South Africa Innovator

SOUTH AFRICA INNOVATOR SUMMER ’14

8-WEEK SOCIAL INNOVATION

WELCOME TO THE 8-WEEK INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION

Dear Scholars, In 2002 I saw something that shattered my worldview when I was meeting with teachers and principals in the dusty community of Delani, South Africa. I was confronted by the legacy of Apartheid, which left a generation of children earnestly learning under trees. My response to this injustice was pity, mixed with a little anger.

On the spot, I promised to raise $10,000 to build several classrooms at the school. It seemed the least I could do.

Several years later I returned with a group of 18 students to visit the classrooms that had been built. On that trip I learned a hard lesson—instead of desks with children studying, the school’s original classrooms were being used as storage space for old boxes and unused textbooks, while the new classrooms were being utilized with mixed results. My vision for our work was to do better than put band-aids on problems.

Today, the way ThinkImpact approaches communities is the result of a shift that began in that dilapidated classroom. If we wanted to see progress, we believed we should direct our attention to seeking opportunities for growth as the mechanism for tackling challenges. Instead of funding schools, clinics, libraries, and sports fields, we began to partner with community entrepreneurs to leverage their resources and ambition for broader impact.

We choose to focus our efforts on entrepreneurial community members because of their essential role in developing communities. Inspired by individual potential when working in a community, ThinkImpact partners on equal terms, learning constantly and offering an outsider’s perspective.

Together we will highlight assets, emphasize skills, resources, physical spaces, and access to local financial partners, government, or civil society institutions. We encourage individuals to experiment, gain perspectives, and iterate on pioneering new ways to use assets to seize opportunities. The process shifts daily decisions, actions, and approaches to overcoming obstacles. This shift provides everyone involved in the space to create a vision and empowers us to take action, thus revealing the power of mindsets. That’s why at ThinkImpact we believe: “NOBODY IS POOR.” We realize that everyone has something to offer.

Anything is possible when a group of intelligent, resourceful, connected, and eager people come together. Thank you for joining ThinkImpact to partner with our communities.

I can’t wait to see what you are able to achieve through this Institute.

Think Impact,

Saul Garlick, Founder & CEO

PURPOSE ThinkImpact’s Institute is about catalyzing market-based solutions to poverty. Everything you create with locals will be designed to be self-sustaining and scalable.

We are identifying design opportunities to create new products and services that leverage assets for growth while solving social problems. These opportunities will become the foundations of scalable social enterprises or social innovations. We want innovations to be adapted and deployed by local community members in a sustainable and impactful way, so they must be transformative, viable and feasible.

This is a tough challenge, but we know you’re up for it. This is not a time to hold back, fall into traditional patterns or grab for the lowest hanging fruit. Go after big ideas. Imagine something that changes the game.

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ROLES Country Manager or Coordinator Partnerships and Programs Specialist (South Africa only) ThinkImpact Year Associate Community Committee Community Organizers/Translators Homestay Families Community Members Scholars Design Team: • 1-2 scholars and 4-10 community members • will identify opportunities for new products and services • local design team will start and run the microenterprise

HOW TO USE THE INNOVATOR WHAT IT IS The Institute was designed with rockstars in mind. We thought about how you and community members might change the world, and we said, “We can provide techniques, methods, and activities to unleash human potential.” The Institute is the result.

This book is unlike any manual, textbook, workbook or other book you have ever held in your hands.. In fact, it’s not a book at all.

It’s a launch pad. A tool for you to cultivate your habits, skills, and perspectives to build teams and create something meaningful.

We mean it when we say that this is not like any traditional guide. Don’t treat it like just another book. Use the material here differently. Live it. Breathe it. Play it.

The key to the Innovator is to understand that it offers a complex structure that can be used as we lay it out OR it can be a flexible document that you adapt to meet your needs.

Use the Innovator as a guide or general framework. There is space to take notes and complete actions.

MIND

6

Background information

IMMERSE INSPIRE INNOVATE SHIFT INNOVATOR STRUCTURE

Closing & Reflection

INSTITUTE AND INNOVATOR FRAMEWORK There are 5 sections in the innovator grouped by phases. The whole curriculum is designed to build on top of itself, leading up to a remarkable conclusion to your work on the Institute.

Mind and shift are umbrella phases with some related actions woven throughout the Innovator. They offer foundational knowledge and perspectives for each phase.

• MIND sets norms and prepares you for the Institute.

• SHIFT is about transformation of yourself and the community.

Immerse, inspire and innovate are the three “I” phases, which are progressive and interactive. You must complete Immerse before Inspire, and Inspire before Innovate. But you can (and should) continue using the mindsets, knowledge, and perspectives gained in each phase. In other words, once a phase begins, it never really stops. You carry those principles and actions throughout your other work.

• IMMERSE is about gaining context and direct understanding from your experience in the community • INSPIRE is for brainstorming, asking new questions, and building a design team • INNOVATE is when you select areas of focus, test ideas, prototype, and gather feedback

The first action of every phase calls you to read BACKGROUND INFORMATION. This is some “pre-reading” that can be very helpful to understanding the broader phase and its purpose. The last action of any phase is a REFLECTION on the phase to build your portfolio and your story of change.

ACTION STRUCTURES Each phase provides a common and customized experience. There is a baseline for success but plenty of room for individual choice and creative exploration. There are two levels of actions: • BASELINE: mandatory actions that must be completed • ROCKSTAR: repeated key actions or new actions chosen based upon needs and preference

You earn points for each action you complete. You must earn a certain number of points to move on to subsequent phases. Points include all your baseline actions—think “extra credit“ for doing rockstar actions. If being a rockstar means repeating an important baseline action, then you give yourself those points again.

You do not have to complete every action. You simply need to reach a certain number of points. Each action will be broken down into: • POINTS: how many points you earned for the action • TYPE: Scholar Team, design team, and Individual • TIME: Recommended time required to complete the action • OVERVIEW: Description and goals of the action (why you do it) • FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO: A portfolio submission that captures the action & outcome 8

• LEARN MORE: Additional information in the Appendix that will help you learn more about the action

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO There has been a lot of interest in the “gamification*” of social change. What do you think of using points and game mechanics to motivate people to act for good in the world? * Gamification is the use of games or activities in a non-game context to engage users in solving problems.

LEARN MORE Read “Gamification: An Introduction to Its Potential”

by Danya Braunstein in the Appendix.

The table of contents for each phase serves as a roadmap, providing a sense of progress along your journey. You might want to physically develop your own roadmap using the Calendar for each phase so that you can plan out your baseline and rockstar actions as well as important dates.

Plan a realistic number of actions each day to give yourself reasonable time to complete them.

Prepare for each action. Don’t wake up thinking, “I need to do something, so let me pick a random page.” Be deliberate and make sure to prepare thoroughly. Preparation is the simplest and most effective means to improve outcomes. Good chefs always say you should read an entire recipe before you make it. Treat actions the same—read through all steps and your submission requirements before starting.

Write all over the Innovator. It’s not going to be turned in to the office, and even though it is awesome, it doesn’t have feelings. Scribble, doodle, draw. Do what you need to do. If you feel like something’s not working for you in the Actions, iterate! We’d like you to try it the way we suggest first, but do what works best for you and your design team.

Make notes about what worked for you.

The program is short. Every day is critical. Make every moment high impact.

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CONTENTS

MIND ............................ 18 1

PREPARE

1.1

Welcome to Mind

1.2

My Mind Calendar

1.3

Mind Background Information

2

OWN YOUR SPACE AND TIME

2.1

Impact Map

2.2

Clear Your Mind

2.3

Transform Your Habits

2.4

Self-Care

2.5

Transcend Culture

3

BEING A SCHOLAR

3.1

Leadership Prism

3.2

Manage Around Experiences

3.3

Develop a Communication Plan

3.4

Reflect

CONTENTS (CONT)

IMMERSE .....................42

12

1

PREPARE

1.1

Welcome to Immerse

1.2

My Immerse Calendar

1.3

Immerse Background Information

2

HOMESTAY EXPERIENCE

2.1

Traditional Welcome Ceremony

2.2

Homestay

2.3

Allocate Your Space and Time

2.4

Experience Tracker

3

EXPLORE

3.1

Observe

3.2

Village Facts

3.3

Mind Map

4

SEEK UNDERSTANDING

4.1

5 Whys

4.2

Who Are We?

4.3

Character Profiles (x5)

4.4

Empathy Map

4.5

Track Your Progress

5

SHARED EXPERIENCES

5.1

Shadowing Community Members

5.2

Asset-Based Community Development Discussion

5.3

Daily Activity Clocks

5.4

Go Deeper: Materials Library

6

LOCAL ECONOMY

6.1

Understand Enterprise

6.2

Hidden & Financial Transaction

6.3

New View

6.4

Reflect

INSPIRE ........................92 1

PREPARE

1.1

Welcome to Inspire

1.2

My Inspire Calendar

1.3

Inspire Background Information

2

BUILDING A TEAM

2.1

Imagine the Design Team

2.2

Ask Workshop

2.3

Create Your Design Team

2.4

Design Team Launch Meeting

3

COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE

3.1

Communicate Effectively

3.2

Tackle Challenges as a Group

3.3

Troika Consulting

3.4

Design Thinking Workshop

3.5

Jump Start Pages

4

GET FOCUSED

4.1

Brainstorm a Path Statement

4.2

Pick a Path Statement

4.3

Innovation Action Plan

4.4

Reflect

CONTENTS (CONT)

INNOVATE ................... 132

14

1

PREPARE

1.1 1.2

Welcome to Innovate My Innovate Calendar

1.3

Innovate Background Information

2

DIVE DEEPER

2.1 2.2 2.3

3 Whats for Context Positive Deviants 5 Hows

2.4

Stakeholder Maps

3

REVIEW IDEAS

3.1 3.2 3.3

Fail Fast Forward Storyboard & Presentation Day in the Life

3.4

Reframe

4

PROTOTYPE

4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4

Pick an Idea to Prototype Begin Prototyping Prototype Boosters Action Plan

4.5

Business Model

5

INNOVATE

5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5

Test & Iterate Identify Capabilities Innovation Showcase Innovation Exhibition Reflect

SHIFT ..........................174 1

PREPARE

1.1

Welcome to Shift

1.2

My Shift Calendar

1.3

Shift Background Information

2

BUILD FOR THE FUTURE

2.1

Community Action Plan

2.2

Transition

3

THE FUTURE

3.1

Sharing Your Story

3.2

Listening Map

3.3

Applying the Innovator Back Home

4

BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO

4.1

Become a Team Lead

4.2

Reflect: Your Portfolio

CONTENTS (CONT)

APPENDIX ................... A2

16

A

HOW TO USE THE INNOVATOR

A.1

Gamification: An Introduction to Its Potential

B

MIND

B.1

Mind Background Information

B.2

Implement the GTD System

B.3

Guidance on Duhigg’s Framework on Habits

B.4

Steps for Creating a Communication Plan

C

IMMERSE

C.1

Immerse Background Information

C.2

Explore: Homestay

C.3

Explore: Allocate Your Space and Time

C.4

Observe

C.5

Sample Observe Questions

C.6

Sample Village Fact Questions

C.7

Process & Plan: 5 Whys

C.8

Who Are We?

C.9

Character Profiles

C.10

Sample Character Profile Template

C.11

Planning to Shadow

C.12

Understand Enterprise

C.13

New View

D

INSPIRE

D.1

Inspire Background Information

D.2

Tackle Challenges as a Group

D.3

Design Team Launch Meeting

D.4

Design Thinking Workshop

D.5

Steps for Crafting A Path Statement

D.6

SMART Goal Setting Instructions

E

INNOVATE

E.1

Innovate Background Information

E.2

Reflecting on 3 Whats for Context

E.3

When Deviants Do Good

E.4

Stakeholder Map Example

E.5

Know Thy Customer

E.6

Gain Context: 2x2 Matrix

E.7

Creative Ways to Narrow Your Choices

E.8

Prototype Boosters

E.9

Design Team Capabilities

F

SHIFT

F.1

Shift Background Information

F.2

Transitioning Home

F.3

Sharing Your Story

F.4

Announcing Team Leads

WELCOME TO MIND This Mind phase lays the foundation for you to feel confident that you have the knowledge and resources to be successful throughout the Institute. It will orient and prepare you mentally and physically for the ThinkImpact Institute experience. It is an umbrella phase; therefore many of the Actions outlined here are habits and norms that you should adopt now and carry with you throughout the Institute to be effective scholars, partners, and leaders. It is a chance to learn how to create space and allocate your time to increase your impact in a rural community and throughout the Institute.

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GOALS PREPARE HABITS IDENTIFY SKILLS TEST PERSPECTIVES

TRACK YOUR PROGRESS

1

PREPARE

1.1

Welcome to Mind ............................................................. 0

1.2

My Mind Calendar ............................................................ 2

1.3

Mind Background Information ...................................... 2 subtotal

2

OWN YOUR SPACE AND TIME

2.1

Impact Map ........................................................................ 4

2.2

Clear Your Mind ................................................................ 2

2.3

Transform Your Habits ..................................................... 4

2.4

Self-Care ............................................................................ 2

2.5

Transcend Culture ............................................................ 2 subtotal

3

BEING A SCHOLAR

3.1

Leadership Prism .............................................................. 4

3.2

Manage Around Experiences ........................................ 3

3.3

Develop a Communication Plan.................................... 3

3.4

Reflect ................................................................................ 2 subtotal

your total points for this phase (to continue you need a minimum of 26 points)

MIND PREPARE

1.2

MY MIND CALENDAR Sunday Ex: [Month

date] [Phase ]

[Morning] [Must-do Action] [May-do Action]

[Afternoon] [Must-do Action] [May-do Action]

[Evening] [Must-do Action] [May-do Action]

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Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

INDIVIDUAL/SCHOLAR TEAM 1-2 HOURS OVER THE PHASE 2 POINTS

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Notes USE THIS AS YOUR WORKING DOCUMENT FOR MOVING THROUGH EACH PHASE OF THE INSTITUTE. MIND IS AN UMBRELLA PHASE; THEREFORE MANY OF THE ACTIONS ARE HABITS AND NORMS THAT YOU SHOULD ADOPT AND CARRY WITH YOU THROUGHOUT THE INSTITUTE

MIND PREPARE

1.3

MIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION This action helps you master important concepts, mindsets, approaches and techniques in order to effectively use the actions in this phase. It is essential to do pre-reading at the beginning of each phase. This is where you start to translate what you are learning into impact by connecting mindsets and knowledge to action.

INDIVIDUAL 1-2 HOURS 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share ways you believe you can add value to your homestay community.

LEARN MORE Read “Mind Background Information” in the Appendix.

You may need to re-read it several times as you practice Actions.

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MIND OWN YOUR SPACE AND TIME

2.1

IMPACT MAP ThinkImpact created an organizing tool called an Impact Map to help us manage our daily and weekly responsibilities, tackle challenges, and accomplish our goals (big and small). This is a long-term solution to thinking through daily tasks and big strategy. Don’t be mistaken: we use this technique for really difficult or intimidating activities, not “simplistic” ones.

The Map is simply a table with 5 columns, labeled: Think, Assets, Action, Perspectives and Impact.

The purpose is to connect the dots from ideas to action to impact.

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In the first column, Think, enter the opportunities and challenges you face for the day or week. In the second column, Assets, write the resources that are available to you to solve each opportunity or challenge from the Think column.

In the third column, Action, put your next steps that will help you address the opportunity or challenge. In the fourth column, Perspectives, you can provide reflections from your experience completing the opportunity, and

INDIVIDUAL 1-3 HOURS 4 POINTS

in the fifth column, Impact, enter the impact that the opportunity made on people or the community.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share a full Impact Map from the week.

ROCKSTAR SUGGESTION Use this Impact Map every week.

Impact Map Example: 1

THINK

2

ASSETS

3

ACTION

4

PERSPECTIVE

5

IMPACT

Q: Am I living up to my potential and am I holding myself accountable?

Get up in the morning ready to work

• Roommate • Host Mom • Bedtime

1. Watch the clock at night.

2. Plan for dinner to be early.

3. Socialize when it is light outside.

My attitude is usually negative. I will change that to positive.

I used to be slow to move in the morning, but now I love it!

MIND OWN YOUR SPACE AND TIME

2.2

CLEAR YOUR MIND This is another processing and planning tool for organizing thoughts, actions and achieving goals. A cluttered mind is a stressed mind. On top of that, if you have a good idea but don’t save it, you will feel even more anxious at the prospect of losing it when you have another idea.

Get things out of your head and onto paper to let go and destress. Also, ideas do not stand alone. It is valuable to appreciate how ideas build on one another and integrate into new, even better ideas as you gain new information. Capture everything that you need to do. Collect your ideas and then sort them in the suggested lists below. (This practice comes directly from Getting Things Done (GTD) by David Allen).

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GTD SUGGESTS SEVERAL LISTS and we have added a few of our own, but you can create other lists, too: • WAITING FOR • SOMEDAY/MAYBE • NEXT ACTION • CALL/CONNECT

INDIVIDUAL 1 HOUR/TUES & FRI 2 POINTS

• AT HOME • IN GROUP • WITH COMMUNITY • READ/REVIEW • PROJECTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share a categorized list of your priorities for the week. Which ones have you accomplished?

ROCKSTAR SUGGESTION Keep daily lists and do a Tuesday-Friday review every week. Give yourself points for every week completed.

LEARN MORE Refer to “Implement the GTD System” in the Appendix for a step-by-step approach.

MIND OWN YOUR SPACE AND TIME

2.3

TRANSFORM YOUR HABITS Identify habits you would like to modify or develop by breaking them down by Routine, Reward & Cue. Think about why this habit is worth being disciplined enough to work on with your time and energy.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Create a list of habits you’d like to modify or develop over the Institute. Share one habit breakdown.

ROUTINE HABIT LOOP

CUE

INDIVIDUAL 30 MINUTES/DAY X 7 4 POINTS

REWARD

ROCKSTAR SUGGESTION CUE: A trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which habit to use.

ROUTINE: A physical, mental or emotional response to the cue.

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REWARD: Is the feedback that helps inform your brain if this particular loop is worth remembering. In other words, does your brain like the reward? If so, it will create a habit.

Once you get the hang of it, try it out on other habits.

LEARN MORE Read “Guidance on Duhigg’s Framework on Habits” in the Appendix.

Review “Power of Habits” in Mind Background Information in the Appendix.

MIND OWN YOUR SPACE AND TIME

2.4

SELF-CARE YOUR BRAIN IS LIKE A MUSCLE. The more you use it, the more it grows, but with inactivity, it withers. Your brain, like your muscles, loves exercise. Brain functions are enhanced when you release neurochemicals— serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine—through physical activity.

The quickest and most powerful fix to culture and transition shock is exercise. Getting up early to move your body will have the powerful effect of also waking up your mind and getting you excited about your day. This is in sync with the community’s habits as well. You will notice that the community members you live with are up early in the morning.

Join them in this practice—it will pay off nicely.

30

Every morning ThinkImpact’s programs offers time for group exercise. Exercise and/or meditate with your team of scholars or individually 3 times a week. If you cannot or prefer not to participate in the group sessions, choose

SCHOLAR TEAM & INDIVIDUAL 3 HOURS/WEEK 2 POINTS

another method of being healthy: take a walk, meditate on your own, do yoga or light stretching.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share what aspect of self-care you find most helpful.

MIND OWN YOUR SPACE AND TIME

2.5

TRANSCEND CULTURE

INDIVIDUAL 30-45 MINUTES 2 POINTS

Here in South Africa, people are people, even if the culture is different.

EVALUATE:

Below is a definition of culture for you to consider as you identify the line between culture and human nature.

• Can you really remove culture?

CULTURE n. The total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge, which constitutes the shared basis of social action.

• Is the statement “people are people everywhere” even true?

• What are we without our culture?

• What boundaries would exist between you and the community members you have met if culture was taken away?

HUMAN NATURE n. The general psychological characteristics, feelings, and behavioral traits of humankind, regarded as shared by all humans.

REMEMBER, this is merely one approach to conceptualizing that “people are people everywhere.”

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Put aside our cultural differences and gain a deeper understanding of what is common among all people by distinguishing culture from fundamental human nature.

What are examples of culture?

What are examples of human nature?

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Illustrate your interpretation of the difference between culture and human nature.

What are examples of culture?

What are examples of human nature?

MIND BEING A SCHOLAR

3.1

LEADERSHIP PRISM Throughout the Institute you will find hundreds of opportunities to lead. The question is, will you do what it takes to prepare for these moments?

Prepare for transformational leadership moments by cultivating your leadership skills on a daily basis. Leadership requires you to understand the motivations and desires of those you hope to lead.

Use the Leadership Prism from the background information to analyze and guide your actions as you prepare for the Institute. Practice the habits regularly so you can apply these lenses and practices to your ThinkImpact team project.

Focus on one opportunity you have to lead and run through the 5 steps of the Leadership Prism:

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SET VISION • What goal or outcome inspires you and your scholar team?

• What is the ideal scene (consider products, services, networks, resources, or experiences) to achieve that outcome?

• What are the first 3 steps to make that scene a reality?

INDIVIDUAL LESS THAN 1 HR 4 POINTS

COMMUNICATE • Run through the scenes for evaluating your message’s simplicity.

• Check yourself: jot down the messages you are communicating about your vision and check yourself for consistency and accuracy.

• Isolate changes that have affected your plans, communicate them and seek opportunities.

EXECUTE your vision and check how you’re doing in your roles through the lenses.

GATHER & PROVIDE FEEDBACK to team members.

APPRECIATE ALL AROUND by sharing appreciation with your team.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share which elements of the Leadership Prism are most natural to you. What examples can you draw upon to show this ability?

LEARN MORE Review “Leadership Prism” in Mind Background Information in the Appendix.

MIND BEING A SCHOLAR

3.2

MANAGE AROUND EXPERIENCES

SCHOLAR TEAM USE IN AT LEAST 3 MEETINGS 3 POINTS

Managers are responsible for presenting information to their teams effectively. At ThinkImpact we encourage determined answers to what we call the 3 Keys to Management: 1. What will we achieve?

2. How will we allocate resources (time, talent, treasure)?

3. Who will deliver results?

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We recommend you test 9 ways (or more) to communicate (one-on-one meetings, group meetings, letter writing, drawing, telling jokes, role playing, storytelling, body movement, sharing mantras) throughout the program and identify your preferred medium of communication. Gain comfort with communicating your message by coming up with ways to communicate the answers to the 3 management keys to your team.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share which way of communicating moves your team to action most effectively.

LEARN MORE Review “Manage Around Experiences� in Mind Background Information in the Appendix. Write out the 3 Keys to Management for a specific goal.

MIND BEING A SCHOLAR

3.3

DEVELOP A COMMUNICATION PLAN

INDIVIDUAL 30 MINUTES PREP + CONVERSATION 3 POINTS

At times you will need to engage in what Douglas Stone calls “Difficult Conversations.”

Fortunately, there are some tricks to successfully working through these conversations.

Every member of your team should engage in this action when confronted with a difficult conversation.

This is not a marketing exercise.

This is about communicating your story (the who, what, when, where, why and how) of why you are in the community and what you are doing there, as well as how you will deal with difficult and even awkward moments.

Consistency is critical.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share how using this technique departs from your usual communication style.

LEARN MORE

38

Refer to “Steps for Creating a Communication Plan” in the Appendix for a step-by-step approach.

Review “Communicate Effectively” in Mind Background Information in the Appendix.

The key to dealing with community challenges is good planning.

Use the following chart to develop your own communication plan.

Why are you here?

