Definition// A design process that takes place entirely within the user community, focusing on community empowerment, economic development and life-changing solutions.

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MEET OUR FELLOWS By living in and working with the communities they serve, DI Fellows transform community-owned ideas into life-improving products and services.

Jed Farlow

is an experienced environmental consultant with a Masters in Environmental Policy from the University of Delaware.

DI Fellowship Location: ARTI, Maharashtra

DI Fellowship Location: Deep Griha Society, Maharashtra

Brian Gough

Mario Varon

is an experienced communication designer from Designing Dublin, an independent learning initiative focused on applying design methodologies in a city environment.

“During my time with Design Impact in India, I grew both personally and professionally.

The ability to apply my knowledge and skills to a project and see it grow from a concept into a tangible product was an amazing experience— working with the local community to make this happen was even better!”

– Adam Shaw, DI Intern

Anisha Shankar

is a designer at DEKA Research and Development Corporation with a degree in Human Factors from Cornell University.

DI Fellowship Location: Manav Sadhna, Gujarat

is the director of operations for AHMSA, where he works to develop micro-enterprises in rural communities.

DI Fellowship Location: NIF, Gujarat

Ali Maiorano

Josh Treuhaft

is an interaction designer at frog and has worked on creative strategies for improving educational outcomes.

is an experienced social entrepreneur with a strong background in product strategy and user research.

DI Fellowship Location: Quest, Karnataka

DI Fellowship Location: NIF, Gujarat

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MEET OUR STAFF AND BOARD KATE HANISIaN

Executive Director/Co-Founder Before founding Design Impact, Kate led strategic planning and capacity building as the Development Director for the Ohio Justice & Policy Center. Kate has an M.A. in Education and over ten years of non-profit experience. She has led youth development and program management initiatives in India, Jamaica, and New Zealand.

Ramsey FORD

Design Director/Co-Founder Ramsey brings a wealth of design and entrepreneurship experience to Design Impact. He has helped to further the conversation on inclusive design in the social sector through workshops, publications and speaking engagements. He has a Masters of Design from the University of Cincinnati.

Anuradha Pati

India Fellowship Manager Anuradha studied at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, specializing in Urban and Rural Community Development. She has worked in the development sector in India for fifteen years on resource management, capacity building, and rural livelihoods.

She is the recipient of a Chevening Scholarship and a Fulbright Fellowship.

Board of Directors

Ayush Chauhan Gavin DeVore Leonard Tom Dierking Ramsey Ford Kate Hanisian John Kirsch Matt Kornau

Advisory Board

Danny Alexander Paul DeMarco J. Elango Alistair Hamilton Usha N. Raj Mehta Demtrius Romanos John Thackara Craig Vogel Jody Weber James Zimmerman

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July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011 PROGRAM AND GENeRAL EXPENSES TOTAL EXPENSES:

38.5%

Design/Prototyping

23%

Employee and Payroll

16.5%

Professional Fees*

$145,800.00

11.5%

Program Travel

6.5% Office

3%

Administrative

1%

Development

*For contracted services, including information technology and accounting

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$5,700

Educational Services

$3,500

Individual donations

$137,800

Corporate donations

July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011 2011 DONATIONS AND REVENUE TOTAL REVENUE:

$147,000.00

“As we give we also get.

Being involved in this type of strategy and design work allows us to exercise our creativity and our design thinking around problems that require really simple but effective solutions, using materials and resources that are readily available.

For us this is a win-win.”

– Matt Kornau, CEO, Kaleidoscope DI Funder and Design Partner

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We hope you’ll think about joining our team and adding your voice. Whether you’re a designer who wants to make a difference, a businessperson who wants to implement life-improving products, a community member who’s passionate about bringing design and business expertise to your neighborhood, or a donor who wants to know that your donation goes to a worthy cause, we’d love your involvement.

JOIN US.

DONATE NOW!

www . d - i mpact. or g PO Box 9844, Cincinnati, OH 45209

US: 347-925-9004, India: (011) 91-978-635-0346

D E S I G N I M P A C T