Think about your core motivation and be authentic.

What is ThinkImpact?

What do YOU think we are about?

Can you give me money?

Answer is always “no� but think about reasons, i.e. you are here to work with them.

Are you here to help us?

You are there to learn about a new culture and share ideas, etc.

What other questions have you gotten in the community?

MIND BEING A SCHOLAR

3.4

REFLECT

INDIVIDUAL 1 HOUR 2 POINTS

This is your chance to reflect on the entire phase. The goals of Reflect are to embed what you’re learning and experiencing into your mindset and build a portfolio that tells the story of shifts in yourself and your community.

Review your impact map and notes to remind yourself what you’ve done.

Some areas to reflect on:

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO

• Which actions did you really like and why? Which action did not go as well as you’d hoped?

Share the most powerful idea you have been reflecting on during the past week.

• What are some new habits you’re picking up? How are you tracking your progress (when, where)?

• What skills have you identified?

• Where do you see progress in your personal and professional development?

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• What do you need to work on (i.e. leadership, communication, management, goal-setting)?

WELCOME TO IMMERSE The Immerse phase kicks off your travel and homestay experience. The goal of this section is for you to have a guided immersion experience to gain deep insight into opportunities for social innovation in rural communities by experiencing local markets, understanding local assets and resources and building relationships. To identify and pursue opportunities, you must learn about the people you are working with, their lives and their environments. You need to interact with them, listen to them and experience what they experience so that you gain insights rather than make assumptions.

GOALS BUILD RELATIONSHIPS LEARN THE CULTURE UNCOVER ASSETS

1

PREPARE

1.1

Welcome to Immerse ..................................................... 0

1.2

My Immerse Calendar ..................................................... 2

1.3

Immerse Background Information................................ 2 subtotal

42

2

HOMESTAY EXPERIENCE

2.1

Traditional Welcome Ceremony .................................... 2

2.2

Homestay ............................................................................1

2.3

Allocate Your Space and Time ....................................... 3

2.4

Experience Tracker ........................................................... 3 subtotal

TRACK YOUR PROGRESS

3

EXPLORE

3.1

Observe .............................................................................. 3

3.2

Village Facts ....................................................................... 2

3.3

Mind Map ........................................................................... 3 subtotal

4

SEEK UNDERSTANDING

4.1

5 Whys ................................................................................ 3

4.2

Who Are We? ..................................................................... 3

4.3

Character Profiles (x5) ..................................................... 5

4.4

Empathy Map .................................................................... 5

4.5

Track Your Progress ......................................................... 3 subtotal

5

SHARED EXPERIENCES

5.1

Shadowing Community Members ................................ 6

5.2

Asset-Based Community Development Discussion ......... 2

5.3

Daily Activity Clocks......................................................... 2

5.4

Go Deeper: Materials Library ......................................... 3 subtotal

6

LOCAL ECONOMY

6.1

Understand Enterprise..................................................... 3

6.2

Hidden & Financial Transaction ..................................... 2

6.3

New View ........................................................................... 3

6.4

Reflect ................................................................................ 2 subtotal

your points from this phase + previous points from Mind total cumulative points for next phase (min. 71)

IMMERSE PREPARE

1.2

MY IMMERSE CALENDAR Sunday Ex: [Month

date] [Phase ]

[Morning] [Must-do Action] [May-do Action]

[Afternoon] [Must-do Action] [May-do Action]

[Evening] [Must-do Action] [May-do Action]

44

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

INDIVIDUAL/SCHOLAR TEAM 1-2 HOURS OVER THE PHASE 2 POINTS

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Notes USE THIS AS YOUR WORKING DOCUMENT FOR MOVING THROUGH EACH PHASE OF THE INSTITUTE.

IMMERSE PREPARE

1.3

IMMERSE BACKGROUND INFORMATION This action helps you master important concepts, mindsets, approaches and techniques in order to effectively use the actions in this phase. It is essential to do pre-reading at the beginning of each phase. This is where you start to translate what you are learning into impact by connecting mindsets and knowledge to action. Read through the Immerse Background Information section in the Appendix. You may need to re-read it several times as you practice actions. Think about the following questions: 1. What is the purpose of engaging in shared cultural experiences?

2. What is the ASSETSMOTIVATION-EXCHANGES TRIANGLE? Explain each concept in your own words.

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3. What are the differences between positive and negative approaches to culture shock in terms of Attitudes, Perspectives and Impact?

INDIVIDUAL 1-2 HOURS 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share techniques you think will help you stay on a positive track when you experience culture shock.

LEARN MORE Read “Immerse Background Information” in the Appendix. You may need to re-read it several times as you practice actions.

IMMERSE HOMESTAY EXPERIENCE

2.1

TRADITIONAL WELCOME CEREMONY Greet community members while building rapport by fully engaging in the welcome ceremony. The ride to the welcome ceremony is sure to keep you on your toes. You might be excited, nervous, anxious, or just numb. The length of the ceremony is unpredictable—and up to the community—so it’s helpful to approach the event with patience. We suggest you dress conservatively and respectfully, mindful that many in the community will be in their best attire. This is your first opportunity to observe a local cultural experience and learn from your host family about it.

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On the bus ride, practice simple phrases with other scholars so people hear you making an effort to speak the local language.

Everyone loves it when visitors make an effort to learn their culture and language. Remember to go to the bathroom, eat a light snack, bring your water bottle and be patient. Introduce yourself in the local language (Hello my name is ______, I’m from ______). If asked to speak, please say a few words about

SCHOLAR TEAM 1-3 HOURS 2 POINTS

your excitement to be there and appreciation for their hospitality.

You will already have met several locals in the first few minutes in the community. Remember Active Listening and Remembering Names, found in the Immerse Background Information in the Appendix. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification if you have trouble with pronunciation. You never know— one of the people you meet could become your design team partner! If people invite you to join in a dance, join in! Don’t worry about your dance skills. Everyone is there to have fun without judgment.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Draw a picture of your experience at the Welcome Ceremony or a photo with new friends.

LEARN MORE Review “Dig Deep” in “Immerse Background Information” in the Appendix.

ENGAGE THE GROUP BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF IN THE LOCAL LANGUAGE HELLO! MY NAME IS...

I’M FROM...

IMMERSE HOMESTAY EXPERIENCE

2.2

HOMESTAY Welcome to your new home for the next seven weeks. Walk around the homestead to get a sense of where everything is. You will need to know where to go for food, the bathroom (by the way, bathroom sometimes means shower, so also ask for the toilet), cleaning, water and more. It’s always OK to ask many questions.

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Find out where and when you are supposed to meet back up with your fellow scholars.

Practice the phrases you learned in the local language. Begin with thanking the host, but also be sure to share something about yourself. It’s important that there is a two-way dialogue and that your hosts learn from you, too!

Ask your host family about the ceremony and any questions about the event, dances, clothes, or traditions. Share stories about your homestay family with fellow scholars. Tell others how your room is set up, how much space you have, if you are concerned about privacy and interesting things you learned.

INDIVIDUAL 1 HOUR 1 POINT

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Capture a video or image of your homestay that you would like to share with your friends and family back home.

LEARN MORE Refer to “Explore: Homestay” in the Appendix for questions to ask your family.

Review ”The Homestay Experience” in Immerse Background Information.

IMMERSE HOMESTAY EXPERIENCE

2.3

ALLOCATE YOUR SPACE AND TIME You hold the power over your actions when you are in your “space”. Your actions will reflect how you feel: inspired, energized, disappointed, frustrated, bored, whatever. The key is to create routines that support you in achieving whatever you are working towards at that moment.

Ideally, routines become so consistent that it is virtually effortless to be in the right mindset. Healthy habits and routines are formed with great effort and take time. Intentionality will determine your success.

As Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

During your first three days in the community, explore and identify at least three ideas under each of the following categories:

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SPACES: Where will you set up your workspace? Will you have more than one?

TOOLS: What will you leverage to be successful in your workspace?

HABITS: What routines will you engage on a daily basis?

INDIVIDUAL 2 HOURS OVER 3 DAYS 3 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share at least one idea per category that reflects the results of your exploration of your surroundings.

LEARN MORE Refer to “Explore: Allocate Your Space and Time” in the Appendix for a step-by-step approach.

IMMERSE HOMESTAY EXPERIENCE

2.4

EXPERIENCE TRACKER To really learn about and experience daily life in the community, we encourage you and your homestay family to work together through tasks and chores. These will reveal the local culture and what it takes to live in this community.

Tracking all of these experiences can be difficult, so we have developed a couple of simple tools for you to use.

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Make a list of possible activities.

As you complete each shared experience, write down what you did in the Experience Tracker and how it went. Continue updating your notes to track your progress.

Discuss with your roommate about what you feel comfortable with and what you are having a hard time with and ideas for how to make the situation easier or more comfortable. For awkward topics, make an agreement with your roommate to share one uncomfortable thing you learned or dealt with in order to gain one lesson from them.

INDIVIDUAL 45 MINUTES/TASK X 10 3 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Note 10 experiences on an experience tracker that you create.

ACTIVITY

DATE

DURATION

DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIENCE

SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES / LESSONS LEARNED

IMMERSE EXPLORE

3.1

OBSERVE This is an entry point into the lives of individuals in the community. Focus on learning about people’s specific skill sets and associations. Meet with several individuals to explore the individual’s context, relationships, desires and ambitions. The goal is to become familiar with the myriad capabilities that individuals throughout the community have, as well as to help them fully appreciate all that they bring to their family and village.

Push yourself to meet individuals across the entire community.

You should make a special effort to meet with people of varied socioeconomic statuses within the village, as well as a variety of ages and genders. Ideally, you will really connect with a couple of these individuals.

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INDIVIDUAL 45 MINUTES/OBSERVATION + 30 MINUTES SYNTHESIS 3 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share a table of your notes with at least 3 categories: Expected, Unexpected, and Totally Surprising

ROCKSTAR SUGGESTION Do 3 more Observations.

LEARN MORE Refer to “Observe” and “Sample Observe Questions” in the Appendix for a step-bystep approach and questions for helping you dive in.

EXPECTED

UNEXPECTED

TOTALLY SURPRISING

IMMERSE EXPLORE

3.2

VILLAGE FACTS You are ready to get into the details of life in the community.

The information you have gotten from conversations, actions and your team of Scholars has undoubtedly been conflicting at times. It’s time to get to the bottom of things. Confirming a fact through 3 different sources (triangulation) will help you become confident that you are getting accurate information.

Consider at least 3 different contexts that may provide unanswered questions: People, Spaces, and Nature. Divide information into a table by what you KNOW/DON’T KNOW/ ASSUME. Use the information to decide your next actions. Create a list of questions. Think of different ways to phrase and approach each question. Where will you get answers? How can you triangulate your information?

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INDIVIDUAL LESS THAN 1 HOUR 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your table and questions.

ROCKSTAR SUGGESTION Create a Mind Map of some Village Facts.

LEARN MORE Refer to “Sample Village Fact Questions” in the Appendix.

IMMERSE EXPLORE

3.3

MIND MAP Take an idea or observation that you’ve recorded to the next level by developing a Mind Map. A good Mind Map is a visual representation of the subject.

It can provide the relative importance of individual points and detail the ways in which facts relate to one another. Mind Maps are easy, fun to review and help keep information fresh!

Using the graphic as an example, write the title of the subject (example, Chief) you’re exploring in the center of a page and draw a circle around it. Think about subheadings of the topic (component parts that contribute to the concept) and write them in circles connected to the center.

As you dig into the subject and uncover more information, continue to add connected circles further out.

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INDIVIDUAL LESS THAN 1 HOUR 3 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your Mind Map for one subject/person.

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IMMERSE SEEK UNDERSTANDING

4.1

5 WHYS

INDIVIDUAL LESS THAN 1 HOUR 3 POINTS

Ever want to get to the root cause of an issue? Here’s how! Ask the 5 Whys. We know it seems too good to be true, but rest assured, this is the best way to dig into big questions. Give it a try and you’ll see what we mean.

Find a partner. Start with some nagging issue that just seems to keep arising in the community. An example is that you notice that people don’t have ready access to transportation. You know there are taxis (matatus, trotros, minibuses, etc.), but for some reason, people have almost no reliable access to transport. Ask why, and with each answer, ask why again, until you have dug down 5 layers deep. Try again following a different train of thought.

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Work through several topics and make sure your assumptions are based on fact.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your 5 Whys for the topic you feel you best understood.

LEARN MORE Refer to “Process & Plan 5 Whys” in the Appendix for Evaluation questions.

For example, you notice that people don’t have ready access to transportation. You know there are taxis (matatus, trotros, etc.), but for some reason, people have almost no reliable access to transport.

Topic: People don’t have access to transportation.

1

WHY?

1

The vans don’t come to the village.

2

WHY?

The vans don’t come to the village.

2

People cannot afford to pay.

3

WHY?

WHY?

3

WHY?

Scarcity.

WHY?

They know that in normal circumstances, the distance is walkable to ready transport.

4

Gas prices are high.

5

WHY?

People refuse to pay.

The cost of the van is based on distance.

4

WHY?

WHY?

They are within 1 mile of a marketplace 5

WHY?

Village is close to a major hub.

IMMERSE SEEK UNDERSTANDING

4.2

WHO ARE WE? As they say, it takes two to tango.

We’ve spent time learning about the community, the culture and the people, but the beauty of the Institute is that we work together with local community members as partners in innovation.

Therefore, we need to understand what we contribute in the process. Let’s get started. Ask yourself 3 question sets based on your time in the community.

Complete question sets can be found in the Appendix.

• What skills can I offer in this community?

SCHOLAR TEAM 1 HOUR 3 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share what skills or ideas you look forward to sharing with the community.

• Am I accountable?

• What is my vision?

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Share these answers with your team of scholars. Categorize your skills, accountability, vision and what you have learned about yourself.

LEARN MORE Refer to “Who are We?” in the Appendix for question sets.

IMMERSE SEEK UNDERSTANDING

4.3

CHARACTER PROFILES (X5) This is the entry point into the lives of individuals in the community. It is one of the most crucial actions and will probably consume more time than many of the previous actions. We used to call this Capacity Inventories, because we learned about people’s specific skill sets and associations, but broadened it to include more information about the individual’s context, relationships, desires and ambitions. However, the goal remains to learn the myriad of capabilities that community members have, as well as helping them to fully appreciate all they bring to their family and community. Refer to the Appendix for a step-to-step approach to Character Profiles. After each one, complete an empathy map.

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During your meetings, consider whether this person is representative of the wider community. If they are, why and how are they? If you decide they are not representative, what separates them? What are they doing differently?

INDIVIDUAL 1-2 HOURS/PROFILE 5 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share a Character Profile.

ROCKSTAR SUGGESTION Do 10-15 Character Profiles.

LEARN MORE Refer to “Character Profiles” and “Sample Character Profile Template” in the Appendixfor a step-by-step approach and questions for helping you dive in.

IMMERSE SEEK UNDERSTANDING

4.4

EMPATHY MAP Each day after you have completed several Character Profiles, we encourage you to work with a partner on an Empathy Map. Empathy Maps are about stepping into someone else’s shoes. Here you will analyze the answers and understand skills, networks, preferences and family through the eyes of the community member.

Find a partner. Individually, write down what you think the community member was thinking, feeling, doing, etc. Elaborate by considering each major group of questions (i.e. cleaning, caretaking, fixing, associations) and writing down what you think the individual was feeling.

Present your interpretations of the interviewee’s feelings to your partner. Analyze the map and critique it together with an open mind, discussing:

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• Where, if anywhere, do you and your partner disagree on the emotional interpretation?

• What did you find to be common among community members, and what was surprising and different?

SCHOLAR TEAM 30 MINUTES/MAP 5 POINTS

• Did you encounter any challenges?

Swap tips and tricks for an effective interview.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share the empathy map for at least one person with whom you would like to follow up—either by shadowing, with another interview, or for consideration on your design team.

HEARING EMPATHY MAP

THINKING

SAYING

FEELING

SEEING

DOING

IMMERSE SEEK UNDERSTANDING

4.5

TRACK YOUR PROGRESS You’re now well into your Institute experience. You learned a lot of good tools in the Mind phase and picked some habits to work on and goals to achieve. It’s time to check on that progress. If you’ve already done these actions, great—give yourself points for them and go to the Track Your Progress page at the beginning of the phase.

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Review your notes from the Institute so far. Have you been doing your Clear Your Mind Tuesday-Friday Mind Dump?

Review your Impact Maps. What sort of tasks have you been plugging into it? Go Transform Your Habits. What habit did you identify to work on? Have you made progress? How are you tracking your progress? If you haven’t been keeping up with your Mind tools, go back and plug them into your Calendar. If you aren’t using certain tools or being consistent, why not?

INDIVIDUAL 2 HOURS & MATERIALS 3 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Use these questions to write a short progress report on how you are using the habits and tools you established in Mind and any progress you’ve made.

IMMERSSE SHARED EXPERIENCES

5.1

SHADOWING COMMUNITY MEMBERS Once you have interviewed about a dozen community members, you can pick 3 to shadow (with their permission!) to get a sense of their daily routine. We recommend mixing it up: Try to shadow a diverse group; jobs, genders, ages and geographies all affect one’s daily rhythm. This activity can be broken up across several days.

Observe and write about how your community member engages in these 3 areas: • Relationships with other community members.

• Materials they use every day for work and basic needs.

• Relationship with nature and use of the environment.

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Refer to the Appendix for a stepby-step approach to Shadowing Community Members.

INDIVIDUAL 3-4 HOURS/SHADOW 6 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share a diagram or drawing of multiple scenes that tells the day’s story of a community member you shadowed. How do they engage in the 3 areas: people, materials, and environment?

ROCKSTAR SUGGESTION Do 3 more Shadows.

LEARN MORE Refer to “Planning to Shadow” in the Appendix for a step-by-step approach.

IMMERSSE SHARED EXPERIENCES

5.2

ASSET-BASED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISCUSSION The workshop is designed to bring out and understand the assets you have identified in the community. Read “Reflections on the Catalytic Role of an Outsider in Asset-Based Community Development” by Terry Bergdall.

Review the following questions: • How does Bergdall define the ABCD approach?

SCHOLAR TEAMS 1 HOUR 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO List the 10 most valuable assets you have discovered in the community. Be as specific as possible.

• In what way has ThinkImpact adapted ABCD to fit the Innovation Institute?

• To what degree, if any, has the ABCD approach supported you in recognizing potential within the community and overcoming the apparent poverty? Think of 3 examples.

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Review your notes, especially from your observations and character profiles. Record a list of assets that you have identified in the community. Show up to the workshop; your TI country staff will administer!

LEARN MORE Review “Asset-Based Community Development” in Immerse Background Information in the Appendix.

Read “Reflections on the Catalytic Role of an Outsider in Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD)” by Terry Bergdall, found on Unleesh or from your Associate.

IMMERSSE SHARED EXPERIENCES

5.3

DAILY ACTIVITY CLOCKS As you begin to wrap up the Immerse phase of the Institute, it’s important to clearly represent how people in the community spend their time. This information should be readily available in your notes from previous activities, but now it’s time to find a creative way to represent that information and make it useful. Creatively displaying each individual’s daily activity clock and how they do and do not overlap with each other will reveal gaps in your knowledge. This is the moment when you can see the individuals in the community from a bird’s eye view.

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Review your notes and list all individuals you have met with so far, especially those you have spent significant time getting to know. Review your activities and note what people were doing when you interacted with them.

How were they spending time?

What part of the day was that?

SCHOLAR TEAMS 1 HOUR 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Creatively display a daily activity clock.

IMMERSSE SHARED EXPERIENCES

5.4

GO DEEPER: MATERIALS LIBRARY The community is full of materials. Everything from batteries to baked goods are available. You’ll see local liquors on bikes and women walking around with jerry cans. Select a functional genre that has specific materials associated with it (examples include: eating, working, entertainment, cleaning, building and nature). Collect materials that relate to the genre.

For example, if you choose cleaning, you may collect rags, brushes, and soap. Don’t just think of the final product and only take a small piece of each material.

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Find a partner to process this action. Pick a large clean surface where you two can lay everything out, but keep your materials separate from your partner’s. Pick the 3 most important materials for the genre. Evaluate what each material means for the community:

INDIVIDUAL 1-3 HOURS 3 POINTS

• Are they costly?

• Are they safe?

• Are the sustainable?

• Where do they come from (inside our outside the community)?

• How reliable are they (when and how can you get them)?

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share a list or photo of the materials you collected and your evaluation.

IMMERSE LOCAL ECONOMY

6.1

UNDERSTAND ENTERPRISE It’s time to get a sense of how businesses are run in the community. Undoubtedly, you have familiarity with the markets that exist, you know how people exchange money (cell phones, cash, etc.), and you are familiar with the stores that exist around you. Now it’s time to go past the daily routine of being a local to learn about the business operations by studying the following components: marketing, pricing, profit, planning, records, product, & supply chain.

Identify 3 types of businesses that you are interested in learning more about (try to branch out beyond the individuals you shadowed). Approach the 3 businesses to find out a good time to sit down and learn about their business operations. See the Appendix for a list of questions.

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Take tons of notes, and make sure to ask for clarification whenever something does not seem clear.

Compare notes with your scholar team and create a chart of all the entrepreneurs you met with and determine commonalities and differences in business practices.

INDIVIDUAL 30-60 MINUTES/ BUSINESS 3 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Describe the 3 businesses through the components listed. Which businesses seem most likely to succeed? Why?

LEARN MORE Refer to “Understand Enterprise” in the Appendix for a list of questions.

IMMERSE LOCAL ECONOMY

6.2

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HIDDEN & FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS Society functions or fails based on its members’ ability to work together, support each other and trade in goods and services. No matter the political or economic structure in a community, there will always be transactions between people. Some will be traditional financial transactions and others will be less obvious.

Think of going to your neighbor for milk. That is a trust-based transaction, where you may or may not repay the individual.

The same activities occur in rural Africa. People support each other in small and sometimes very large ways: the family that takes in the orphaned child, the community member who helps their neighbor fix their roof, or the woman who sends a text message on behalf of her ill sister. Understanding the types of transactions that take place—some more obvious than others—offers a glimpse into the levels of trust and social capital that exist in the community.

Brainstorm with a partner the difference between informal and formal transactions. Use your host families as examples. Write down 15 examples of each from your

SCHOLAR TEAM 1 HOUR 2 POINTS

experiences and notes. Next to your examples, write down where the transaction originated and where it was completed.

Example: The milk is at the store.

You are at home. You walk to the store for milk. Consider which store you go to, the distance, the cost and the frequency.

Your TI country staff will implement the workshop; show up prepared!

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Draw a map of hidden and financial transactions.

IMMERSE LOCAL ECONOMY

NEW VIEW

Refer to the Appendix for profiles on each of these perspectives and a step-by-step approach to New View.

E M

LEADER

R BE

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UNITY ME M

RATEGIST ST

M

To find a solution to any business or innovation challenge, it is helpful to look at the situation through multiple lenses. We offer the following four for you and your team to consider—the Entrepreneur, the Strategist, the Community Member and the Leader.

EPRENE U TR

N

R

When the going gets tough, it’s time for a different perspective.

Throughout the Immerse phase, you have undoubtedly confronted serious challenges. Maybe you cannot get meetings to start on time, your community organizers have proven unreliable, or you are finding local politics to be more confounding than anticipated. Maybe you are struggling to communicate with your fellow scholars or you feel competitiveness among your team that is undermining your ability to focus.

SCHOLAR TEAM 1-2 HOURS 3 POINTS

CO

6.3

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO What perspective was least represented before you explored this action? Share ideas on overcoming your challenge based on this ‘new view’.

LEARN MORE Refer to “New View” in the Appendix for perspective profiles and a step-by-step approach.

IMMERSE LOCAL ECONOMY

6.4

REFLECT This is your chance to reflect on the entire phase. The goals of Reflect are to embed what you’re learning and experiencing into your mindset and build a portfolio that tells the story of shifts in yourself and your community.

Review your Calendar and the actions you have completed. Look at the assets you’ve identified.

Answer the questions: • Which actions were most helpful in helping you understand how these resources are used and their potential?

• How do you think they could be better leveraged to improve an experience in the community?

• What experience stands out to you that could be improved?

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INDIVIDUAL 1 HOUR 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share a burning question that you have after experiencing the Immerse phase.

WELCOME TO INSPIRE During Inspire you will embark on the exciting journey of building a design team and selecting the social issues and solutions that you will work toward for the remainder of the summer, and perhaps beyond. You will build a design team, organize your knowledge about the community, the culture and the local marketplace to build context for action.

This requires you to consult locals and develop some working frameworks about the community, and engage in a dynamic process that proactively builds towards transformative ideas. This section is for brainstorming, asking new questions and collaboration.

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GOALS BUILD A DESIGN TEAM BRAINSTORM PICK A PATH

TRACK YOUR PROGRESS

1

PREPARE

1.1

Welcome to Inspire .......................................................... 0

1.2

My Inspire Calendar ......................................................... 2

1.3

Inspire Background Information ................................... 2 subtotal

2

BUILDING A TEAM

2.1

Imagine the Design Team ............................................... 2

2.2

Ask Workshop ................................................................... 2

2.3

Create Your Design Team ............................................... 2

2.4

Design Team Launch Meeting........................................ 2 subtotal

3

COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE

3.1

Communicate Effectively ............................................... 2

3.2

Tackle Challenges as a Group ........................................ 2

3.3

Troika Consulting ............................................................. 3

3.4

Design Thinking Workshop ............................................ 2

3.5

Jump Start Pages...............................................................1 subtotal

4

GET FOCUSED

4.1

Brainstorm a Path Statement ......................................... 2

4.2

Pick a Path Statement...................................................... 2

4.3

Innovation Action Plan .................................................... 2

4.4

Reflect ................................................................................ 2 subtotal

your points from this phase + previous points from Immerse total cumulative points for next phase (min. 97)

INSPIRE PREPARE

1.2

MY INSPIRE CALENDAR Sunday Ex: [Month

date] [Phase ]

[Morning] [Must-do Action] [May-do Action]

[Afternoon] [Must-do Action] [May-do Action]

[Evening] [Must-do Action] [May-do Action]

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Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

INDIVIDUAL/SCHOLAR TEAM 1-2 HOURS OVER THE PHASE 2 POINTS

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Notes USE THIS AS YOUR WORKING DOCUMENT FOR MOVING THROUGH EACH PHASE OF THE INSTITUTE.

INSPIRE PREPARE

1.3

INSPIRE BACKGROUND INFORMATION This action helps you master important concepts, mindsets, approaches and techniques in order to effectively use the actions in this phase. It is essential to do pre-reading at the beginning of each phase. This is where you start to translate what you are learning into impact by connecting mindsets and knowledge to action.

Read through the Inspire Background Information section in the Appendix. You may need to re-read it several times as you practice Actions.

INDIVIDUAL 1-2 HOURS 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share what you anticipate will be the greatest challenge to building a design team.

Consider the following questions: • How can you brainstorm effectively?

• What is the methodology of Design Thinking?

• What is the Path Statement?

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LEARN MORE Read “Inspire Background Information” in the Appendix.

You may need to re-read it several times as you practice Actions.

INSPIRE BUILDING A TEAM

2.1

IMAGINE THE DESIGN TEAM Reviewing the local network you have built and identifying opportunities will be the first step in creating your design team.

This action will help you identify possible partners and prepare for the Ask Workshop.

Pull together the massive stack of notes you have written, photographed, videoed, or otherwise created. Relive the myriad activities you have done with community members and highlight potential design team members.

Create criteria for identifying and selecting community members for your design team. Here are some ideas: • Who will be committed? Can they afford the time to work on the project? How much time can they dedicate each day or week?

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• What intrigued you enough that you wanted to spend more time with this individual?

• Is there a particular focus you want to work on (e.g. aspiring women entrepreneurs, health innovations, agriculture?

INDIVIDUAL LESS THAN 1 HOUR 2 POINTS

• Are there particular skills, assets, desires or personalities you are looking for?

Identify 12 people (scholars and community members) you might want to work with and analyze them for diversity in terms of age, gender and role in the community.

• Does your team represent the range of stakeholders and different backgrounds within the community?

• Is there anything noticeable the members have in common?

• Would their assets complement each other?

• Are you aware of any community politics that would cause issues, even conflict, among these individuals?

Rank these individuals from one to twelve and give reasons for selecting them (particularly who is inspiring you the most).

ROCKSTAR SUGGESTION Do more Immerse activities as needed to identify or learn more about potential partners.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Pull together a concise list of your criteria for a design team member.

What are you looking for in partners?

INSPIRE BUILDING A TEAM

2.2

ASK WORKSHOP Before you start building your design team, it’s important to reduce overlap and possibilities for conflict from the very beginning. Sharing information is the easiest way to reduce conflict.

This is true in business and in life. The Ask Workshop is your opportunity to ask the rest of the team of scholars who they would like to work with, what they hope to work on and how they are planning to form their design teams. It will reveal potential challenges and certainly some opportunities.

Bring your list of 12 individuals (including community members and scholars) and share your names in a creative way.

Now the hard part: build an Action Plan for creating your design team by answering these questions:

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• Who will I reach out to first, second, and third?

• How will I reach out to them?

• Do I want them to introduce me to others that may be part of the team? How will I ask them?

SCHOLAR TEAM 1-3 HOURS 2 POINTS

• What is our time frame to organize the complete team?

• What do I need the community organizer to help with to make this happen?

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Build and share an action plan for creating your design team.

INSPIRE BUILDING A TEAM

2.3

CREATE YOUR DESIGN TEAM You have now created a concept of what you want your design team to look like. Implement the action plan you have developed to create a successful design team. You are responsible for making the connections in the community that lead to an active and successful design team. The community is large, and there are many great people to partner with. Remain encouraged even when people cannot participate.

As you meet with people, be engaged. Respect their ambitions and goals early—it will directly impact your collaboration.

Review your action plan. Reach out to your list in order of priority by setting up meetings, making requests (be engaged!). Meet with your new team members individually as they accept and ask:

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• What are they looking forward to in this process?

• Why are they joining?

INDIVIDUAL 45 MINUTES/MEETING X # OF POTENTIAL DESIGN TEAM MEMBERS 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share the list of your design team members.

LEARN MORE Review “Create Your design team” in Inspire Background Information in the Appendix.

INSPIRE BUILDING A TEAM

2.4

DESIGN TEAM LAUNCH MEETING

DESIGN TEAM 1-2 HOURS 2 POINTS

It’s time to get your entire design team together. Begin with introductions so you can all get to know each other. Set expectations, norms and protocol for the innovation process. Once you have established rapport with the group, it’s important to set expectations about what the design team will be doing for the next month. From the moment you begin the introductions, you have begun to work completely as equals with the local population. Work through the design process as partners.

ROCKSTAR SUGGESTION

This means that you and your community partners will prepare, participate and process together on all actions from here on out.

Choose any Team-Building actions to prepare for this meeting or subsequent meetings.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your team’s agreement on expectations and protocol, and any Team-Building actions you might want to use next.

LEARN MORE 102

Refer to “design team Launch Meeting” in the Appendix for team-building icebreakers.

INSPIRE COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE

3.1

COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY One simple way to mitigate the challenges that come with teamwork is to offer clear instructions and expectations at the beginning of a project to start on a track toward success.

Candid feedback throughout the process will keep it on track until you reach your goal. At different times, everyone on a team should give and receive feedback.

Learning the nuances of communication and how we process information is a powerful tool for working with others.

We wanted to give you the opportunity to think this through with two activities. First, using simple instructions to complete a detailed task. Second, using detailed description of nature, learned from a South African EcoTraining workshop.

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Find a partner and implement the following activities:

Communicate through instructions In 15 minutes make a paper airplane and write out instructions (no drawings) to make the airplane.

1. Provide your partner with instructions 2. Your partner will have 10 minutes to create the airplane based on your instructions. Watch them make the airplane. Observe their struggles and successes.

3. Switch roles and create an airplane based on your partner’s instructions.

Communicate through nature Blindfold your partner and give them an object 1. Ask your partner to describe the qualities of the objects using all 5 senses. Whether they know what the object is or not does not matter.

Focus on the finer details that define the existence of the object.

SCHOLAR TEAM 1 HOUR 2 POINTS

2. Write down the first 5 descriptive words your partner uses to describe the object.

3. Leaving your partner blindfolded, explore each of the descriptive words and what their function might be (for example, a spiny shell may serve to deter predators).

4. Ask the scholar what the object is.

5. Repeat activity with remaining objects.

6. EVALUATE: • What went well?

• Where could my instructions have improved?

• What guidelines could we establish for how we will communicate with each other?

• COMMUNICATION: Did I communicate effectively with my partner?

• ANALYSIS: “What did you learn about the objects and their functionality in nature that you WOULD NOT have realized if you weren’t utilizing all of your senses?”

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share how much detail was helpful (sufficient but not exhaustive) to guide an individual to the successful completion of a project or to understand the value and potential of an object.

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INSPIRE COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE

3.2

TACKLE CHALLENGES AS A GROUP

SCHOLAR TEAM LESS THAN 1 HOUR 2 POINTS

This action will help you process when you are stuck or need support. Share the answers to the 3 critical questions below with your group then continue on your own with Start, Stop, Continue, a technique to help you process the ideas that you generated with the team of scholars.

Consider 3 critical questions and write down brief answers • What are you working on?

• What is inspiring you?

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your answers to Start, Stop, Continue.

• What would you like the group to support you in achieving over the next 2 weeks?

START: What are things I need to start doing?

STOP: What am I currently doing that I can or should stop doing?

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CONTINUE: What am I doing now that works that I should continue doing?

LEARN MORE Refer to “Tackle Challenges as a Group” in the Appendix for a step-by-step approach.

INSPIRE COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE

3.3

TROIKA CONSULTING ““To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known.

They are free to receive, welcome, to accept.”

— Henri Nouwen

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We borrowed this action from Liberating Structures, a set of methods created by Keith McCandless and Henri Lipmanowicz to unleash people’s creative potential. You don’t have all the answers or solutions, but community members might expect you to. They might assume that because you came all this way that you will be directing this process or implementing the innovations. This action is a participatory, non-hierarchical activity for your design team to gain confidence to take action and help others.

Treating your design team as colleagues who seek practical and imaginative help from each other will help if your design team is expecting you to be the sole leader and co-creator in this process. It will give everyone a chance to step forward and give advice, and practice listening.

Each participant will help the others understand a particular problem or set of problems and source local forms of knowledge through quick consulting sessions.

1. Divide the team into groups of 3. If you don’t have enough for more than 2 groups, invite another design team to join you. Everyone participates, even you! You will likely need a translator for this activity.

2. Arrange the groups so that they are sitting knee to knee, in chairs or on the ground.

No table!

3. There will be three rounds (keep time): in each one, one person from each group of three is the “client” and the other two are the “consultants.”

DESIGN TEAM 30-60 MINUTES 3 POINTS

4. Invite the group to explore a question. What is your challenge? What kind of help do you need? One minute for each round for the “client” to reflect on the question. This can be a personal challenge or a challenge an individual or the entire community is facing (e.g. lack of fresh water).

5. Two minutes for each client to first share his or her challenge. Two minutes for the consultants to ask clarifying questions.

6. The client will turn around and face away from the other two.

7.

Four to five minutes for the consultants to discuss the problem and offer advice and suggestions on what they think the client should do.

8. Afterwards, the client turns around and thanks the consultants, revealing anything of value they learned from the experience.

9. Switch roles and repeat until every person has been a “client.”

10. If people are reluctant to give advice or need time to warm up to the action, do it again.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share the advice you received!

What did the other design team members think of the exercise and the advice?

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INSPIRE COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE

3.4

DESIGN THINKING WORKSHOP You are experiencing the innovation process, the core purpose of the Institute: collaborative work that pushes you and your design team to reach beyond assumptions and expectations. This process will push you to imagine what is possible in a community traditionally described as poor and neglected. Iterations, prototypes and failed attempts lead to innovation. It’s time to get started.

SCHOLAR TEAM 1-3 HOURS 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share an outline of your lesson.

Come together with other scholars to learn the design thinking process and how to use it to develop your Path Statement and the prototyping process.

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At the end of the workshop, create a lesson plan for your next design team meeting (Brainstorming a Path Statement) that incorporates design thinking principles. Consider how you want to present the topics, work through your community organizer and guide the brainstorming process.

LEARN MORE Read “Design Thinking for Social Change” by Tim Brown & Jocelyn Wyatt, found on Unleesh or from your Associate.

INSPIRE COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE

3.5

JUMP START PAGES

INDIVIDUAL 5 MINUTES/DAY X 7 1 POINT

A great way to find inspiration is to write down everything that comes to mind each morning for 5 minutes—total free association.

Imagine what you might discover.

Dreams captured, people you hope to meet, lessons you want to learn, and more.

Instead of talking about it, we are giving you space to get started.

You are already writing in your journal every day. Replicate this each day and you will reap the benefits. It’s incredibly easy: It frees your mind of any anxiety or stress because it puts it on paper and gets your creativity going.

Think of it as a warm-up for the synapses in your brain!

Find a way to jump start your day.

Spend 5 minutes in the morning for 5 days writing in your journal or on a page of notes.

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FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share one day of Jump Start notes.

INSPIRE COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE

4.1

BRAINSTORM A PATH STATEMENT

DESIGN TEAM 1-2 HOURS 2 POINTS

The Path Statement is a formal declaration of where your team is going. It requires a clear statement of the ultimate outcome and the changed experience that your team will offer the customer.

Keep in mind that you do not want to focus on your own agenda. See their ideas as much as possible. Identify a series of possible paths that you can discuss and review with the design team. Picking the right path will set you up for success.

To brainstorm, use the following formula: How might we tackle x social issue with/by leveraging y local assets and resources?

See the Appendix for more guidance on crafting a Path Statement.

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FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your experiences on the brainstorm process. Did it go as you planned? During the process, what changes did you make that were valuable?

LEARN MORE Refer to “Steps for Crafting a Path Statement” in the Appendix for a step-by-step approach.

INSPIRE GET FOCUSED

4.2

PICK A PATH STATEMENT Picking a path will determine the direction that the team takes throughout the Innovate phase.

It could determine what people end up doing for years to come (though you should not put too much pressure on yourself!). This is an exciting opportunity and you may be tempted to tackle several paths; however, your team has to pick one path—no exceptions.

Review your notes from the brainstorming session with the community organizer to clarify what ideas were shared to ensure that you did not miss any critical points. Select the experiences that you would like to explore further, picking 3-5. Organize a team meeting and bring your notes.

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Invite the team to share their favorite ideas from the brainstorming session. Try to encourage the team to share experiences from life in the community that they would like to focus on.

Determine with your team which experience is most ripe for change. Vote if necessary! Then determine which goal the group

DESIGN TEAM 30 MINUTESS PREP + 1-2 HOUR MEETING 2 POINTS would most like to achieve. Pull the experience and the goal together to craft a clean Path Statement, using the formula:

We will ACHIEVE X (SOME REMARKABLE FEAT) by IMPROVING UPON Y (A SPECIFIC HUMAN EXPERIENCE)

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your design team’s Path Statement.

ROCKSTAR SUGGESTION Conduct more Immerse activities to help pick a Path Statement and document more about the experiences you choose.

INSPIRE COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE

4.3

INNOVATION ACTION PLAN This is your opportunity to compile the results of the Inspire phase just before you enter the Innovate phase. The Innovation Action Plan will help you strategically approach your next steps to ensure that you are able to use your time wisely.

The Innovation Action Plan presents your Path Statement and how you and your team will make it real. You will cover Objectives that will help you achieve the goal through the Path, Outcomes so you can measure your success, and the critical Assets, Actions, Deadlines, Outputs, Scholars, Community Members and Measurables that will make your Path successful.

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Select a meeting time with your design team. Review notes for any final decisions that were made by the design team, and highlight them in your journal.

DESIGN TEAM 1-2 HOURS 2 POINTS

Fill in the Innovation Action Plan on the following pages (covering Objectives, Outcomes, Assets, Action, Scholars & Roles, Community Members & Roles, Deadlines, Outputs, and Measuring Impact).

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your Innovation Action Plan.

LEARN MORE Read “SMART Goal Setting Instructions” in the Appendix for a step-by-step approach.,

GOAL WRITE THE OVERARCHING GOAL For this Action, this will be your Path Statment.

OBJECTIVE 1

OBJECTIVE 2

OBJECTIVE 3

LET’S DIVE DEEPER INTO EACH OBJECTIVE. USE THE CHART.

OBJECTIVE: Break down the Goal into 3 separate deliverable items.

Some people use the acronym SMART to determine if they have the right objectives. SMART means Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. Think about what you are trying to do, what needs to be done to motivate and engage others, what the process to set up the team might look like, and more!

OUTCOMES: What positive activities do you want to result from the objective? We are drilling down here on purpose to get your ideas out of your head and onto paper. This should help you imagine several possibilities and eventualities.

ASSETS: What resources are available for you to be successful in this action plan?

DEADLINES: Remember, it has to be time-bound. When will you execute the action plan?

ACTION: What are you going to do to make this outcome happen?

SCHOLARS & ROLES: Who’s involved and what are they responsible for?

COMMUNITY MEMBERS & ROLES: Who’s involved and what are they responsible for?

OUTPUTS: What simpler measures are available as you pursue the objective and outcomes? Think of the number of people you will interview, the number meetings you will hold, the number of focus groups you will conduct.

MEASURING IMPACT: How can you tell if the design team was developed effectively? What worked and what didn’t work? Who are you reaching and why? What are you doing to evaluate your impact?

OBJECTIVE 1 OUTCOME 1

OUTCOME 2

OUTCOME 3

FIRST ENVISION OUTCOMES

ASSETS

ACTION LIST BY PRIORITY

DEADLINES

SCHOLARS & ROLES

M/D

COMMUNITY MEMBERS & ROLES

DEADLINES

OUTPUTS

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MEASURING IMPACT

OBJECTIVE 2 OUTCOME 1

OUTCOME 2

OUTCOME 3

FIRST ENVISION OUTCOMES

ASSETS

ACTION LIST BY PRIORITY

DEADLINES

SCHOLARS & ROLES

M/D

COMMUNITY MEMBERS & ROLES

DEADLINES

OUTPUTS

MEASURING IMPACT

CONTINUED

OBJECTIVE 3 OUTCOME 1

OUTCOME 2

OUTCOME 3

FIRST ENVISION OUTCOMES

ASSETS

ACTION LIST BY PRIORITY

DEADLINES

SCHOLARS & ROLES

M/D

COMMUNITY MEMBERS & ROLES

DEADLINES

OUTPUTS

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MEASURING IMPACT

NOTES

INSPIRE COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE

4.4

REFLECT

INDIVIDUAL 1 HOUR 2 POINTS

This is your chance to reflect on the Inspire phase. The goals of Reflect are to embed what you’re learning and experiencing into your mindset and build a portfolio that tells the story of shifts in yourself and your community.

Review your Path Statement and reflect: • Are you confident in your Path Statement?

• Was the process to reach a Path Statement difficult? Why or why not?

• Is this Path Statement focused?

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• Is the human experience you hope to improve upon a daily event? How frequently does it happen? Make sure that it occurs often enough so that you can experience it yourself and improve upon it. Make sure you can work on the idea during the Institute.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share a narrative of your entire experience working through the Inspire phase to identify where you might hone in your efforts.

WELCOME TO INNOVATE GOALS ESTABLISH CONTEXT PROTOTYPE GATHER FEEDBACK

Armed with a Path Statement, you can begin identifying ideas to prototype, test and explore. This is when you take ideas and put them into action. The ultimate goal is to create high impact products and services with your design team. As you go about this phase, think of it in two parts: first, you will focus on an idea that might make an impact in the community. Second, you will reframe and refine your idea, leading you to a prototype that you will be able to share at the Innovation Exhibition. Be sure to engage with other scholars and community members to gather constructive feedback on your ideas as you move throughout this phase. This is not a time for competition, but rather an opportunity to gain insights into what works, might not work, and what can be tweaked to create more value in people’s lives.

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1

PREPARE

1.1

Welcome to Innovate .....................................................0

1.2

My Innovate Calendar ....................................................2

1.3

Innovate Background Information...............................2 subtotal

TRACK YOUR PROGRESS

2

DIVE DEEPER

2.1

3 Whats for Context ......................................................... 2

2.2

Positive Deviants ...............................................................1

2.3

5 Hows ................................................................................ 3

2.4

Stakeholder Maps ............................................................. 3 subtotal

3

REVIEW IDEAS

3.1

Fail Fast Forward ............................................................... 3

3.2

Storyboard & Presentation ............................................. 2

3.3

Day in the Life ................................................................... 2

3.4

Reframe .............................................................................. 2 subtotal

4

PROTOTYPE

4.1

Pick an Idea to Prototype ............................................... 2

4.2

Begin Prototyping ............................................................ 2

4.3

Prototype Boosters .......................................................... 3

4.4

Action Plan......................................................................... 2

4.5

Business Model ................................................................. 2 subtotal

5

INNOVATE

5.1

Test & Iterate ..................................................................... 4

5.2

Identify Capabilities ......................................................... 2

5.3

Innovation Showcase ...................................................... 2

5.4

Innovation Exhibition ...................................................... 2

5.5

Reflect ................................................................................ 2 subtotal your points from this phase + previous points from Inspire total cumulative points for next phase (min. 129)

INNOVATE PREPARE

1.2

MY INNOVATE CALENDAR Sunday Ex: [Month

date] [Phase ]

[Morning] [Must-do Action] [May-do Action]

[Afternoon] [Must-do Action] [May-do Action]

[Evening] [Must-do Action] [May-do Action]

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Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

INDIVIDUAL/SCHOLAR TEAM 1-2 HOURS OVER THE PHASE 2 POINTS

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Notes USE THIS AS YOUR WORKING DOCUMENT FOR MOVING THROUGH EACH PHASE OF THE INSTITUTE.

INNOVATE PREPARE

1.3

INNOVATE BACKGROUND INFORMATION This action helps you master important concepts, mindsets, approaches and techniques in order to effectively use the actions in this phase. It is helpful to do pre-reading at the beginning of Innovate. This is where you start to translate what you are learning into impact by connecting mindsets and knowledge to action.

Read through the Innovate Background Information section in the Appendix. You may need to re-read it several times as you practice actions.

INDIVIDUAL 1-2 HOURS 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Do you feel prepared to enter the Innovate phase? Share your thoughts.

Consider the following questions: • Who are examples of different types of stakeholders?

• How are the 6 areas of prototyping techniques different?

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• What does Agile Development mean to you?

LEARN MORE Read “Innovate Background Information” in the Appendix.

You may need to re-read it several times as you practice Actions.

INNOVATE DIVE DEEPER

2.1

3 WHATS FOR CONTEXT

INDIVIDUAL/ DESIGN TEAM 1-2 HOURS 2 POINTS

You have a Path Statement, now gain context for your Path Statement by finding out what exists in the market and what should be created or improved.

Before you begin prototyping, complete this action.

• What is the public sector (including government and NGOs) providing to address the social issue?

On your own, write out your team’s Path Statement and break it down into 2 parts:

Read the answers to What’s Being Done? Ask your design team, “What’s missing from this?”

What you want to achieve The experience you aspire to improve Explore and meet with locals if necessary. Don’t worry yet about your ideas for a product or service.

Ask the ‘3 Whats’ Questions as they relate to your Path Statement and fill in the chart on the next page: • What’s being done?

• What is business offering/ selling to address the customer’s needs?

Write out notes and consider themes: Where do people overlook opportunity? What do they gravitate towards? Why? Do this for “What’s not being done?” as well.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your chart and next steps.

• What’s not being done?

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• What needs to be done?

Consider the questions through 3 perspectives for greater depth: • What are individuals doing to meet needs (i.e. the social issue)?

LEARN MORE Refer to “Reflecting on 3 Whats for Context” in the Appendix for a list of Evaluate questions.

WHAT’S BEING DONE TO IMPROVE YOUR PATH STATEMENT?

WHAT’S NOT BEING DONE TO IMPROVE YOUR PATH STATEMENT?

BY INDIVIDUALS

BY INDIVIDUALS

BY THE PUBLIC SECTOR (GOV’T & CIVIL SOCIETY)

BY THE PUBLIC SECTOR (GOV’T & CIVIL SOCIETY)

BY BUSINESS/PRIVATE SECTOR

BY BUSINESS/PRIVATE SECTOR

WHAT’S NEEDS TO BE DONE TO IMPROVE YOUR PATH STATEMENT?

INNOVATE DIVE DEEPER

2.2

POSITIVE DEVIANTS Actively seek examples of success in the community. Find out the stories behind the success. As you meet with others who fit the label of “success” in the face of adversity, think about how they are different. For example, a wealthier woman in the community has committed to only having two children, while everyone else you have met has three or more children. Why did she make that decision? How does this impact your design?

Review your Character Profiles and other Immerse activities to see if you have identified a positive deviant. Write down their daily habits, attitudes, philosophy on life, or other observable differences from the community.

• How does this difference relate to the experience you want to improve?

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• How does this impact your design? Is the idea suddenly more scalable because someone else has done it?

INDIVIDUAL 45 MINUTES 1 POINT

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share an idea for how to leverage the qualities positive deviants display in your design process.

LEARN MORE Read “When Deviants Do Good” article in the Appendix.

INNOVATE DIVE DEEPER

2.3

5 HOWS Once you and your design team have identified an experience to improve you will need to understand how each aspect of the experience works. The 5 Hows will help transform your understanding as an outsider into that of an insider.

For example, your design team may identify cooking as an experience you want to improve.

Together you need to understand the entirety of a cooking experience to grasp what product or service would improve that experience. Use the 5 Hows to flesh out this plan. Understand the entirety of an experience—how it works—that you would like to improve in order to transform it.

Find a partner and pick a topic.

Fill in the 5 Hows for your topic.

Iterate until you feel like you get to the bottom of it.

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EVALUATE: • Do you understand the necessary details? Did the 5 Hows reveal the best opportunity to seize?

INDIVIDUAL 30 MINUTES 3 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your 5 Hows.

ROCKSTAR SUGGESTION Do this at the same time as the 5 Whys Action.

INNOVATE DIVE DEEPER

2.4

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STAKEHOLDER MAPS

INDIVIDUAL LESS THAN 1 HOUR 3 POINTS

Build a Stakeholder Map: a complex, true representation of all the different individuals, groups and entities that are involved in the idea you are exploring to understand incentives and motivations.

Begin by writing the names of everyone involved in the product or service. Consider individuals who generate ideas, design team members, suppliers of inputs, customers and more. Write them all down.

It can be overwhelming to think about all the people involved in a single idea. At other times, it might feel like you are alone pursuing a dream, perhaps with just a few others on your design team. It can feel confusing to think about who is involved and who is impacted by the work you are doing.

Take the list you have developed and identify a way to represent the various motivations, expectations and incentives for each stakeholder. Draw these qualities about the stakeholders on easel paper or in your journal. Adjacent to the figures, estimate the level of motivation that each stakeholder has in each category.

Understanding incentives and motivations—what your stakeholders want—is critical for developing a product or service that is high impact. In many ways, social enterprises and social innovations uncover new ways to align incentives. If incentives to improve the world (say, reduce your carbon footprint) can be aligned with the incentive to make money through creativity and innovation, the impact can be far reaching.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your Stakeholder Map with at least 5 stakeholders.

LEARN MORE Refer to “Stakeholder Map Example” in the Appendix.

INNOVATE REVIEW IDEAS

3.1

FAIL FAST FORWARD In order to achieve great things and create break-through solutions, we have to take risks, and that means we will fail sometimes. Failure is inevitable in the innovation process. In fact, it should be welcomed!

Failure helps us learn. It is a great opportunity for discovery and development. But that’s easier said than done, right? Failure can be frustrating, demoralizing, or make you doubt yourself. We need to treat failures as chances to test and refine hypotheses, not as moments of disappointment or inadequacy. This action helps us catalogue our failures and transform them into learning moments. You can use this method later on in testing your prototypes.

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Create a list of all the ways in which you or your design team might have experienced failure during the Institute (e.g. having your assumptions proven wrong, using the wrong words to communicate, struggling to form a design team).

INDIVIDUAL 30-45 MINUTES 3 POINTS

Take each failure and ask: • What were you testing?

• What did you assume or expect?

• What were you trying to do?

Turn it into a clear this-that statement in written language.

The best statements can be tested in reality.

Example: If (this) happens, then (that) will happen.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your Fail Fast Forward if this-then that hypothesis.

INNOVATE REVIEW IDEAS

3.2

STORYBOARD & PRESENTATION

DESIGN TEAM 1-3 HOURS 2 POINTS

This is an opportunity to visualize the story of the individual who will benefit from your product or service in a series of drawings or pictures like a comic strip. The purpose is to understand their daily activities in simple terms and to see where the product or service fits in and how it makes a positive impact in their lives.

• Select the ideal profile of an individual who would use your product or service.

• Isolate the barriers for social change that the individual you will profile faces on a daily basis.

• In no more than twelve pictures (no more than half page each in size, 8.5 x 5.5 inches) draw the individual’s daily life and their interaction with your product or service.

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• Present this Storyboard as a design team to the ThinkImpact country staff and other design teams. Present for no longer than 10 minutes per design team.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your Storyboard.

INNOVATE REVIEW IDEAS

3.3

DAY IN THE LIFE Think about a day in the life of the individual whose life will be impacted if you develop a product or service from your Path Statement. Think about what goals that they might have, how they make money, and their role in the community. What’s the advantage of your product?

Would you need a go-between to reach this customer?

Work with community members in your target audience (mothers, children, students, elders) to answer the following questions: • What would they like to gain from using your product or service?

• How will they interact with it?

• What makes it special to them?

• Where does it fit in their day?

• Where would they buy the product or service?

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• Would your team use direct sales by the producer or perhaps through a go-between or retail shop?

• Do you have to build out distribution as part of the product or service, or is the

INDIVIDUAL & DESIGN TEAM 2-3 HOURS SPACED OUT (FIELD + ANALYSIS) 2 POINTS innovation in the way that the product is distributed, financed, shared or sold?

Refer to your hidden and financial transactions maps, the daily activities of how people operate, where they work, and what they do for survival as you begin to understand the daily routines and opportunities that exist for improving how consumers interact with the product or service and how they procure it.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share any insights generated (big revelations) about the customer that you learned from their day.

LEARN MORE Expand on this Action by using “Know Thy Customer” and “Gain Context: 2x2 Matrix” in the Appendix.

INNOVATE REVIEW IDEAS

4.4

REFRAME It’s time to revisit your initial Path Statement. It may not be relevant after all this new information.

The most important thing at this stage is to find a balance between open-mindedness and focus. Be aware of where you are focusing your time and energy.

Stubbornness will not lead to innovation, while reflection and openness with thoughtful conclusions will. Your conclusion might be that your initial Path was ideal, though that is rare. Reframe your initial Path Statement to incorporate your target audience and stakeholders to refocus your energy.

On a piece of easel paper, a member of your design team should write the original Path Statement for all to see.

Discuss what you do and do not like about the Path Statement.

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Listen to the different options, perspectives, and alternatives that are presented with an open mind.

Revisit your Path Statement.

Reframe it with more focus and nuance, applying lessons learned.

DESIGN TEAM 45 MINUTES 2 POINTS

Remember to build consensus with the design team.

EVALUATE: • Is the social issue still the primary concern for your design team?

• Would you want to focus it down?

• Improve it in any way?

• Rethink it entirely?

• Are the assets and resources that you hope to leverage the most efficient vehicle to create change?

• Are you finding positive deviants?

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your original and reframed Path Statements.

INNOVATE PROTOTYPE

4.1

PICK AN IDEA TO PROTOTYPE

INDIVIDUAL/ DESIGN TEAM 30 MINUTES 2 POINTS

You will need to find a way to vote on each idea as you progress through the prototyping phase. Use the impact scorecard decision-making process (or amend it to make more sense for your design team) to select what you will prototype.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your impact scorecard.

If you are not proceeding with the highest scored idea, why not?

LEARN MORE

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Refer to “Creative Ways to Narrow Your Choices” in the Appendix.

IMPACT SCORECARD IDEA 1

DESIRABILITY: DOES THE COMMUNITY WANT YOUR PROTOTYPE?

FEASIBILITY: IS THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE?

VIABILITY: IS YOUR PROTOTYPE FINANCIALLY VIABLE?

TOTAL

IDEA 2

IDEA 3

INNOVATE PROTOTYPE

4.2

BEGIN PROTOTYPING There are countless ways to approach prototyping (we provide several suggestions below).

There is no “right” way to do it.

Just make sure not to focus on building a final product. Imagine your ideas in action, build it quickly, leave it rough around the edges, and gather feedback on the concepts. Create a rough and rapid prototype to learn about your idea, gain empathy, or test a specific element of your concept.

Review Prototyping Techniques and Unstick Yourself in Innovate Background Information in the Appendix and choose one.

Create a rough prototype. When you get started, impose artificial constraints on yourself, like: • Build a prototype in 30 minutes • Make it only out of basic materials, like post-its, tape or whatever else is lying around

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Choose another technique from Prototyping Techniques in Background Information and represent your prototype in a new form. Finally, transform it into a more polished product that you can show people.

DESIGN TEAM 2-3 HOURS 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Create a feedback capture grid: what you liked, what needs to change, questions it brought up, and new ideas.

ROCKSTAR SUGGESTION Complete a Prototype Booster before your Action Plan or Test & Iterate, then do this 2 more times.

LEARN MORE Review “Prototyping Techniques” in Innovate Background Information in the Appendix.

FEEDBACK CAPTURE GRID

WHAT YOU LIKE WHAT QUESTIONS CAME UP

WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE WHAT NEW IDEAS EMERGED

INNOVATE PROTOTYPE

4.3

PROTOTYPE BOOSTERS Explaining your product through diagrams, and visualizing spaces, processes and structures, can help you identify powerful areas for efficiency gains and also the key moments where your product or service provides the most impact. This is very much a part of the prototyping stage.

You are getting closer to making your idea a reality! Empathy is going to be critical here. Make no assumptions about how people experience different activities.

Ask, listen and learn.

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DESIGN TEAM LESS THAN 1 HOUR 3 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share anything that took your prototype to the next level.

LEARN MORE Refer to “Prototype Boosters” in the Appendix.

INNOVATE PROTOTYPE

4.4

ACTION PLAN

INDIVIDUAL/ DESIGN TEAM 1-2 HOURS 2 POINTS

This Action Plan is different from your last plan. It’s time to get into budget details. Think through each person’s role, responsibilities, tasks and goals.

Here you will write a strategy for action (not more than 2 pages plus an Appendix) that includes the following sections: • Project Summary • Goal • Budget • Timeline with daily objectives • Division of responsibilities • Accountability plan • Testing prototype • Gathering feedback • Questions to answer

Set up your budget with the template on the next page.

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Run through a framing meeting with your design team, using the template on the next page.

Discuss as a team the rest of the sections, and make plans.

Individually write out the rest of your action plan sections.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your Action Plan.

Budget It’s time to get into budget details. We provide each design team a little bit of money to build a prototype. This is NOT seed capital.

Don’t try to save it for the new enterprise. This is specifically to be used on your prototype to learn and test ideas as a design team.

SET UP YOUR BUDGET WITH THE FOLLOWING TEMPLATE ITEM

NUMBER OF UNITS

COST PER UNIT

TOTAL COST

Accountability Plan When working in a team, it is extremely important to define roles clearly, and to follow up. Often groups make the mistake of assuming someone will take care of required tasks and a few team members end up scrambling to make up for these gaps.

Think through every person’s role in the process. Everyone should know what he or she is responsible for, when it needs to be completed and what success looks like (what the goal is for their work).

ACTIVITY

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

WHEN IS IT DUE?

WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?

INNOVATE PROTOTYPE

4.5

BUSINESS MODEL What is your business model?

These are questions that people ask all the time when entrepreneurs are working on big ideas. The real questions they are asking are: “How do you make money? Who pays you?” You’ve got an innovation idea and a prototype. Does thinking about this question change your thinking about your idea? It is time to see what it means for a possible enterprise.

Build a table with the following information (table courtesy of businessmodelgeneration.com).

KEY PARTNERS: Who can you work with to reach more people? Who will help raise awareness of your idea?

KEY ACTIVITIES: What will your product or service do? What can you imagine this being the best in the world at?

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KEY ASSETS: What local assets will you need to create your product or service? Will you need anything else?

VALUE PROPOSITION: What value does your product or service bring to consumers?

DESIGN TEAM 1-2 HOURS 2 POINTS

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS: What type of relationship does each of our prospective customer segments expect us to establish and maintain with them?

CHANNELS: How do our customers want to be reached?

Which ways are easiest? Fastest?

Cheapest?

CUSTOMER SEGMENTS: For whom are we creating value? Who are our most important customers?

COST STRUCTURE: What are the most important costs in our product or service? Which key assets are most expensive? Which key activities are most expensive?

REVENUE STREAMS (Who will pay you): What value are customers really willing to pay for? What do they currently pay? How do they pay? How else might they pay?

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Display or explain your Business Model.

KEY PARTNERS

VALUE PROPOSITIONS

KEY ACTIVITIES

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

CHANNELS

COST STRUCTURE

KEY ASSETS

CUSTOMER SEGMENTS

REVENUE STREAMS

INNOVATE INNOVATE

5.1

TEST & ITERATE You should have built a rough prototype and refined it at least once with prototype boosters. Once you have a working prototype, you can begin gathering feedback from your target audience. Include as many stakeholders as possible in the feedback stage: people from new places, the end users and even the people along the supply chain (potential producers, distributors, etc.). As a foreigner in this community, you may get feedback that is different from what your design team’s community members hear.

There are dynamics at play in the community that you will not understand or be familiar with.

Accept this as part of the process.

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Develop your prototype so that it can be tested—create an experience for users to interact with. As a team, develop a list of 5 questions you would ask from users. Divide and conquer— scholars and community members should split up and ask the same 3 or 5 questions to a variety of individuals.

DESIGN TEAM 2-3 HOURS OVER A FEW MEETINGS 4 POINTS

Present the prototype to users and ask strategically useful questions.

Example: If someone asks, “Would this service be purchased by the community or just an individual?”

Respond: “Should the service be purchased by the community or individuals?” Or, “How could this be better for you? “ Meet back up as a group to discuss the feedback to understand the different meanings that words or phrases might have. Compare notes with your design team.

Iterate on your prototype if significant changes need to be made.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share any significant differences between what you learned and what your partners learned through interviews.

ROCKSTAR SUGGESTION Do another Prototype Booster to iterate.

INNOVATE INNOVATE

5.2

IDENTIFY CAPABILITIES This exercise is from IDEO’s Human Centered Design Toolkit.

You have already thought about the experience of your user, learned about your customer, and gained context about stakeholders and the market opportunity for your experience.

This action helps you uncover what capabilities are needed to turn your Path Statement into a reality. This will help steer your design towards feasibility and viability by identifying potential models, partners, and delivery methods. In order for your design to be sustainable, your design team and local partners must have the capabilities to deliver the solutions.

DESIGN TEAM LESS THAN 1 HOUR 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share what capabilities your design team has to see the idea to fruition.

LEARN MORE

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Refer to “design team Capabilities” in the Appendix for a step-by-step approach.

INNOVATE INNOVATE

5.3

INNOVATION SHOWCASE You’ve worked hard, and it’s time to show it off. The Innovation Showcase brings together the design teams in your community for an afternoon of fun, celebration and idea sharing. It is your opportunity to get feedback from one another before presenting your idea to the whole community at the Innovation Exhibition.

Each team will present its Path Statement as well as show the latest iteration of its prototype.

Show off your prototype and get feedback from the other design teams.

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Write your “Path Statement” on a piece of easel paper. Bring the latest iteration of your prototype.

As a team, present what you have accomplished to the other design teams for 15 minutes. Then take 10 minutes of feedback and Q&A. Keep notes for suggestions and questions to pursue. With your design team, review the feedback and determine which ideas you’d like to explore further.

DESIGN TEAM/ SCHOLAR TEAM 3+ HOURS 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Show your final prototype and which ideas you’d like to explore.

INNOVATE INNOVATE

5.4

INNOVATION EXHIBITION The culmination of your summer is the Innovation Exhibition.

Local leaders, community members, other design teams, business people, and more will be in attendance. This is the opportunity to launch your idea into the marketplace, to attract local interest and to fully explain your concept to the broader community.

With your design team, prepare a presentation board for your product or service that you can set up at a table for guests AND a 7-minute pitch presentation. The Exhibition will have design teams at their tables welcoming other design teams and guests to learn more about their innovations. The “tabling” portion will last about 30 minutes. Then, each team will stand in front of the group and present for 7 minutes explaining and pitching their project.

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EVALUATE: • How did the community respond to your ideas? Was local leadership supportive?

DESIGN TEAM 3+ HOURS 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your presentation board and the answers to the Evaluate question.

INNOVATE INNOVATE

5.5

REFLECT This is your chance to reflect on the entire phase. The goals of Reflect are to embed what you’re learning and experiencing into your mindset and build a portfolio that tells the story of shifts in yourself and your community. The goal of this reflection is to recap the Innovate phase and prepare you to complete a Community Action Plan.

INDIVIDUAL 1 HOUR 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share how you did on the Action Plan. Did the Showcase & Exhibition lead to any new ideas? How can your design team take this idea forward?

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WELCOME TO SHIFT This phase is about wrapping up your projects, taking stock of what you learned about yourself and the community you were working with, saying goodbye and exiting the community in a positive and sustainable way.

You will then head back to the city for reflection and graduation. During this time, and as you re-enter your home life, you should reflect on all you have learned, grown, and achieved in less than 8 weeks. This phase is about finding closure and applying what you learned to have longterm impact. Shift is an umbrella phase, so you have been preparing for it throughout the Institute by reflecting on your work to weave together a comprehensive and meaningful story about your experience.

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GOALS SAY GOODBYE TRANSITIONING BRING IT HOME

TRACK YOUR PROGRESS

1

PREPARE

1.1

Welcome to Shift .............................................................. 0

1.2

My Shift Calendar ............................................................. 2

1.3

Shift Background Information ....................................... 2 subtotal

2

BUILD FOR THE FUTURE

2.1

Community Action Plan .................................................. 2

2.2

Transition ........................................................................... 3 subtotal

3

THE FUTURE

3.1

Sharing Your Story............................................................ 2

3.2

Listening Map .................................................................... 2

3.3

Applying the Innovator Back Home.............................. 2 subtotal

4

BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO

3.4

Become a Team Lead..................................................... 10

3.5

Reflect: Your Portfolio ................................................... 10 subtotal

your points from this phase + previous points from Innovate total cumulative points

SHIFT PREPARE

1.2

MY SHIFT CALENDAR Sunday Ex: [Month

date] [Phase ]

[Morning] [Must-do Action] [May-do Action]

[Afternoon] [Must-do Action] [May-do Action]

[Evening] [Must-do Action] [May-do Action]

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Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

INDIVIDUAL/SCHOLAR TEAM 1-2 HOURS OVER THE PHASE 2 POINTS

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Notes USE THIS AS YOUR WORKING DOCUMENT FOR MOVING THROUGH EACH PHASE OF THE INSTITUTE. SHIFT IS AN UMBRELLA PHASE, SO YOU HAVE BEEN PREPARING FOR IT THROUGHOUT THE INSTITUTE. IT WILL CONTINUE AS YOU LEAVE THE COMMUNITY, MAKE YOUR TRANSITION HOME, AND INTEGRATE YOUR MINDSHIFT INTO ALL YOU DO.

SHIFT PREPARE

1.3

SHIFT BACKGROUND INFORMATION This action helps you master important concepts, mindsets, approaches and techniques in order to effectively use the actions in this phase. It is important to do pre-reading at the beginning of the Shift phase.

This is where you start to translate what you are learning into impact by connecting mindsets and knowledge to action.

Read through the Shift Background Information section in the Appendix. Think about the following questions:

INDIVIDUAL 1-2 HOURS 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your thoughts on leaving the community. What will be the hardest part?

• How can you “leave effectively”? What is your plan for saying goodbye?

• How will you “acknowledge your feelings about leaving the community”?

• How can you take advantage of the “TI Family” resources?

Which ones?

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LEARN MORE Read “Shift” Background Information” in the Appendix.

You may need to re-read it several times as you practice Actions.

SHIFT BUILD FOR THE FUTURE

2.1

COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN With your design team, create a strategic framework using the Integrated Cascade of Choices (detailed below) and turn it into a Community Action Plan.

Understanding the choices you are making and the logic behind them is essential. This action should lead to a framework for the community members to work with after you depart. Set your local community partners up for success by allowing them to assume full control. With your team, write out answers to the “Integrated Cascade of Choices” from Playing to Win by A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin. (You may want to use different language to describe each component): • What is our winning aspiration?

• Where will we play?

• How will we win?

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• What capabilities must be in place?

• What management systems are required?

Review your answers, looking for possible gaps and guaranteeing consistency. Work with a community organizer to build and

DESIGN TEAM SEVERAL DAYS & MEETINGS 2 POINTS share a lesson plan that explains this information with your team, gathering their feedback.

With your team, identify clear statements of the choices you will make.

Example: Our winning aspiration is to achieve X. We will play in Y space.

We will win by doing Z. We will build A, B, and C capabilities. We will develop E, F, G management systems for the team to succeed.

Develop a culturally appropriate and effective way to visually express these statements. This infographic will become your Community Action Plan. Translate the statements into the local language. Gather feedback from ThinkImpact staff and other scholars and iterate to ensure effectiveness.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your finalized Community Action Plan.

“Integrated Cascade of Choices” from Playing to Win

by A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin.

SHIFT BUILD FOR THE FUTURE

2.2

TRANSITION The concept of reverse culture shock is real. This action helps you anticipate how you will be different upon your return and how others might respond. You will also write an Appreciate Blog to reflect on what you have learned and how you plan to use it. This is a blog that your supporters (friends, family, university) will read to get a sense of what the Institute has meant to you and will be posted when you are back home.

Find a partner and ask them the questions outlined in the Transitioning Home section of the Appendix. Switch and have them ask you these questions. Make a list of responses, changes and emotions that you expect when you return home. Write a blog to your supporters. Cover topics of achievement and also anxieties about returning home.

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INDIVIDUAL 1 HOUR 3 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share a video on Unleesh an illustration in the Innovator with the main themes from the Appreciate Blog.

LEARN MORE Refer to “Transitioning Home� in the Appendix for questions and additional strategies.

SHIFT THE FUTURE

3.1

SHARING YOUR STORY The key to sharing your story effectively is to engage people’s curiosity. You have experienced new cultural practices, beautiful scenery, remarkable ideas and lifelong relationships; you cannot possibly tell someone everything at once. You can unravel the entire summer in a deeply engaging conversation.

If you “overshare” too quickly, you will lose your audience. It is important to communicate your story in a way that relates to people. This action will help you frame your story. Your goal is to get questions from people who are curious to learn more. Break down your summer experience in 3 segments: • STORY OF ME: Why you went to the institute (Goals & curiosities)

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• STORY OF US: What we did on the institute (Relationships, Path Statement, Community Action Plan) • STORY OF NOW: What you plan to do now that you are back in America (New skills, habits, & perspective)

INDIVIDUAL 45 MINUTES PREP + MEETINGS 2 POINTS When you meet with friends or family and they ask about your summer, start simply. Share why you went, a goal you had and one example of how you achieved it.

When people ask questions, guide them through the STORY OF ME, US, and NOW. Evaluate from questions in the Sharing Your Story section of the Appendix.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share how using this technique departs from your usual communication style.

LEARN MORE Refer to “Sharing Your Story” in the Appendix for Evaluation questions.

SHIFT THE FUTURE

3.2

LISTENING MAP Map everything you want to learn about how your friends and family spent their summer. Begin planning how you will reconnect with your life from before the Institute. Don’t downplay how important it is to make sense of both worlds; you will become the bridge for many people between these two worlds. This action helps you transition back home by learning about how others spent their summer. And you get to keep practicing your listening skills! Here are some ideas for your Listening Map: latest trends in pop culture, news headlines, campus or community updates, and family updates. Put together a table that includes the following: • The people you hope to see when you return • What questions you are going to ask

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INDIVIDUAL 30 MINUTES PREP + 1 HOUR/MEETING AT HOME 2 POINTS EVALUATE: 1. What is the most interesting change that has occurred?

2. What is exactly the same?

3. Is there anything about being home that is particularly uplifting or disappointing?

4. When did you learn about it?

5. Were expectations exceeded or not met?

6. What is contributing to how you are feeling now that you are home and back in touch with the people in your life?

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share your table and answers to the Evaluate questions.

• What you are hoping to learn • When and how you will connect with them

Meet with a friend or family member to have this conversation.

ROCKSTAR SUGGESTION Do this exercise with more friends and family members.

WHO

TYPES OF QUESTIONS/HOPING TO LEARN

CONNECT WHEN/WHERE?

Ex: Mom

Family updates, Friend updates

First Friday evening back

Ex: Best Friend

Friend updates, Campus updates

Coffee shop on Saturday

SHIFT THE FUTURE

3.3

APPLYING THE INNOVATOR BACK HOME The key to maximizing the value of the Innovator is to utilize its framework and apply targeted actions where relevant. With any new opportunity, you will need to learn the context, build teams, and test ideas. Mind, Immerse, Inspire, Innovate and Shift are designed to help you achieve anything. Use the tools you’ve learned in the Innovator to apply to your home life to uncover assets, build relationships, identify opportunities, and test ideas.

Choose one action from the Innovator to apply to a situation back home. Think back on the Institute and the Actions you used. Pick one and review: • Why did you choose that action?

• Where did you apply it?

• What were the results?

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INDIVIDUAL 1 HOUR 2 POINTS

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Share how you might use the Innovator back home. Think of an example and share it.

ROCKSTAR SUGGESTION Pick 4 other Actions to use in another situation, one from each phase.

LEARN MORE Review “Applying the Innovator Back Home” in Inspire Background Information in the Appendix.

SHIFT BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO

4.1

BECOME A TEAM LEAD ThinkImpact is launching an exciting new opportunity for Scholars to deepen their experience with social entrepreneurship and innovation abroad—by becoming Team Leads.

Now that you have completed the Institute, you understand how powerful this experience can be for you and your community partners. If you want to share this opportunity with your peers and bring social innovation to your campus, apply to be a Team Lead!

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After the application, interview, and selection process, Scholars chosen to be Team Leads will return to campus to recruit for and lead their own custom Institute. Team Leads can select the dates (between 1-8 weeks), country and topic (from a select list) of the program and will have direct input into The Innovator.

Team Leads must recruit at least 8 scholars to participate on the custom Institute. Once they have successfully done so, all of the Team Lead’s expenses— airfare, accommodations, meals

10 POINTS FUTURE!

and program fee—will be fully funded by ThinkImpact.

Lead your own program in the country where you first joined ThinkImpact or go somewhere new, entirely paid for by us, designed by you!

Apply online at http://bit.ly/ TICteamlead by August 29th to lead a winter program.

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Practice your recruiting speech. Sum up in 5 sentences or fewer why a fellow student should join you on your custom Institute.

Explain what an amazing experience you’ve had and why you want to be a leader in social innovation and entrepreneurship!

LEARN MORE See “Announcing: ThinkImpact Team Leads” in the Appendix.

SHIFT BUILDING YOUR PORTFOLIO

4.2

REFLECT: YOUR PORTFOLIO This is your chance to reflect on both the Innovate phase and the entire Institute. The goals of Reflect are to embed what you’re learning and experiencing into your mindset and build a portfolio that tells the story of shifts in both yourself and your community.

You will build a portfolio of your experiences that you can use for papers, articles, and sharing with friends and family members.

Utilize the content that you captured throughout the Institute to create a master document or presentation that includes the following materials: Culture and Context: • What did you see and learn about in the village?

Relationships and Assets:

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• Who did you meet and what did you find in the community in terms of resources available for innovation and action?

INDIVIDUAL 4 HOURS OVER A FEW DAYS 10 POINTS

members to lead to social innovation? What strategies did you use to work together effectively?

Social Innovation: • What were the best ideas that emerged from the Institute?

How might they make a difference in people’s lives?

Review your Reflections from all phases. Review your notes and submissions from Mind, Immerse, Inspire, Innovate, and Shift for answers to the questions above. Document your portfolio.

Consider using different types of content and media—stories, pictures and slides—to capture your portfolio so it is easy to share!

FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Document Your Portfolio.

Working with a team: • What hurdles did you overcome with your team

And please share a link with ThinkImpact so we can all see it!

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AP PE N

DI

X

APPENDIX

A4

A

HOW TO USE THE INNOVATOR

A.1

Gamification: An Introduction to Its Potential

B

MIND

B.1

Mind Background Information

B.2

Implement the GTD System

B.3

Guidance on Duhigg’s Framework on Habits

B.4

Steps for Creating a Communication Plan

C

IMMERSE

C.1

Immerse Background Information

C.2

Explore: Homestay

C.3

Explore: Allocate Your Space and Time

C.4

Observe

C.5

Sample Observe Questions

C.6

Sample Village Fact Questions

C.7

Process & Plan: 5 Whys

C.8

Who Are We?

C.9

Character Profiles

C.10

Sample Character Profile Template

C.11

Planning to Shadow

C.12

Understand Enterprise

C.13

New View

D

INSPIRE

D.1

Inspire Background Information

D.2

Tackle Challenges as a Group

D.3

Design Team Launch Meeting

D.4

Design Thinking Workshop

D.5

Steps for Crafting a Path Statement

D.6

SMART Goal Setting Instructions

E

INNOVATE

E.1

Innovate Background Information

E.2

Reflecting on 3 Whats for Context

E.3

When Deviants Do Good

E.4

Stakeholder Map Example

E.5

Know Thy Customer

E.6

Gain Context: 2x2 Matrix

E.7

Creative Ways to Narrow Your Choices

E.8

Prototype Boosters

E.9

Design Team Capabilities

F

SHIFT

F.1

Shift Background Information

F.2

Transitioning Home

F.3

Sharing Your Story

F.4

Announcing Team Leads

GAMIFICATION: AN INTRODUCTION TO ITS POTENTIAL

By Danya Braunstein Our ancestors have been playing games in various ways since we first came down from the trees, and in our modern society technology has dramatically changed the type of games we spend our time playing. The gaming industry has become one of the most profitable industries worldwide, and thanks to the internet gaming products are accessible on an increasing array of devices and with an immediacy that previous generations could never have imagined. The recent trend towards gamification shows gaming elements creeping in to applications and activities that may not normally be considered as “playing a game.”

A6

Like probably many people, I initially wasn’t familiar with the phrase “Gamification” despite it being one of the industry buzz words of the past few years.

Applied in industries as diverse as marketing, business, health, education and government, this concept is at essence a simple one: make serious tasks more fun to engage people in doing them. There can be a negative aspect to this movement when applied to subversive marketing

strategies designed to increase profits for businesses, however where this movement can take us in terms of positive social consequences is something worth considering. In this post I explore what gamification is, how it works, and the great potential for this movement.

What is Gamification and who is it for?

At its basic level, gamification is the concept of incorporating game based elements into everyday tasks and activities to teach, persuade and motivate. The reason why this works is that gamification can motivate attitude and behaviour change which is able to be carried through to realworld actions.

Given our perception that Generation Y have short attention spans and low motivation for anything that isn’t ‘fun,’ the temptation is there to believe that gamification emerged as a strategy to engage this fickle age group in serious tasks. And it’s true that in our current economy, Gen Y makes up 25 percent of the workforce. However gamification isn’t applicable only to younger workers, it has been shown

to positively motivate and engage people of all ages and in a variety of settings.

• achievements

Gamification has been used in diverse industries such as in business, to improve customer engagement, loyalty, and provide incentives for employees and partners to perform at high levels. It can help promote health & wellness with the goal of reducing healthcare cost through fitness and obesity programs, smoking cessation. It has been used in education & training by using e-learning, corporate and vocational training, online testing, etc. Gamification has even been used within public policy & government through promoting education reform, climate change, and welfare reform amongst other things. Gamification has also been applied to social issues such as the promotion of sustainability, improved social interactions. Gamification can be implemented as loyalty programs, business branded games, workbased activities, advertising, positive psychology and social improvement.

• leaderboards

The fundamentals of gamification design are game mechanics and game dynamics. Common game mechanics used in gamification include:

• badges • levels • progress bars • activity feeds • avatars • real-time feedback • virtual currency or goods • gifting and charity • challenges and quests • trophy cases • embedding small mini games within other activities

Game mechanics work because they tap into fundamental human desires, and allow us access to these from the simple ability to interact with our computers. People have fundamental needs and desires, such as the desire for reward, status, achievement, selfexpression, competition, and altruism among others. These needs are universal, and not limited to individual variables such as demographics, cultures, and genders. Effective gamification works because the game designers identify the relevant needs for the user and implement game mechanics in the website, application, or community to create an experience that drives behaviour. There are some great examples of organisations

GAMIFICATION: AN INTRODUCTION TO ITS POTENTIAL (CONT)

whose aim is to drive positive health behaviour in young people, using games and connected devices to create motivational methods to fighting chronic illnesses like cancer, obesity, and depression.

Where gamification has the potential for harm

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Not everyone believes that gamification is the next best thing.

There are those who criticise the movement’s commercial aspects, saying that by using a re-branded pre-existing concept of gaming as a business tool is an “overtly cheap attempt to sell” (Doust, 2011). When used in a business context, gamification integrates game dynamics and game mechanics into websites, marketing campaigns, business services, or online communities to drive consumer participation and engagement in the product or service. For example consider the implications of crosspromoted games on children’s junk food websites which creates associations of fun and enjoyment with food that is essentially unhealthy. When applied in a profit-driven business model in this way, the desired outcome is increased brand awareness and

therefore (they hope!) increased profits but the positive consequences for the user/ player are questionable.

For gamification designers to use mechanisms that are known to influence and change people’s behaviour in this way appears to be manipulative of its customers.

Quite often, the intention of making a profit has also prevented designers from delivering an application that effectively engages the user.

Applications that deliver rewards such as points, badges and levels fail to see that virtual rewards like this may be an extrinsic motivator (goal-driven behaviour) which only motivates people to a limited extent. However research shows intrinsic gaming (games played for the enjoyment of the process) is more motivating and more effective than extrinsic gaming (Habgood, 2009). Therefore intrinsically motivated games are more likely to result in continued behaviour because it makes people feel good about what they are doing, for example by tapping into feelings of mastery, competence and self-efficacy. Where the gamified process is no longer fun for the user it therefore fails to be motivating or engaging, and games can only be fun if they’re well designed, with a clear process of imagining what users will enjoy interacting with which includes gender, age and social variables.

It is also important that game designers effectively test their gamified elements to ensure that the behavioural effect is the one intended. Some games have unintentionally produced effects that increased the level of risk people take in various situations, thereby causing themselves or others harm, for example driving simulation games which actually resulted in increased number of road accidents (Deterding, 2010).

What is the potential of this movement?

Despite the cautions about the misuse of games, gamification as a concept has great potential for making significant improvements on an individual, social and global scale. Compared to traditional video gaming where players engage in virtual worlds, gamification has the potential for real-world change.

Games have been used to engage the attention of young people in learning and education, and help teach important lessons about working with others, playing by the rules and understanding other people. (Homrek & Ruffey, 2009) These skills or interactional elements are also present in games

or gamified applications that can be used by adults. The dynamics of games that promote positive feedback and a supportive environment are also those factors which promote change and learning in users of any age group, therefore effectively shaping behaviour through positive motivation. The game environment provides optimism for the user/ player to believe that success is not only possible, but likely, if they participate fully which therefore empowers people to work hard and achieve their goals (McGonigal, 2011). Games also encourage users to think creatively, which promotes problem solving and “thinking outside the square� which is useful for developing innovative and novel solutions to problems which results in increased positive outcomes. All of these aspects make game elements very useful for encouraging both children and adults to apply themselves to a task.

Research has shown that people who play a game based on a highly believable narrative, for example an oil shortage that would affect the way they drive their car, buy food, etc, actually produced a change in their daily habits which endured beyond the time spent playing the game (McGonigal, 2011). Tapping into the human desire for purpose, games that provide meaningful engagement are likely to increase people’s sense

of happiness or satisfaction and increase the likelihood that they will continue these behaviours.

By increasing people’s motivation for action, gamified applications and games can support people to meet personal or social goals and increase learning and skill building which improves confidence and competence. Also, by increasing awareness for issues such as social interaction, social responsibility, and community-building for example, the movement can reduce social isolation and contribute to wider social change.

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Over the past few years the concept of gamification has polarised opinions but also contributed to important discussion about what we want to achieve by using games - and there are clearly two sides to the argument. On one hand, there are risks involved in using knowledge about psychological effects of gaming to support commercial aims, but on the other hand if gamification can promote positive effects for both the individual and for society then this is a fantastic opportunity for making significant improvements in how people behave in a range of areas. As technology changes, and people’s interaction with technology

increases, this could be a valuable way of harnessing technology to improve the world that we live in for ourselves and for future generations.

*this post was originally written as a resource for the website at Network for Internet Investigation and Research Australia (NiIRA)

References • Deterding, S. (2010) Pawned: Gamification and It’s Discontents. Presentation given at Playful 2010. [Accessed April, 2012 at http://www.slideshare. net/dings/pawned-gamificationand-its-discontents] • Doust, S. (2011). ‘Gamification’ is as stupid as it sounds. The Drum. [Accessed February 2012 from http://www.abc. net.au/news/2011-03-18/whygamification-is-as-stupid-as-itsounds/2652370 ] • Gamification Wiki [Accessed January, 2012 at http:// gamification.org/wiki/ Gamification] • Habgood, J (2009). Sumo Digital presents the concept and development of the Outnumbered game for the Nintendo Wii. [Video presentation. Accessed April 2012 at:http://newlearning.blip. tv] • Homrek, R & Roffey, S. (2009) Promoting Social and Emotional Learning with Games. Simulation and Gaming Vol. X. • McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. Penguin Press.

MIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION CULTURE MATTERS

• People are People Everywhere • Innovate around Experiences

CULTURE IS AN AGGREGATION OF HABITS on a societal level, including learned practices, history, memory and community.

Regardless of the definition, culture matters. It affects how we do business, how we spend time, and the lens we use to understand the world. It can change over time, and it can also be entrenched.

“PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE.” This is our

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approach to social change. If someone has the ability or the potential to build opportunity in one place, it is possible across the globe. We put our cultural differences aside to understand what is common among all people: everyone needs food and water, and enjoys entertainment and relationships.

FOCUS ON 3 INNOVATION PRINCIPLES TO APPROACH THE PROCESS WITH COURAGE AND CURIOSITY:

• It’s about the Opportunity, not the Challenge

The mindset you need to successfully impact the community is one of learning. Our collective habits lead to a culture of curiosity. The entire team takes risks and works hard to design experiences that change the world.

You and your team will develop your own culture: one that captures your essence, values and beliefs. Use the Innovator to support you.

HOW YOU (WE) MAKE AN IMPACT Shifts in mindsets are at the core of ThinkImpact’s approach. We seek to engage all stakeholders in the program with this shift, including you. Your primary role is to learn from another culture and share ideas that may never have reached the community otherwise.

After the Institute, what are scholars and community members doing differently? The adoption of high impact behaviors will determine

whether the Institute has had a meaningful impact in the community and your life.

Specific outputs: number of scholars that participate each year; number of community members involved through interviews, design teams, exhibitions and trainings; and new innovations or enterprises that reach the market. Some innovations and enterprises will succeed and some will fail; in either case there is a meaningful outcome from the Institute.

Scholars often dive into the Institute determined to make an impact on their homestay, design team, and the wider community.

Questions arise about the methods used to evaluate this impact, such as: 1. What value can I add?

Your professional experience + your academic studies = strategies valuable to community members High impact results are in every moment you engage, decision you make, and relationship you build.

Aim to make an impact on ONE community member, ONE design team member, or ONE fellow scholar.

Few consider the impact this experience will have on their

mindset. Yet, by the end of the program, scholars often feel the community has given them more than they could ever offer in return.

2. How will my contribution here be measured?

Changes in daily activities, skills and perspectives, type and frequency of risks taken, and ideas scholars and community members pursue, provide baseline information to assess our impact over time.

We measure if innovations continue after 3 months, 6 months, and a year, focusing on those creating employment opportunities and those which are environmentally sustainable and healthy for the community.

We meet with entrepreneurs who experienced failure to learn if they are pursuing new opportunities.

After the program, scholars may elect to pursue their ideas. Outcomes may be raising capital for ideas born in the Institute and establishing formal entities in the United States and abroad.

Scholars will face opportunities: graduate school, majors, internships, jobs. We track our alumni’s decisions along with other education and career choice.

MIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

POWER OF HABITS We all know nothing is sustainable if it is a single action. Repetition creates lasting value. Complex change emerges from small personal adjustments: a powerful place to begin is with your individual habits. Begin to look at the details in your life. How do you function? It is the “how” that will give you the key to “impact”.

Charles Duhigg, author of “The Power of Habit: why we do what we do in life and business”, argues that a “neurological loop is at the core of every habit, a cue, a routine, and a reward.” Your brain can’t differentiate between good and bad habits. Both result from a cue and reward loop that becomes ingrained in our brain.

ROUTINE

“When a habit emerges, the brain stops fully participating in decision making. It stops working so hard, or diverts focus to other tasks. So unless you deliberately fight a habit—unless you find new routines—the pattern will unfold automatically.” Routines should support you in achieving the task at hand, and ideally become so consistent they make it effortless to focus.

Over time you have built, tested and modified your daily routines. As you immerse in a new community, you may realize that your daily habits are extremely difficult to apply. Even brushing your teeth and eating will put you outside your comfort zone.

You will begin to appreciate how much change you can handle.

But such change can be disruptive.

A PHYSICAL, MENTAL OR EMOTIONAL RESPONSE TO THE CUE.

HABIT LOOP

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CUE A TRIGGER THAT TELLS YOUR BRAIN TO GO INTO AUTOMATIC MODE AND WHICH HABIT TO USE.

REWARD IS THE FEEDBACK THAT HELPS INFORM YOUR BRAIN IF THIS PARTICULAR LOOP IS WORTH REMEMBERING. IN OTHER WORDS, DOES YOUR BRAIN LIKE THE REWARD? IF SO, IT WILL CREATE A HABIT.

You may feel overwhelmed or exposed in the community.

With kids running around, locals pointing, smiling or even laughing at you, you may feel like there is no privacy.

Be an explorer, learn the landscape or even where to put your stuff when you sleep. Acquainting yourself with the area and getting into a flow will take time. Some good habits we want you to acquire at the Institute are to use your space and time purposefully to clear your mind and achieve your goals.

Here are some different ways of conceptualizing “Space” to address when you get to the community:

WORKSPACE: This is your physical place of work where you sit down and get things done.

Think of your desk at school or in an office. Now you have the additional challenge of creating space where there might be very little room for flexibility. Creating a workspace at your homestay and a “portable workspace” as you move around the community will be a tremendous asset in the innovation process.

TOOLS: You will need tools for your workspace. Pens and pencils, rulers, staplers, tape are typical

office tools. We want to take that a step further. You don’t have a local office supply shop for everything you might need, so imagine every asset around you as a tool for your success.

THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES WILL HELP YOU OWN YOUR SPACE AND TIME:

POSTURE: Everyone in business says your greatest asset is your people.

In this case, your greatest asset is your person—your body, your mind, and your health. The way you carry yourself matters. Lying down can help you relax, or sitting straight up in a chair can help you stay focused.

Think about your posture and be intentional with it. Your posture will help you achieve your goal at any given moment.

SURFACE: A desk is a critical tool.

But it is only one type of surface that helps you work. The walls in ThinkImpact’s office create our open brainstorming space. The floors indicate where people stand at different times of the day (we literally have a meeting where everyone stands on a green circle). Which surfaces inspire you? Sitting on a tree stump next to a river might help you process a reflection more than lying in bed in the dark. Think about what surface you will use to write on, sit on, think on.

MIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

ENVIRONMENT: In a rural community people use different spaces at different times of the day.

Intuitively, the local community works where they believe they are most comfortable and will achieve their goals. In a new environment, think about where you feel most effective. Working in a cement room with poor halogen lighting is not going to energize and inspire you. Similarly, being cramped among a large crowd is a terrible place to hold a meeting. Select your environment carefully for each task. Test options out. As you figure out where works best for you for different tasks, put that into your daily planning routine. Where do you need to be to succeed?

SIZE: When it comes to space, size matters. Similar to environment, you cannot be cramped and expect to be operating at your peak capacity. Find space to work, then build the workspace.

STORAGE: It’s important to think

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about where to keep materials when you aren’t using them. We don’t just mean a closet for paper or clothes. We’re talking about everything you might need to store so it’s readily available when you need it. Where will you store your thoughts? Where will you store your index cards while you

are walking around the community?

Where will you store your water bottle so it is not a hassle to carry around?

Think about convenient storage tools that you need to operate: small notebook, Ziploc bag, backpack, small cardboard boxes, plastic, rubber bands, string and more.

STATE OF MIND: Know yourself.

We discussed above how the environment around you might affect your ability to work. Similarly, everyone has a different cycle in the day and certain activities are best executed or enjoyed in the morning, afternoon or evening. Know your state of mind at different times of the day. Then choose to engage those activities when you are most likely to succeed. In fact, we even think that “Impact” is a state of mind.

One frustrating feeling that may arise is not being able to articulate your ideas, big or small, or being stressed about all the things that you want to do that aren’t written down in a reliable place. Process your experiences in the community by writing down your thoughts, or sitting with friends at the end of the day to review. Use your journal like a field notebook and employ disciplined practices to keep yourself organized so the information you record there is useful. Some basic tips:

• Write the date at the top of the page. ALWAYS. • Give each entry a heading— especially if you’re completing an action.

• Record right below where you are and a three-word description of what you were doing that inspired the entry.

• Try out different types of entries—reflections, lists, sketches, diagrams, pictures.

COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY Leadership is one of the most discussed, intangible, yet powerful qualities in the entire world. Think what leaders have accomplished: Microfinance, Civil Rights, Women’s Suffrage. But the way each leader makes decisions, works with others, and achieves success is unique.

BUT LEADERSHIP DOES NOT COME EASILY. Even for the natural born leader, leadership habits and skills are developed through repetition across experiences.

Every moment that one can lead, and does, is a moment that person becomes a more effective leader overall.

LEADERSHIP IS ESSENTIALLY A COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE. In order to lead, you must communicate your vision and goals clearly to yourself, your team, and others.

Communication skills help us be a leader and a team player, especially in new situations and environments.

During the Institute, you will learn not only how to communicate with others but also how to communicate your ideas into actions. Communication takes place between elements of a system, and that includes teams and projects. Ideas, roles and operations as well as people need to exchange information and work together.

LEADERSHIP PRISM WHEN YOU BECOME A LEADER, EVERYTHING YOU DO IS REFRACTED THROUGH A PRISM. Refining the characteristics of that prism can determine your effectiveness. What kind of a leader will you be?

To answer this question, ThinkImpact developed a Leadership Prism to help you sift through questions that leaders face. Use the prism daily to prepare for leadership opportunities.

You can use the leadership prism to analyze opportunities you have to lead:

MIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

5 ELEMENTS OF ENLIGHTENED LEADERSHIP

1. VISION 2. COMMUNICATION 3. EXECUTION 4. FEEDBACK 5. APPRECIATION

• You’re running a 10k and someone asks you to share your vision, but can only hear every other word, which words are most important to share?

• You have 35 seconds with the one person who can make your vision real, what will you tell them?

1. ESTABLISH YOUR VISION by thinking about the goals and outcomes that inspire your team, and your opportunity to make a difference. Think about the ideal scene to achieve this outcome, and identify the next steps you need to take to make the scene a reality.

2. DESCRIBING WHERE YOU ARE GOING or how you hope to work with others is immensely challenging. Everyone has their own interpretation of events, ideas and experiences. Leaders capture the essential pieces that relate to the entire group. Make sure the ideas you share are communicated effectively. When you are communicating, respect people’s time and opinion and be mentally present in the conversation.

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• You’re sharing with a 7 year old, how will you explain it to them so you keep their attention?

BE CONSISTENT with the messages you give about the vision. Is it grand or is it small? Will it require many people? What information is available and where did you get it? Why are you committed to the vision? Who is with you?

KEEP YOUR MESSAGE SIMPLE by running through different scenes:

CHECK YOURSELF to see if your messages are contradictory. Is anything different from what you have said in the past? If so, why? Does your message reflect reality? Is there anything unpredictable that could undermine your credibility? How will you achieve the vision every day? Is it sustainable? Will you become burnt out? Where will you find the energy to continue even when things get difficult?

• You are at a bar and someone asks you to share your vision.

How would you answer?

COMMUNICATE CHANGES: There will be bumps in the road, deadlines missed, new ideas and frustrations

working with others. Embrace change! Once you appreciate that it’s inevitable, you can communicate changes and seek opportunities from them. Consider changes that may occur in: • TIMING • QUALITY • ENVIRONMENT • RELATIONSHIPS • COMPETITION • TECHNOLOGY • RESOURCES

ISOLATE CHANGES THAT HAVE AFFECTED YOUR PLANS: What change has occurred and why?

How can we innovate around this change? If the change causes friction between two people, remember two invaluable practices: • Don’t waste energy looking for what others are doing wrong.

Look for what you could do to improve the situation.

• Don’t label others and don’t label yourself. Everyone is multidimensional and every solution requires more than one part of each person.

3. EXECUTE EFFICIENTLY by defining roles and supporting, preparing and motivating people to achieve the vision. LEADERSHIP IS ONE ROLE IN AN OPERATION. Other roles are often required to get something done. Think about a standard company: there might be people in the strategy role, the engineering role, the administrative role and the sales role. All of these roles make the whole possible.

Leaders make sure others are in the roles that fit with their skills and desires, and support them to be successful.

AS YOU EXECUTE THE VISION, CHECK HOW YOU’RE DOING THROUGH THESE LENSES: RIGHT SEAT ON THE BUS LENS Is each member of your team in a position to succeed? Do they have the habits, skills and perspectives required for the tasks ahead?

CONSISTENCY LENS As the leader are you sending a consistent message? Is the vision changing?

When things change are you ruffled or do you hold strong?

INNOVATING LENS Are you leaving room for others to share ideas or test them out? Are you holding on to old ideas that are stifling opportunity?

MIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

OPTIMIST LENS Do you convey a sense of opportunity to your team? Have you been able to reframe small or menial tasks into critical pieces to achieving the vision?

OPERATIONS LENS Is the team working cohesively to achieve the goal? Is information being communicated efficiently? Are ideas being shared? Are tasks moving from one person to the next on time? Do people know what they are responsible for?

OWNERSHIP LENS Is the individual working on the task or project feeling truly in charge?

Are you focusing on what they are doing wrong? If so, redirect your energy towards how you can be more supportive.

4. GATHER AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK to present growth opportunities. Everyone wants to know how he or she did when they complete a task. Think about how excited you are to get exam results on a test you prepared for.

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FEEDBACK COMES IN MANY FORMS. HERE IS HOW TO MAKE FEEDBACK HIGH IMPACT: RECEIVING FEEDBACK: If feedback feels negative, remember that you are learning. Don’t’ let it undermine your ambitions. Simply put, don’t

be too hard on yourself. We are often our harshest critics. Feedback is meant to help, not to destroy.

Seek improvement. Nothing was built in a day and nobody is perfect.

No matter what feedback you are receiving, make it constructive.

Identify how you can be better, and be proud of that. Reflect on the feedback. Reject the impulse to react. Sit on it without letting your ego or pride get in the way. Come back around to it after a couple hours or days, then move on. Don’t misinterpret positive feedback as meaning you are perfect. Be grateful for the affirmation but recognize that we can always improve.

Once you have received feedback and processed it, think about how you can APPLY IT EARLY AND OFTEN and see if there are tangible improvements in your outcomes.

GIVING FEEDBACK: Offer feedback in the right physical space. Don’t sit above or below the other person. Be at eye level and have a conversation.

Offer feedback privately to avoid embarrassment.

Establish the context of the feedback first. Avoid words like “always” or “never.” Blanket statements lack context. Organize your feedback.

Begin with something positive (be authentic!) then offer something constructive, and find a way to end on

a positive note. Discuss next steps.

Consider setting goals and check in points to track progress. Explore ways that you can be a resource.

5. APPRECIATE ALL AROUND and make every moment high impact. The easiest way to do this is to “VALUE PEOPLE”. But be cautious. Being authentic will determine if your appreciation is taken the right way. Using specific examples is the most powerful way to show your appreciation.

Every day people do remarkable things, big and small, on our behalf.

How we appreciate their efforts will determine if they want to continue to help us with our vision.

ASK YOURSELF: Who has done something you truly appreciate?

Beyond saying “thank you,” how can you appreciate their efforts?

CONSIDER: recognizing someone in front of the whole team and showing your appreciation through reciprocation. Give a specific example of how a team member has contributed toward the goal.

MANAGE AROUND EXPERIENCES Management is a particular kind of leadership. It is a sticky topic, one that has perplexed professors and leaders for generations. Some get a bad taste in their mouth at the word “management”, feeling boxed in at the thought. Others see power and control, or a tool for doing great things. We identify the essential ingredients for entrepreneurial management (our favorite flavor of management) in the 21st century and provide you with some tools to practice throughout the Institute.

AS PETER DRUCKER NOTED, management is primarily about getting “things done right.” This means relentlessly improving process, developing systems, executing efficiently and producing remarkable results.

AS A GENERAL PRINCIPLE, treat everyone you work with like a customer. Everyone has a perspective and deserves to be listened to, but more importantly, we need to understand their experience to increase satisfaction. That includes satisfaction with the team, the manager and the results.

Management can and should be a process of building up through concrete actions.

MIND BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

CONSIDER THE EXPERIENCES around working in teams, following a clear process, or conquering a goal and seeing the results. Each can be inspiring. The question is, how can an organization institutionalize such an inspiring concept and make it common?

1. ONE ON ONE MEETINGS

EVERY MANAGER MUST BE ABLE TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING 3 KEYS TO MANAGEMENT:

8. BODY MOVEMENT

1. WHAT WILL WE ACHIEVE? 2. HOW WILL WE ALLOCATE RESOURCES (TIME, TALENT, TREASURE)?

3. WHO WILL DELIVER RESULTS?

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ANSWERING THESE QUESTIONS helps you see the path ahead.

As an entrepreneurial manager, it is critical to communicate the answers to the three questions above to your team, and often. Ari Weinzweig, co-founder and CEO of the world famous Zingerman’s Deli, explains that managers must communicate something in 9 different ways to get the message across. You read that correctly: 9.

HOW YOU MIGHT DELIVER SOMETHING USING THE 9 WAYS TO COMMUNICATE:

2. GROUP MEETINGS 3. LETTER WRITING 4. DRAWING 5. JOKE TELLING 6. ROLE PLAYING 7. STORYTELLING 9. SHARING MANTRAS

ENTERING THE COMMUNITY THE INSTITUTE IS A TRULY INTENSE EXPERIENCE. There is no skirting around that fact. At times you will feel like you have been pushed to your limits. Your host families will try hard to make sure you are comfortable, sometimes making you feel uncomfortable, as though you are an intruder. The Country Team will be working every day to ensure that your time in the community is high impact.

Energy, expectations, and emotions will run high.

THE KEY TO SUCCESS is responding appropriately to situations. Impulsively reacting can cause you even more frustration, discomfort or even embarrassment.

YOU WILL NEED TO COMMUNICATE THE INNOVATION PROCESS AS CAPTURED IN THE INNOVATOR

TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS. When you need to share ideas, remember that the Innovator is a complex tool for uncovering assets, building relationships, establishing teams and testing ideas. Consider how difficult it is for people in a different country, with a different language and cultural heritage, to understand! Creating circumstances for you to become deeply familiar with the Innovator actions and for your new friends to use it as well requires precise and thoughtful communication skills.

SOMETIMES YOU WILL DOUBT THE PROCESS and your purpose in the community. You will likely question the Innovator itself.

Manage doubt through open and honest dialogue. The quality of your communication with others directly relates to the trust you and other scholars will share.

THE MOST DIFFICULT COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE for scholars (from our experience), other than the language barrier, is constantly responding to requests for money. While the community has been told that you are not here to provide donations, grants, or to distribute cash, you will get the question all the time. In some communities, children will routinely ask for candy, goodies, food, or even your iPod.

PLEASE DO NOT GIVE PEOPLE MONEY, PROMISES OF SCHOLARSHIPS, SHOES OR ANYTHING ELSE. WE COMPENSATE homestays fairly and we cannot confuse our role in the community.

NORMS & EXPECTATIONS IN THE COMMUNITY THINKIMPACT takes the health and safety of its team extremely seriously.

Every program practice and norm is the product of thoughtful review of what health and safety risks visitors face during a full immersion program.

You have agreed to and signed a behavior policy codifying these practice and norms. They are for your benefit and the community’s well being.

IMPLEMENT THE GTD SYSTEM 1. As you go through the next week, jot down everything that comes to mind you’d like to think about later on (that day, later in the week, arriving in the community) in your journal.

Collect them all in a big list.

2. Sorting them out is a critical step towards effective action.

Put them into categories (suggestions above).

3. Go through your lists at the end of the week and start your priorities for the week. Cross off anything that is redundant or not important.

4. Every Tuesday & Friday, review your last set of lists. Did you accomplish more or less than you had hoped? Did you pick the right priorities?

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5. Check off your successes, and cross off things that are no longer important. Feel proud of all you are achieving. It’s important to celebrate your successes.

GUIDANCE ON DUHIGG’S FRAMEWORK ON HABITS Think about the habits you would like to work on, big or small. Make a list and choose one.

Write a smart goal statement.

Envision success.

Using Duhigg’s framework, follow these steps: 1. IDENTIFY THE ROUTINE. Break down your habit loop: cue, routine and reward. Identify how to interrupt, or redirect, your habit loop. Can you avoid certain cues? Can you change the routine?

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2. EXPERIMENT WITH REWARDS. REWARDS ARE POWERFUL because they satisfy cravings.

The tricky part is that we aren’t always conscious of the cravings that drive our behaviors. To understand our cravings, you will want to experiment with different rewards.

3. LOOK AT YOUR HABIT. What does it include? For example, if you wake up each morning and instantly slurp down a cup of coffee, ask why? Obviously

you feel like the coffee will wake you up. But what if you woke up and went for a 20 minute run?

Took a cold shower? Went to bed earlier? Perhaps it is the smell of the coffee, or the feeling that right when you wake up you have to do something? Feeling awake or accomplished may be satisfied in different ways.

4. TEST OUT OTHER ROUTINES to figure out what reward you are chasing, and find a healthier or more satisfying approach.

5. ISOLATE THE CUE. SOMETIMES ITS DIFFICULT to figure out what cue is triggering your routine.

Listed below are a number of categories that most cues fall into: LOCATION (Where are you?)

TIME (What time is it?)

EMOTIONAL STATE (How are you feeling?)

OTHER PEOPLE (Who else is around?)

IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE ACTION (What happened just before you felt the urge to hop into your routine?)

6. HAVE A PLAN. Organize this information into a plan that will help you combat: When I see CUE, I will do ROUTINE in order to receive REWARD.

ROUTINE

Develop discipline. Try out your new habit every day for a week.

Stay on track. Write down what you do differently each day. Use your impact map to plan & review the progress you have made on your habit each day.

A PHYSICAL, MENTAL OR EMOTIONAL RESPONSE TO THE CUE.

HABIT LOOP

CUE A TRIGGER THAT TELLS YOUR BRAIN TO GO INTO AUTOMATIC MODE AND WHICH HABIT TO USE.

REWARD IS THE FEEDBACK THAT HELPS INFORM YOUR BRAIN IF THIS PARTICULAR LOOP IS WORTH REMEMBERING. IN OTHER WORDS, DOES YOUR BRAIN LIKE THE REWARD? IF SO, IT WILL CREATE A HABIT.

STEPS FOR CREATING A COMMUNICATION PLAN 1. Develop a broad communication plan for your Institute experience.

2. Before you head into a difficult conversation, follow these steps and modify your Communication Plan to be more specific.

3. SORT OUT WHAT HAPPENED: Where does your story come from (information, past experiences, rules)? What impact has this situation had on you? What might the other party’s intentions have been?

UNDERSTAND EMOTIONS. Explore the array of emotions you are feeling. Your feelings are valid; this is your chance to label them. Ground your identity (we call this your “Identity Conversation”). What’s at stake for you? What truth can you accept that will help you to feel more grounded?

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4. CHECK YOUR PURPOSES (WHY DO YOU WANT TO ENGAGE IN THE DIFFICULT CONVERSATION?). What do you hope to accomplish? Shift your stance to support learning, sharing and problem-solving.

What’s the best way to address the issue and achieve your purpose? Is the issue really embedded in your Identity Conversation? Can you affect the problem by changing your contributions? If you don’t raise it, what can you do to help yourself let go?

5. START THE CONVERSATION. DESCRIBE THE PROBLEM AS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR STORIES. Using a thirdperson perspective, include both viewpoints as a legitimate part of the discussion. Share your purposes. Invite them to join you as a partner in sorting out the situation together.

6. EXPLORE THEIR STORY AND YOURS IN MORE DEPTH. FIRST, LET THEM SPEAK: Listen carefully to their perspective on what happened. Ask questions.

Acknowledge the feelings behind their arguments or accusations. Paraphrase to see if you fully understand their argument. Unravel how you got to this point.

7. SHARE YOUR STORY: What were your intentions, experiences, feelings?

8. REFRAME: Take the negative points and reframe them to explain what’s really going on with you.

Reframe Examples: • Re-frame from perception to truth • From accusations to intentions and impact • From blame to contribution • From judgments and characterizations to feelings • From “What’s wrong with you” to “What’s going on for you”.

9. Identify a solution and how to keep communication lines open as you go forward.

IMMERSE BACKGROUND INFORMATION THE HOMESTAY EXPERIENCE WELCOME TO YOUR NEW HOME. We have spent many hours meeting with the local community, training host families, and preparing the community for your arrival. Host families know that you are coming and are excited to have you. Everyone has been selected through a careful process to have you as their guest. Each homestay typically has two scholars of the same gender and you are expected to share a room.

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You should get to know the community by spending meaningful time with your host family, learning about daily routines, likes and dislikes, eating habits and cultural norms.

Remember, the host families are an incredible resource for you to engage more effectively with the community. Learn from them at every opportunity! Your homestay experience should be enriching and enjoyable and help you build connections to your host family, and will help you understand the role of ThinkImpact and scholars in a broader context.

Some visitors might want to give a small token of appreciation to their homestay; check with your country associate on the appropriate time to do this (it may be at the end!).

REMEMBER that what you are doing is extraordinary! You are about to experience life in a new place, living with a culture and community that is new to you. Sometimes you might say something with a thick accent or community members might be shy.

Along the way, your attempts at the language may make people laugh or giggle. Don’t be discouraged.

Everyone is warming up.

ASSET-BASED COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY, ThinkImpact has explored different approaches to development.

We began with a needs-based perspective that is still popular among various governments and international aid organizations. We joined the army of development organizations raising funds for schools, libraries, and water projects.

After supporting dozens of projects,

we realized we were perpetuating the cycle of dependency among community members. The needsbased approach created a reality in which communities identified themselves based on deficiencies and dependence. We needed an approach that would empower community members to tackle social problems on their own terms, to shift the mindset from dependence to independence.

IN THE FALL OF 2008, we learned about Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), pioneered

by John McKnight and John Kretzmann of the ABCD Institute at Northwestern University. Through years of experience working in Chicago’s low-income areas, they found that asset-based community development empowers communities by focusing on a community’s skills, knowledge, resources, associations, and abilities. This encourages sustainable development in contrast to a needs-based approach.

WE ADAPTED THIS APPROACH for our program. McKnight and Kretzmann recommend that an outsider remain a facilitator throughout the development process, rather than becoming an active participant. Through design teams, we encourage scholars to

fully engage partners in the creation of a product or service that will have a social benefit in the community.

Rather than focusing exclusively on development as a general concept, ThinkImpact takes it to the marketplace where business is born, tested, and grown. As co-creators of products and services, we think there is a higher likelihood for social change.

ADOPTING AN ASSET-BASED strategy marked a turning point in how we approach communities.

We value meaningful relationships with local residents, marginalized community members, associations, and institutions. Such relationships are built over time through trust, empathy, and mutual understanding.

Together, we can leverage local resources and promote selfsufficiency, with the aim of changing the paradigm (leading a mind-shift) in the way that communities view themselves. Informed by this shift, we have adopted the philosophy that no one is poor: everyone has assets and something to contribute.

WE DEFINE ASSETS as resources with inherent value that can be leveraged to create change. This includes institutions, associations, material resources, skills, physical spaces, and more.

IMMERSE BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

EXPLORE WITH FRESH EYES Getting your mind around the experience you will have in the beginning is challenging. Get in a mindset of calm and patience. Be open to learning about everything around you, and most importantly, engage with the community whenever possible.

IT’S TIME TO GET THE LAY OF THE LAND! BRING YOUR INQUISITIVE SIDE as you explore the community. See things with fresh eyes and a beginner’s mindset.

Differentiate what you know from what you assume, and challenge assumptions. Take the mind of an anthropologist who simply seeks to understand other people’s values, beliefs and behaviors. Being a beginner is an asset, it allows you to see things with a fresh perspective.

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THE INNOVATION INSTITUTE IS ALL ABOUT EMPATHY, not sympathy. Empathy is “the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.” In other words, put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

We have built a number of ways for empathy to be part of your immersion process. First, we encourage you to share cultural

experiences. We also believe in a concept called shared austerity, meaning you should experience some of the hardships of community life.

Collecting water early in the morning or sweeping the dirt in your hut are some examples. By living as locals live, you gain insight into daily community life.

People work together, build together, and live together in any community around the world, and getting a deeper sense of how people spend their time, expand their skill sets, and bring value to the community is inspiring and helpful for the design process.

WHAT PEOPLE TELL YOU and what they experience on a daily basis can be quite different. Active engagement in tasks and cultural experiences reveals information, challenges, and opportunities that might not come up during a conversation. Learn by doing!

AS YOU ENGAGE IN AN ACTIVITY, THINK ABOUT AN ASSETSMOTIVATION-EXCHANGES TRIANGLE: • ASSETS: Did you learn about a new asset or resource that you overlooked before?

• MOTIVATION: Have you learned anything new about what motivates community members to perform a particular activity?

• EXCHANGES: Have you observed any exchanges (financial, barter, etc.) that helped the community member complete a daily task?

SEEK UNDERSTANDING

THE SECRET THAT NOBODY TELLS YOU when you travel to a new country or environment: your attitude drives how you deal with each phase of culture shock.

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE of a scenario and two ways to approach the situation: At the beginning of the Institute you meet several community leaders and wonder if they are corrupt. You have read about corruption in Africa and Latin America, you have mapped assumptions, and you cannot get the idea that local leaders steal from their population out of your head.

JOURNEY OF CULTURE SHOCK WHERE ON THE JOURNEY ARE YOU?

IMPACT PERSPECTIVES INEVITABLE REACTION INITIAL ATTITUDES

AS YOU GAIN A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING of local culture, you will likely experience competing views and emotions.

Sometimes you’ll feel incredible, other times deflated. This array of emotions—indeed, a roller coaster of emotions—can be attributed to culture shock, a normal and useful personal process.

POSITIVE

NEGATIVE

OPENNESS

SUSPICION

ACCEPTANCE

FEAR

TRUST

PREJUDICE

FRUSTRATION CONFUSION TENSION EMBARRASSMENT

OBSERVE

CRITICIZE

LISTEN

RATIONALIZE

INQUIRE

WITHDRAW

RAPPORT

ALIENATION

UNDERSTANDING

ISOLATION

IMMERSE BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

Which would be your approach?

1. When you arrive at the Welcome Ceremony, you meet the chief. You look into his eyes, smile, and determine, this guy is definitely corrupt. You decide that he is suspicious.

His shoes are too nice in a community where everyone else wears sandals or no shoes at all. This feeling extends to his subordinates—the four sub-chiefs. As the program progresses, you avoid working with the local leadership and at times find yourself frustrated, critical and generally a bit isolated throughout the summer.

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2. You learn the same facts about corruption, but decide that you don’t have enough information to judge the chief. Perhaps the chief gets shoes for his status as a leader? Perhaps he hates those shoes? You simply don’t know, but you are excited to gain information. You trust that the complexities of a community reach far beyond the surface—for better and for worse. You listen a lot, ask great questions, and eventually build a deeper sense of belonging and understanding, even when you encounter frustrations along the way.

INNOVATION COMES at the nexus of two radically different cultures. As you gain more exposure to this culture, you will be laying the foundation for a dynamic innovation process.

DIG DEEP Exploring and understanding will involve some planning. Think carefully about who you want to talk to, what you want to learn and make a plan to accomplish your goals and translate them into action. The secret to success at the Institute is fully digesting your experiences. As you complete actions it is important to process the information that you collect and plan follow-ups when you have gaps. Taking the time to process the influx of information will yield incredible rewards as the program progresses.

YOU WILL BE PUSHED to meet individuals across the entire community. You should make special effort to meet with people of varied socioeconomic statuses, as well as a variety of ages and genders. Ideally, you will really connect with a couple of these individuals. They may be a starting point or a direct partner later on as you build your design teams.

IT IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT

to remember names. It is also extremely difficult because they may be difficult to pronounce.

Remembering names will help you connect with community members. Some would say that a person’s name is their favorite word to hear. If that’s true, it’s good to use a person’s name in whatever work you’re doing.

HERE ARE SOME TRICKS we yanked from Mindtools to help you DIG DEEP. 1.. FACE ASSOCIATION: Examine a person’s face discreetly when you are introduced. Find an unusual feature: ears, hairline, forehead, eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, complexion, etc. Create an association among characteristic, face and name. Maybe you link the person with someone else you know with the same name. Or, associate a rhyme or image of the name with the person’s face or defining feature.

2. REPETITION: When you are introduced, ask for the person to repeat their name. Use the name yourself as often as possible (without overdoing it!). If it is unusual, ask how it is spelled. The more often you hear and see the name, the more likely it is to sink

in. Also, after you leave that person’s company, say the name to yourself a couple times. You might even decide to write it down and make notes.

ARE YOU AN ACTIVE LISTENER? Spend a few minutes thinking about that question. We ask because active listening is an important skill for building meaningful relationships and networks. You can only really process what someone is telling you if you are an active listener. Superb active listeners are completely present in each conversation and spend time during the conversation working through ideas, connecting dots, and finding inspiration through others.

The alternative is to be absorbed in your own thoughts, aloof to other people’s feelings, and incurious about their work and lives.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO INCREASE ACTIVE LISTENING: 1. PAY ATTENTION: Give the speaker your undivided attention, and acknowledge the message.

• Recognize that non-verbal communication also “speaks” loudly.

• Look at the speaker directly.

• Put aside distracting thoughts.

IMMERSE BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

• Avoid being distracted by environmental factors.

• “Listen” to the speaker’s body language.

• Refrain from side conversations when listening in a group setting.

2. SHOW THAT YOU ARE LISTENING. • Use your own body language and gestures to convey your attention.

• Nod occasionally. Smile and use other facial expressions.

• Note your posture and make sure it is open and inviting.

• Encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments like “yes.”

3. PROVIDE FEEDBACK. Our personal filters, assumptions, judgments, and beliefs can distort what we hear. Your role is to understand what is being said. This may require you to reflect and ask questions.

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• Paraphrase:“What I’m hearing is” and “Sounds like you’re saying” are great ways to reflect back.

• Ask questions to clarify certain points: “What do you mean when you say?” or “Is this what you mean?”

• Summarize the speaker’s comments periodically.

4. DEFER JUDGEMENT. INTERRUPTING IS A waste of time. It frustrates the speaker and limits full understanding of the message.

• Allow the speaker to finish.

• Don’t interrupt with counter arguments.

5. RESPOND APPROPRIATELY. we IS A model for respect and understanding. You add nothing by attacking the speaker or otherwise putting him or her down.

• Be candid, open, and honest in your responses.

• Assert your opinions respectfully.

• Treat the other person as he or she would want to be treated.

FINALLY, PLAN WHICH ACTIVITIES YOU NEED A TRANSLATOR FOR. WHEN YOU HAVE TO USE A TRANSLATOR TO COMMUNICATE, REMEMBER THESE TIPS FROM THE CDC:

CDC TIPS ON WORKING WITH A TRANSLATOR 1.

When communicating through a translator, speak slowly and clearly.

2. Use a positive tone of voice that conveys your interest in the community member.

3. Face the community member, not the translator.

4. Speak in short units of speech, allowing sufficient time for the interpretation.

5. Avoid jargon or slang. Clear, simple, lay language is generally most effective.

6. Encourage the translator to translate the community members words as closely as possible and not to paraphrase, polish, or omit anything that may result in loss of the community member’s true meaning.

7.

Pay attention for nonverbal communication such as silence, distance between individuals, eye contact, emotional expressiveness, and body movements.

8. Feel free to ask the translator for clarification of the meaning of any nonverbal cues to be sure you have understood correctly any cross-cultural meaning.

9. Above all, be patient: Careful interpretation often takes considerable time.

EXPLORE: HOMESTAY

Ask your family: 1. How many people live on the homestead?

2. Is there anything you need to know about their home?

3. Where is their room?

4. Where is the bathroom?

5. Where should you shower?

6. Where can you get water?

7. Where will the food be stored?

8. When do they wake up in the morning?

9. When do they go to bed in the evening?

10. Does anyone else live on the homestead?

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Find 3 or 4 ways of asking each question rather than just the one you have in mind: Example: If you are interested in learning about a woman’s family, you may ask her: How many people live on the homestead?

Do any children live here?

Are any of the children hers?

Do they go to school?

EXPLORE: ALLOCATE YOUR SPACE AND TIME Ask yourself: • What is your state of mind?

• Who are you in this space?

• How might you divide your day?

Organize all the information you have gathered, and pick one idea for each of the categories you prepared. Plan when you are going to explore each of these ideas. After three days, evaluate and iterate: how well did each of your ideas work for you? Reflect on what worked well, what was missing, and what was surprising.

Evaluate: • Did you pick the right time of day?

• Were you able to focus?

Tweak to create your ideal day of learning and doing in the community.

OBSERVE

1. Review your community map.

Mark the places you’d like to get to know better.

2. Find 3 nice spots in the middle of the community where you can sit comfortably 3. Aim for diversity: choose three different landmarks, different times of the day, and different people.

4. Spend 45 minutes at each spot, writing down what you see and make note of the time and day of each activity.

5. Use all your senses to the fullest to take it in.

• Think about what assets you notice. Use your ASSETSMOTIVATION-EXCHANGES TRIANGLE. Pay attention to interactions that occur through donating, loaning and exchanging materials, labor and other resources.

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• Were there any unexpected activities?

• What is the most common transaction?

• Anything surprising?

6. Afterwards, spend 30 minutes synthesizing the information in your journal. Try organizing your categories based on emotion.

SAMPLE OBSERVE QUESTIONS • What kinds of tools do people use in their daily activities?

• Did most of these tools appear to be produced in the community or from outside?

• Were people traveling alone or in groups?

• Through engaging in these cultural experiences, did you come across any skills?

• Where are resources coming from?

• How are they using spaces to their advantage for each activity?

• Have you noticed any established institutions?

• What about local associations

between people?

• What kinds of water sources do people use?

• How do people collect water?

How do they treat water?

• What are the roads like? Who is on the roads?

• What are the houses made of?

Are they all the same?

• What do people do with trash?

• What kinds of clothing are people wearing? Do people wear shoes? What are the differences in the way men and women dress?

• How do people greet one another? How do people greet you?

SAMPLE VILLAGE FACT QUESTIONS

• Who is the local political leader or village chief?

• What is the most common way to earn money here?

• What religion do people practice here?

• What are other ways people earn money here?

• Who makes decisions about the community?

• What are some other ways people subsist?

• Who calls community meetings?

• Who runs the bakery, school, local store, etc.?

• What do children do when they are not in school?

• Are there influential people in the community besides the chief?

• Is there a favorite game or activity they take part in?

• If so, who are they and what do they do?

• Are sports a part of life outside of school?

• What kinds of interactions do they have?

• Do sports leagues exist?

• What are the male and female roles?

• What do people find most important in their lives?

• Is there a school in the community?

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• How many children are enrolled at the local school?

• What grades are taught in the school?

• How many teachers do they have?

• Are there any social groups?

• Is there a women’s group?

• Does anyone from the government come here?

• Is the water clean?

• What vegetables can grow here?

• Does anyone farm? Why or why not? Are chickens around?

Goats? Pigs? Cows?

• How have nature and animals adapted to the environment?

• Do many people sit idly? Why? Does anything seem out of the ordinary?

• What are the people doing?

• What are the weather patterns, seasons here?

• What are the local holidays, festivals, and celebrations?

• What other organizations have been working with the community in the past or are still working with the community?

• What do people think about these organizations?

PROCESS & PLAN: 5 WHYS Evaluate 1. Do you feel like you got to the root of a problem?

2. How different were your conclusions compared to where you started?

3. Are there similar, recurring problems in this community?

4. Did you identify anything that seems easy to change?

5. What makes you think it would be easy to change?

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WHO ARE WE?

Question sets: 1. What skills can you offer in this community? Is there a soft skill you should value more than you expected? Is there a hard skill you could learn easily?

2. Am I accountable? Am I living up to my potential and holding myself accountable? Am I holding others accountable?

What choices am I making on the two tracks of culture shock?

3. What is my vision, if I dream big, about my time in the community? What will I need to do to achieve it?

CHARACTER PROFILES

1. Consider how you will approach a community member and derive meaningful information about them and their lives.

2. Questions you will ask: Think in terms of categories and fields of expertise, as well as relationships and associations.

Don’t hold back. The more inquisitive, the better!

3. Flow of the conversation: Once you have developed your questions, put them in order. Create a template that considers cultural norms: what might people feel comfortable sharing first? What happens if people say they don’t know anything or do anything how will you respond? Create alternative questions if you find certain skills sets are not present in an individual.

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4. Working through a community organizer: Review the CDC tips in Working With Translators.

Go through the guide with your community organizer to familiarize them with the questions and goal of the interviews.

5. Conduct the interview. Jot down their contact information in case you would like to visit with them again.

SAMPLE CHARACTER PROFILE TEMPLATE INTRODUCTION • • • • • •

Name Age Skills Occupation Talents Education level

RELATIONSHIPS • • • • • •

Siblings Significant others Children Grandchildren Other relationships Hobbies

HEALTHCARE • Caring for the elderly • Caring for the sick • Caring for babies/ children

DISABILITIES AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

• • • • • •

• • •

•

•

• Managing others • Reporting on others • Keeping records

•

• • • •

Painting Latrine construction Electrical repairs Farming

• Cooking meals • Preparing meat

(just observe, don’t ask)

MANAGEMENT

CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIRS

FOOD

Hair color Eye color Height Approximate weight Dress Goals: Short term, medium and long term?

What do you want out of life?

What is the greatest challenge you face?

What do you find I working well in the village?

Is there anything you would like to change about your life?

Are they religious?

Spiritual?

What frightens them?

TRANSPORTATION • Driving a car • Driving a motorbike • Driving a bicycle

MUSIC • Singing • Dancing • Playing an instrument ART/HANDCRAFTS • Sewing • Basket-weaving • Bead work CARPENTY • Furniture-making • Building Houses • Woodwork EDUCATION • Teaching in the classroom • Assisting in the classroom • Administrative schoolwork

PLANNING TO SHADOW

1. Review your empathy maps.

List the people who have inspired you and put a star next to your top 6.

2. Ask these individuals permission and set up a good meeting time and location.

Make clear that you cannot go beyond the community and request that they do not change their typical day to accommodate you. The more consistently they stick with their average day, the more insight you will gain into their life.

3. Make sure you learn what it means to be respectful of cultural norms regarding gender relations before you act. If you need a translator, ask for one. Ideally, you will push through the activity and communicate without language if that is the primary barrier.

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4. As you go through the task, think about your Assets, Motivation, Exchanges Triangle. Spend 4-6 hours shadowing each individual, and write down what their daily schedule looks like. What is their top priority with their time? How much do they meet with others?

UNDERSTAND ENTERPRISE

1. Learn about how the business operates and their history with the business. When did they start selling this product?

Why are they in this type of business? What is the business cycle? When are things busy?

2. Learn the basics about the price of the product and how much it costs to buy the inputs for each product. Where do they buy the inputs? How much does it cost to ship things into the community? Do they pick things up in the city?

How much is a taxi ride?

3. Does the entrepreneur keep a record of every transaction?

Where do they keep it? Do they ever add up the totals from the week, month, or year? Do they keep a bank account? Which banks are available in the area?

4. Who are their customers? How do they reach their customers?

These are just a few questions you can ask while spending time with an entrepreneur in the community.

NEW VIEW

Entrepreneur says: are you seeing the market opportunity?

What are you providing? What are you excited about?

Strategist says: what difficult choices do you have to make?

What are your priorities? What do you want to see happen in 2 weeks, 3 months and 1 year from now?

Community member says: what influence are you having on my life?

Are you listening to me? Are you treating me fairly and as an equal?

Leader says: how can you overcome the challenge directly?

Who can you work with to build a following? What relationships are necessary to make your work more effective?

Ultimately, the most important question is how can you get a new view on a regular basis and engage with this action throughout the institute as challenges arise?

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1. Pick a challenge or obstacle that you would like to solve.

2. Write your obstacle statement on a card.

3. Outline four large circles on the

ground with one scholar standing in each (if your team is larger than 4 you will have observers that will rotate in).

4. Label each circle: entrepreneur, strategist, community member and leader. These will be the perspectives that you will process.

5. Each scholar reads his or her obstacle aloud, placing the card in the middle between the four circles. Then each scholar in a circle will represent their view on the obstacle through their lens.

Example: If your obstacle statement reads, “The local politician is corrupting meetings,” then the entrepreneur might say, “Is there a market opportunity to improve communication with the politician?”

6. Evaluate as a team after everyone has gone on how you can consistently gain unique perspectives about your work. Are you asking the right people?

Are you empathizing with others’ situations? What did you learn about your obstacle from getting a new view?

INSPIRE BACKGROUND INFORMATION

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IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES

as far as developing a business model around it, but don’t be a consultant?

Seems inconsistent.

IN THIS PHASE of the Institute, the daily structure of your work in the community becomes increasingly unpredictable. You are responsible for planning carefully, collaborating with community members fully, and successfully making difficult decisions that will determine the types of innovations you develop.

HERE IS WHY IT ISN’T: WHEN SOMEONE HAS an established business, they have figured out a way to make their business work.

They are living off of it, and hopefully generating a small profit that covers their basic needs. It is fine to explore ideas and ask questions about how they operate, but not to push local businesses to behave like businesses we were raised around. We can always provide help through general education (e.g.. how to keep records), but we should not try to show them how to scale an existing business based on our aspirations for it. Rather, we are there to be creative with community members and explore ideas, solutions, and possibilities that have eluded the community until now.

YOUR JOB IS TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES, not be a consultant. You’re here to explore design opportunities, think creatively, and devise new ideas for products and services with locals. You’re not here to tell local business owners how to run their businesses better. You simply aren’t in the position to analyze the economic environment sufficiently and tell a community member how to do what they do more effectively.

WE REALIZE THAT THIS MIGHT SEEM LIKE A CONTRADICTION: Go to rural communities, work with locals to develop a product or service, perhaps an innovative way of delivering it, and even go

HERE ARE SOME OTHER INSIGHTS AS YOU GET STARTED: 1. SHARING IDEAS IS THE ROOT OF ALL OPPORTUNITY. Actively listen and process collaboratively to maximize opportunity. Think of all the life experiences available when people problem-solve together.

2. STAY FOCUSED. Your goal is to build partnerships with community members who you will work with on brainstorming, choosing a challenge, and prototyping.

3. WORK WITH PEOPLE YOU LIKE SPENDING TIME WITH. Everybody enjoys working with people who share your interests and enthusiasm. Look for the right fit in the community, and you will enjoy more success.

4. HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE. This whole process will be at times be exhilarating and disappointing.

You may look for excuses, displace the blame, or otherwise disconnect. Set high expectations for yourself, be your best, and solve problems when they arise.

5. BE OPEN-MINDED. You may think you have the answers or know where your design team is heading, it’s always healthy to keep an open mind—otherwise, your team may miss out on great opportunities.

6. TAKE RISKS WITH INNOVATION. You are not here to ask simple questions or dream small. Work with community members to define challenges that really push you to your intellectual limits. You never know what

creative solutions might be born out of the right challenge.

INSPIRE IS THE PHASE WHEN YOU GET TO EXPERIENCE THIS DYNAMIC PROCESS AND PROACTIVELY BUILD ON IT. YOU ARE NOW READY TO ESTABLISH A DESIGN TEAM.

CREATE YOUR DESIGN TEAM AS YOU ENTER THE Inspire phase, begin to think about what is possible—particularly with respect to the people in the community who you might work with.

YOUR DESIGN TEAM should be composed of 1-2 scholars and 4-10 community members. These are the community members who will be CO-CREATORS IN THE DESIGN PROCESS. YOU NEED LOCAL COFOUNDERS FOR ANY SOCIAL ENTERPRISE OR INNOVATION TO BE SUSTAINABLE. WE HAVE CREATED A MULTI-STEP process for developing your design team (which at times may seem onerous) to avoid some mistakes and set you up for success.

First, we want you to find community partners who can commit the required time to the program.

INSPIRE BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

Second, we want to reduce overlap in pursuit of design team members.

SET EXPECTATIONS WITH THESE 4 PRINCIPLES:

Third, the more time and effort you spend understanding the relationships you’ve built in the community and with other scholars, the more likely you are to have a productive and successful working relationship.

1. NO MONEY for grants, gifts, or projects beyond the prototype phase.

IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO WORK WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO YOU TRUST AND YOU BELIEVE WILL WORK COLLABORATIVELY THROUGH THIS PROCESS. THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS, remember that you have limited information about the individuals you hope to work with, and there will be unexpected changes to your plans as you build your design team. Keep an open mind about your partners.

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FINALLY, YOU SHOULD not dictate who becomes a member of the design team. Rather, it should be a collaborative process between you and community members you think would be interesting to work with. Enlist them as you consider who is available to work with.

Locals know more people in the community, and they know what different community members might bring to the table.

2. THE DESIGN TEAM comprises individuals who have agreed to be Partners in Innovation.

3. EVERYONE WILL have to commit a considerable amount of time until early August.

4. EVERYONE WILL have to agree to do their best, share their networks, and work together.

UNDERSTAND AND COLLABORATE DON’T FORGET THE LESSONS YOU LEARNED IN MIND: COMMUNICATE! COMMUNICATE! COMMUNICATE! Those are the three most important words in any organization or team.

Often we hold thoughts in our head because we assume people know what we are thinking, or we fear the consequences of speaking up. We may not want to be overbearing or cause anxiety by offering too much input on mundane tasks. There is a balance to communicating effectively.

It is one of the most important leadership skills.

FIVE TIPS FOR ENGAGING WITH DESIGN TEAM MEMBERS TAKE A LOOK AT the list and brainstorm effective ways to implement the 5 tips.

1. BUILD TRUST: PAY ATTENTION to nonverbal cues MAKE SURE you’re not only asking questions - share something about yourself.

SET CLEAR EXPECTATIONS about why you’re in the community.

ALWAYS KEEP RELATIONSHIPS friendly but professional.

2. EXEMPLIFY A GENUINELY democratic style of leadership by creating equal partnerships with community members. Everyone must contribute to your team.

3. ALWAYS SHOW UP PREPARED, on time, and ready to work.

4. SET AND REVIEW GOALS for each member individually and for the team as a whole.

5. CARPE DIEM. Seize each and every day. Things take longer than you expect, so get the ball rolling soon and be patient about the inevitable delays in the process.

REMEMBER: If you need a translator, ask for one. Ideally, you will push through these activities and communicate without language if that is the primary barrier.

DESIGN THINKING THE DESIGN THINKING METHODOLOGY PROVIDES A CRITICAL BRIDGE from understanding the community to working collaboratively and implementing meaningful ideas for social impact. The concept originates with the work and philosophy of IDEO, an award-winning global design-consulting firm that uses a human-centered design approach toward product innovation. This approach is “powered by a thorough understanding, through direct observation, of what people want and need in their lives and what they like or dislike about the way particular products are made, packaged, marketed, sold, and supported.”

TIM BROWN, CEO of IDEO, explains that this approach assumes three “lenses”: desirability, feasibility and viability. These lenses help you first examine what the community wants, then think about products and services that are technically feasible, and analyze whether or not an

INSPIRE BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

innovation is financially viable.

ENGAGING IN DESIGN-THINKING as equal partners with locals will allow your design team to generate sustainable products and services that address social challenges grounded in the community’s culture and context, including preferences, aspirations, assets, resources, likes and dislikes.

DESIGN THINKING includes a variety of activities within a continuum of innovation. While some design processes comprise orderly steps, design thinking sometimes feels chaotic. But ultimately, it will yield the desired outcomes. The chaos stems from the creativity and flexibility needed to design social innovations.

YOU WILL GET A CHANCE TO LEARN DESIGN THINKING THROUGH A GROUP WORKSHOP, THEN APPLY WHAT YOU LEARN TO YOUR DESIGN TEAM.

GET INSPIRED A56

INNOVATION REQUIRES INSPIRATION AND NEW WAYS OF LOOKING AT THE WORLD. BIOMIMICRY is one of these “new lenses”: it is a powerful framework

for understanding what is possible by learning directly from the natural order of things. Biomimicry sounds like a scary word, but don’t be alarmed. Below you will learn how to make the most of it.

BIOS means life; MIMICRY means imitate.

BIOMIMICRY IS the practice of learning from and emulating life’s genius to solve human problems and create more sustainable designs. It is a design and leadership discipline that seeks sustainable solutions by emulating nature’s time-tested ideas. Biomimicry is a branch of science, a problem-solving method, a sustainability ethos, a movement, a stance toward nature, and a new way of viewing and valuing biodiversity. Think of how nature solves its problems when you design innovations for communities.

IT’S TIME to imagine what is possible.

Social change through market forces is only accomplished when great ideas are uncovered. In rural communities in Africa and Latin America, great ideas will always meet local consumers where they are: attuned to local preferences, social challenges and daily routines.

BRAINSTORMING IS ANOTHER GREAT WAY TO GET INSPIRED AND BE CREATIVE.

TIPS FOR BRAINSTORMING 1. Defer judgment, think as largescale and broadly as possible and build on the ideas of others.

2. Welcome unusual ideas and combine and expand those that inspire you.

3. Set a time limit for each brainstorming session.

4. Document every idea.

5. Seek to multiply your options, considering as many of the assets and skills the community has and as many challenges as it is facing as you can. Include all insights and visions that surface.

6. Do not jump to solutions in the form of a made-to-order product or service as this will limit your thinking.

experiences related to improving that opportunity.

“PRINCIPLES, VALUES, HABITS” ARE HOW YOUR DESIGN TEAM WILL OPERATE.

RECALL THINKIMPACT’S 6 HIGH IMPACT PRACTICES. They embody our values and principles and make them concrete.

1. BELIEVE IN THE PROCESS 2. VALUE PEOPLE 3. LISTEN TO LEARN 4. SEEK MINDFUL COURAGE 5. BREATHE 6. BRING IT HOME

IN THIS PHASE, YOUR DESIGN TEAM WILL BRAINSTORM AND PICK A Path Statement.

A Path Statement MOVES YOU TOWARDS creating a product or service. It is an exciting turning point for the Institute. Everything you’ve done thus far led you here. Now, utilize your facilitation and leadership skills to bring ideas to life and identify a series of possible paths to discuss and review with your design team.

Picking the right path will set you up for success.

START WITH THE TEAM’S PURPOSE. “Purpose” is why the design team exists: for example, to identity a powerful opportunity for community or individual improvement and understand

THE PATH STATEMENT is a formal declaration of where your team is going. It provides a clear statement of the ultimate outcome and the changed experience you will offer the customer or individual.

7. Take a step back.

THE PATH STATEMENT

INSPIRE BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

PICKING A PATH will determine your team’s direction throughout the Innovate phase. It could determine what people end up doing for the rest of their lives. This is an exciting opportunity and you may be tempted to tackle several paths. However, your team has to pick one path, no exceptions.

WE FOCUS ON EXPERIENCES, not products, at this stage of the innovation process. THE INNOVATION PROCESS is humancentered, driven by the belief that ideas are powerful but people make every moment high impact.

To remain human-centered, we must resist the urge to solve problems first and instead focus on the experiences of daily life.

Solutions emerge from a deep understanding of how people live and what they do, not just what they use.

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NOTE: It is a common tendency to jump to conclusions about what people need. This happens because scholars become unsure about the process that is offered here. Doubt is healthy; after all, you are creating space for innovation to happen, and that is unclear and uncomfortable. However, successful innovation emerges by deepening your participation in the process, not by blowing past it.

TACKLE CHALLENGES AS A GROUP 1. Share a challenge and a success from your first design team meeting.

2. Tell the group about a community member or moment today that inspired you. See what you can learn from listening to the way other scholars are approaching their work.

3. Share your 2-week goal with the group and a way they could support you. Hold each other responsible for achieving these goals.

4. Brainstorm ways to help others achieve their goals and how you can support them.

5. Individually, reflect on the answers to the questions above, and then categorize your thoughts.

DESIGN TEAM LAUNCH MEETING TEAM-BUILDING: ICEBREAKERS OVERVIEW: All design teams are different. And within each team, each member will have a different style of communication and participation, and different perspectives. To work effectively together, you will need icebreakers to get to know each other and build trust. Icebreakers (also sometimes called energizers) can accomplish specific needs.

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What do you expect the design team to accomplish? Prepare with your scholar partner (if applicable) and run through the preparation together to divide responsibilities.

Identify a convenient time for people to meet. Think of a creative way to facilitate introductions, icebreakers and questions. Implement planned introduction activities. Invite everyone in the design team to share with the group what they are most excited about.

CHOOSE FROM THESE DIFFERENT ICEBREAKERS: 1. The Talent Show: To bring out skills and confidence in your group.

Everyone selects one talent or special gift that they possess and can demonstrate for the group. They introduce themselves, explain what their special talent is, and then perform their special talent for the group.

2. The Artist Game: To stir up creative confidence, learn how people see themselves.

Give everyone a piece of paper and a pencil. In 5 minutes they must draw a picture that conveys who they are with out writing any words or numbers.

At the end of 5 minutes the host collects the pictures.

Show the pictures to the group one at a time and have them try to guess who drew it. After this allow each of the artists to introduce themselves and explain how their work clearly conveys who they are.

3. One Word Icebreaker: To get initial thoughts on what brought you together Choose the issue that made people want to join the team: i.e. a goal, experience, or issue Divide into groups of 2-3 by numbering off.

Tell each group to spend one minute thinking and deciding on one word that describes this issue.

Example: If your common thread is opportunities for women in the community, ask the groups to find one word that describes the current state of women’s roles.

STEPS FOR CRAFTING A PATH STATEMENT Steps for crafting a Path Statement: 1. Write down the following Path Statement for all to see (this is what you’re working towards):

ACHIEVE X BY IMPROVING Y EXPERIENCE 2. Ask the team the following questions:

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WHAT CHANGE DO WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE IN THIS COMMUNITY? Think about your daily experiences and interactions in the community. What could enhance people’s quality of life? An issue may seem small but might have larger issues behind it. Consider quality of life through different lenses. Think of opportunities for innovation in health, education, business, energy, technology or other areas of daily life.

WHAT HUMAN EXPERIENCES WILL WE FOCUS ON TO UNDERSTAND the opportunity and achieve change? We’re not interested in what people might use. We want to identify what they will use. Daily experiences are meaningful data points for what people would like to do differently or more efficiently. Carrying water, posting jobs, renting services, delivering babies, fixing bikes and countless other daily tasks can be enhanced through great products and services. Understand what people like doing (don’t change that!) and what they find cumbersome, difficult or even dangerous.

WHAT DO WE HAVE TO GET STARTED? Recall mapped assets and ask the team to provide examples of resources.

Start with categories to get your design team thinking people, spaces, things, skills, relationships. Then think about people’s desires and aspirations

and what assets they are currently using to approach them. Consult your notes and other documentation to dig up information that may help.

3. Use your brainstorming tips to capture the full array of ideas you have shared as a team.

4. As a team, discuss and write out key words, highlights, or topics that seem to have priority.

5. EVALUATE: What do you want to achieve? What goals are inspiring?

What experiences impact the bigger goal you hope to achieve? Which experiences stood out?

Have you gotten to something truly fundamental—the root of a problem?

What surprised you? Did you notice any patterns or themes?

6. Organize your thoughts so everyone can understand.

SMART GOAL SETTING INSTRUCTIONS

By Wake Forest University Office of Personal & Career Development SMART Goal Setting Instructions, pg. 102, Dec. 11, 2013.

Improving your performance as a student is a noble goal, but take the time to do it right. Think about how to set goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely, and you find that achieving your goals is an easier task than you thought.

Knowing how to set goals is an important skill for students, and one that you will need in the working world.

As a college student, what are your goals? Do you know specifically what you would like to achieve, or do you have vague goals such as “doing well in class” or “raising my GPA”?

What are SMART goals? Follow the SMART model of goal setting.

Specific: First, goals need to be

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specific. That is, you need to spell out exactly what you want to accomplish. Vague goals can feel overwhelming and unachievable.

For example, “I’m going to be a better person,” is vague, and someone who sets this goal may not even know where to start.

Instead, it’s better to set specific steps such as, “I’m going to

volunteer twice a month,” or “I’m going to be more patient with my family.”

The same is true for school goals.

“I’m going to study better,” is too vague and overwhelming. Be specific. Goals such as “I will set aside three hours every weeknight to do nothing other than my school work” or “I will start my papers at least one week before the deadline,” are less overwhelming because they call for a specific task.

Measurable: Successful goals also need to be measurable or else there is no way to determine if you have achieved them. For example, “I’m going to lose weight” is a popular goal that works better with a measurable out-come such as “I’m going to lose 15 pounds by September.”

Setting measurable goals as a student can be easy because you’re surrounded by measurements.

Instead of “I’m going to get better grades,” try, “I am going to raise my GPA to a 3.0 by the end of the year,” or “I’m going to get at least a B in all of my classes this semester.”

Achievable: When setting goals, it’s important to choose ones that you are actually capable of attaining. Eliminate impossible or highly unlikely objectives.

“I’m going to bench press 300 pounds” may be a goal that is physical impossible. “I’m going to be in the NBA” is a goal that’s possible, but highly unlikely.

Keep this in mind with student goals. “I’m going to graduate in the top 10 percent of my class” may be impossible if it’s junior year and you only have a 2.8. “I’m going to get a 4.0 this semester,” may be highly unlikely if you’re your taking lots of extra credits and all your classes are upper level.”

Relevant: Goals should be set with the “big picture” in mind and should have a clear purpose.

If you’re trying to build a table, relevant goals include sanding the wood and carving the legs. If you get side tracked and spend several days shopping for the perfect china, your goal of building a table will be slowed down. China to put on the table would be nice, but this is not relevant to your overall goal.

The same is true with student goals.

If your goal is to ace a calculus test that’s three days away, don’t get started on a paper that’s not due for another week, and don’t decide that’s it’s time to organize your closet. Stay focused.

Timely: Finally, it’s important to set goals that you actually have time to complete. Losing 20 pounds might be a good idea, but not if you want to do that in three weeks. Planting a garden might be nice, but not if the first frost is due soon.

As a student, be realistic about what you have time to accomplish.

Writing a senior honor’s thesis might be a good idea, but not if you also have an internship, a part time job, and lots of other obligations. Taking on an ambitious group project topic might sound like a good idea, but not if you only have a few weeks to get the work done.

In using this method, you will be able to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely goals.

INNOVATE BACKGROUND INFORMATION

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JUGAAD

THESE ARE THE SIX PRINCIPLES OF JUGAAD

INNOVATION IS AT THE HEART OF SOCIAL CHANGE, but it’s not easy.

Creating high impact products and services with your design team requires that you push yourself and your teammates beyond your intellectual comfort zones. By bringing together different cultures and ideas, opportunities emerge that can radically improve the daily lives of community members. Job creation, economic growth and development, empowerment, and dignity all follow.

1. SEEK OPPORTUNITY

INNOVATION IS LIMITLESS. It offers the promise of solving nearly any problem in the world. As you think about your products and services, think about how you can contribute to the future through connecting people and ideas, how the right mix of existing resources could spell the end to some of the world’s greatest suffering.

TAKE a moment to consider Jugaad, a Hindi word that means “an innovative fix”: an improvised solution born from ingenuity and cleverness; resourcefulness.

Think of it as DIY: Do-It-Yourself solutions.

Use constraints as an invitation to innovate.

2. DO MORE WITH LESS Work with what you’ve got.

3. THINK AND ACT FLEXIBLY Adapt readily; move past old structures.

4. KEEP IT SIMPLE Don’t overthink solutions; they should be roughly and rapidly produced.

5. INCLUDE THE MARGIN Seek out marginal, underserved customers.

6. FOLLOW YOUR HEART Intuition, empathy, and passion are more than fuzzy emotions.

KNOW THY STAKEHOLDERS (Customer, User, & Context) Before you begin prototyping you must understand your customer, end user and different stakeholders involved in the process. These are the people you’re designing for and with.

CUSTOMERS Products and services need to have customers to have impact, though they may not be the ultimate beneficiary. Ex: A business that sells vaccines may sell them to a clinic.

However, the clinic does not need vaccines. Patients who go to the clinic need vaccines.

Designing a business model that can succeed requires understanding that there is a market dynamic between your product, the buyer, and the ultimate beneficiary.

IT IS TIME TO BETTER UNDERSTAND your customer: the individual, company, clinic, school, or other entity that will actually buy the product in a direct transaction.

What do they want?

END USERS YOU ARE GETTING MORE ADVANCED in your thinking

about the business dynamics in the community, including who works where, who sells what, and how people use materials. It’s time to put your new thinking and knowledge into context.

FIRST THINK ABOUT THE INDIVIDUALS who will ultimately use your product or service. This is called the END USER in some business jargon. Think about buying a computer. You go to Amazon.com to buy the computer. But Amazon.com is not the creator of the product, they just think about the retail process. The more successful computers—the ones that sell the most—will be the ones that best meet the final consumer’s needs. The retailer, who can charge more for the product and make a bigger margin, will then purchase the best product in larger quantities.

SECOND, THINK ABOUT THE GOALS that your end user might have.

How do they make money? What’s their role in the community and the advantage of the product? Would you need a go-between to reach this customer?

NOW THINK ABOUT ALL YOUR STAKEHOLDERS. UNDERSTANDING THEIR INCENTIVES AND MOTIVATIONS– in other words, what your stakeholders want—is critical for developing a product or service that is high impact. In many ways, social enterprises and social innovations

INNOVATE BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

uncover new ways to align incentives. If incentives to improve the world (say, reduce your carbon footprint) can be aligned with the incentive to make money through creativity and innovation, the impact can be far reaching.

They can be made from basic, simple materials and should be crude and ugly. A prototype is “anything tangible that lets us explore an idea, evaluate it, and push it forward.” They are disposable tools used throughout the concept development process, both to validate ideas and to help generate new ideas.

PROTOTYPE, TEST & ITERATE

THIS IS THE MOST EXCITING STAGE of the Institute; you will begin to see the fruits of all your efforts to develop an innovation. Yet, the process of prototyping and testing ideas is also the most challenging and intense. It’s easy to hit a creative block or become overwhelmed by the scope of your design team’s ideas while running into limitations of time and resources. We have established opportunities for you to share your progress with people outside of your design team. These feedback sessions will challenge you to keep up with the flow of the Innovation phase and are designed to support your team.

ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR CONTEXT AND THE EXPERIENCE YOU WANT TO IMPROVE, YOUR DESIGN TEAM will select ideas and begin prototyping a product or service as a solution to your “Path Statement“.

THE KEYS TO SUCCESS in this program is an eagerness to explore ideas, a willingness to adjust and redirect one’s approach, and most importantly, a honed capacity to listen. We like to use a phrase that our friends at For Impact came up with, “Think big, Build simple, Act now!” We offer an important addendum: “Listen, Iterate, Learn!”

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PROTOTYPES ARE a powerful form of communication and force us to think in realistic terms about how someone would interact with a concept. Prototypes are not precious. They should be built as quickly and cheaply as possible.

PROTOTYPING TECHNIQUES • SKETCHING SKETCH IDEAS that inspire you.

DON’T WORRY ABOUT your artistic talent because creating beautiful sketches doesn’t guarantee that you will be able to solve problems elegantly.

THE PURPOSE OF SKETCHING is to think and communicate with drawings.

SKETCHING WILL HELP YOU visualize concepts and communicate many ideas quickly; this will be useful for figuring out details.

GET IDEAS OUT of your head and begin to make them take form on paper so that others can visualize.

INVOLVE COMMUNITY MEMBERS throughout! They may be great at sketching insights you overlook.

• USER LIFECYCLE MAP VISUALIZE a user’s overall relationship with the service.

EX: A series of user journeys over time, from the user’s initial contact with a service, right through to the point where they eventually stop using it altogether.

HIGHLIGHT THE KEY STAGES a typical customer would pass through when using this service.

AT EACH OF THESE STAGES,, incorporate information about the customer’s drive and motivation.

• EXPECTATION MAPS INVESTIGATE AND CHART what customers expect when they interact with a service.

INVITE X NUMBER of potential customers to share with you their expectations for what, when, how, and why they would need a solution.

HIGHLIGHT EXPECTATIONS that need attention from your customer and support you in building a stronger system.

• SERVICE STAGING ACT OUT A SCENARIO PROTOTYPE in a situation that resembles a theater rehearsal.

BRING YOUR EARLIER STORYBOARD to life to help you understand a consumer’s interaction with the service.

FOCUS ON THE SMALL DETAILS of people’s reactions and emotions, which are crucial to understanding the real-world situations in which a service is delivered.

ACT OUT THE SITUATION in an iterative cycle, moving from the starting storyboard to a new design.

DESIGNATE SOMEONE the director to help coordinate the group.

INNOVATE BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

• MIMICRY MIMICRY REFERS to copying properties of familiar objects, organisms, or environments in order to improve the usability, likeability, or functionality of an object.

DRAW INSPIRATION from these three basic kinds of mimicry 1. Surface: Making a design look like something else 2. Behavioral: Making a design act like something else 3. Functional: Making a design work like something else MIMICRY IS AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY to begin exploring a design problem, but it should not be assumed that mimicked solutions are correct or best.

• 3D MODELING

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A PHYSICAL MODEL a product, quickly mocked up using rough materials, is a simple means of prototyping that allows you to consider your ideas in 3 dimensions.

TIP Form follows function.

NEEDS TO CLEARLY be a model, not a first draft of the real thing.

EX: Use wood not actual soap.

USE structures, fasteners, and surfaces to develop a model that you can engage.

BRING YOUR IDEAS into the real world for further assessment and to answer questions such as desirability, usefulness, usability, viability, or feasibility

GATHER FEEDBACK & ITERATE THESE ARE TWO IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES FOR PROTOTYPING: ALWAYS GET FEEDBACK WHEN YOU TEST YOUR IDEAS, AND ITERATE FROM THAT FEEDBACK. ONCE YOU HAVE a working prototype, you can begin gathering feedback from your target audience.

It is important to include as many stakeholders as possible in the feedback stage: people from new places (as well as familiar faces), the end users, and even the people along the supply chain (potential producers, distributors, etc.).

INVOLVE some of the different perspectives you explored at the beginning of Innovate. The most important point for your design team to remember when soliciting feedback is that you are seeking honest responses.

If feedback is negative, it’s best to know early on how people respond to a given innovation and work with that new information to improve upon your ideas.

FEEDBACK CAN be gathered by asking individuals directly, or by conducting feedback sessions during which groups of consumers may try out the product and then provide their thoughts and reactions in smaller groups. For example, consumers should be able to test, taste, sample, try, and generally experience your suggested innovation.

P O I N T

WHEN YOU TEST AN IDEA FOR FEEDBACK, MAINTAIN A NEUTRAL TONE rather than selling the product.

Seek advice for how you might improve the product. Encourage users to build on ideas with more questions.

DON’T TAKE CRITICISMS PERSONALLY. Listen to the feedback and determine where you can improve. The user might say one thing but mean another. Try analyzing the feedback with the 5 Whys to find out the root of the problem.

WHEN YOU PRESENT IDEAS, such a storyboard of your user’s experience, gather feedback with the POINT Technique.

PROBLEM

What Problems did they identify with your storyboard or target audience profile?

OBSTACLE

Did they foresee any obstacles that would be a barrier to you proceeding forward?

INSIGHT

Did they highlight any insights into your target audience that you had overlooked?

NEED

Did they highlight anything in particular your presentation was lacking or needed?

THEME

Did they highlight any themes, such as commonalities, differences, and relationships in the information you presented that provided additional meaning.

INNOVATE BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

UNSTICK YOURSELF IF YOU ARE FEELING FRUSTRATED or feel like you are getting carried away with your prototype, complicating matters in the hot pursuit of innovation, you may need a fresh perspective.

CONSTRAINTS THIS IS A TECHNIQUE FOR LIMITING the actions that can be performed by a system.

Proper application of constraints makes design easier to use and dramatically reduces the probability of error during interaction. Think of the few buttons on an iPad. Sometimes less is more. There are two basic types of constraints: physical constraints and psychological constraints.

Physical constraints limit the range of possible actions by redirecting physical motion in specific ways.

Psychological constraints limit the range of possible actions by leveraging the way people perceive and think about the world. Would there be value to using constraints?

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HIERARCHY OF NEEDS IN ORDER FOR A DESIGN to be successful, it must meet people’s basic needs before it can attempt to satisfy higher-level needs. What basic needs does the product or

service meet? What are higher level needs that the product or service might address?

AFFORDANCE THIS IS A PROPERTY in which the physical characteristics of an object or environment influence its function.

Whenever possible, you should design objects and environments to afford their intended function, and negatively afford improper use. For example, a knob affords twisting, and perhaps pushing, while a cord affords pulling. What is an example of affordance in your prototype?

COLOR COLOR IS USED IN DESIGN to attract attention, group elements, indicate meaning, and enhance aesthetics.

Number of colors, combination of colors, saturation, and symbolism are all variables that can explain the meaning of different objects (for example, red emergency boxes for fire extinguishers). Color can make designs more visually interesting and aesthetically pleasing, and can reinforce the organization and meaning of elements in a design.

80/20 RULE THERE IS A COMMONLY HELD BELIEF that approximately 80 percent of the effects generated by a system are caused by 20 percent of the variables

in the system. For example, 80 percent of a product’s usage involves 20 percent of its features.

Is this true for your product? Do you want it to be? All elements in a design are not created equal.

Get rid of anything that is excess.

Use the 80/20 rule to assess the value of elements and keep the 20 percent that matters!

AGILE DEVELOPMENT ADAPTING THROUGHOUT the Innovation phase is essential for success. Adapting is a proactive action; it does not happen by accident. In fact, you can view adapting in two ways, one positive and the other negative. Imagine that you say in the Innovation process, “This didn’t work well, but I can see why, and I am excited to adjust my assumptions and find ways to be more resourceful,” rather than saying, “This didn’t work well, and we are failing to solve problems in the community.”

The difference in attitude and the embrace of the constant need to adapt is apparent.

WE LEARN the most when we confront a challenge with our full energy and when we reflect on what we have done. As your team

explores your “Path Statement” with various prototypes, try not to think about how you’ve seen the problem solved before, and if your prototype is as good or better than what already exists.

ADAPTING INVOLVES frequent team meetings where your design team can openly discuss the ongoing development of your project. During these meetings, encourage your team to place an emphasis on the individual user and their interactions over processes and tools you’ve been using. Remember the big picture!

IF ISSUES ARISE, keep in mind that effective communication is often the greatest challenge for any team.

Spend extra time to explain what you mean when you say something; to listen more carefully to what others’ views are; and to flesh out an issue more thoroughly. In the context of the Institute—rural communities with different cultures and languages— communication is particularly difficult.

NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO REALLY HONE YOUR SKILLS AND BECOME AN EXCEPTIONAL COMMUNICATOR NO MATTER THE ENVIRONMENT. AS YOU’RE EXPERIENCING, innovating is an iterative process.

Agile development meetings will support your team in reflecting

INNOVATE BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

on Innovation’s key objectives, abandoning formalized processes and establishing a time to discuss how your service is developing and reflecting on your next actions.

Keeping your project agile is key to developing a true innovation.

YOU’LL WANT TO CREATE an action-oriented culture among your team. Putting this actionoriented culture into play means taking small steps, like spending a “few minutes at the end of every meeting to go around the table and allow each person to recite the action steps that he/she is responsible for executing.”

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WHEN WORKING IN A TEAM, it is extremely important to define roles clearly, and to follow up.

Often groups make the mistake of assuming someone will take care of required tasks and a few team members end up scrambling to make up for these gaps. Think through every person’s role in the process. Everyone should know what he or she is responsible for, when it needs to be completed and what success looks like (what the goal is for their work). At Thinkimpact we call this a framing meeting.

For this phase, you must work together as a team and be on the same page with actions, which will take coordination and collaborative effort. Make sure you read the required design team actions’ ACTION STEPS to plan appropriately, especially if you need to prepare for certain actions.

REFLECTING ON 3 WHATS FOR CONTEXT Evaluate: • What groups are most involved in addressing the issue?

• How is information delivered?

• How are products or services delivered?

• Who ultimately benefits?

• How do design team members feel when they experience such a deep and open assessment of activities in the community?

WHEN DEVIANTS DO GOOD

By Tina Rosenberg New York Times

Jerry and Monique Sternin and their son were among the very first Americans to move to Hanoi when they arrived in Vietnam in 1990. They had come from the Philippines, where Jerry had been director of Save the Children’s program there.

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At the time, Vietnam was losing its imports of subsidized rice from ideological backers and shifting from collectivized to private agriculture. The dislocation was deadly—“a near-famine situation,” Monique Sternin said in an interview from Addis Ababa this weekend. About two-thirds of children were malnourished.

International feeding programs had helped, but when the programs ended, villages fell back into hunger. The government had asked Save the Children to try to find a lasting solution. Some officials didn’t like having Westerners brought in. You have six months to show results, the government warned. If you don’t, you’re out.

The Sternins had seen in their previous work how big programs run by outsiders created dependency. “The essence of

development is to help people build capacity to do things themselves,” said Monique (Jerry died in 2008).

“We were struggling to find something.”

They had just read a book, however,

by Marian Zeitlin, a professor of nutrition at Tufts University, called “Positive Deviance in Nutrition.” The word deviant usually has negative connotations, but Zeitlin wrote about children who thrived even as those around them were poorly nourished.

Zeitlin suggested that nutrition could be improved if a village looked at what these children’s families were doing right.

The Sternins were not experts in fighting malnutrition. But they thought they knew where to find some. They went into villages and asked for volunteers to weigh all children under 3, and to characterize each family’s level of income. The volunteers concluded the obvious: the poorer the family, the more likely the children would be malnourished.

Then the Sternins asked if any of the families characterized as “very, very poor” had well-nourished children.

The volunteers checked the list and

excitedly reported that there were some.

“So it’s possible for a very, very poor child in the village to be well nourished?” asked the Sternins.

“Let’s go see what their families are doing differently,” the volunteers said.

The volunteers fanned out to interview these “positive deviant” families—in each village there were a few, perhaps 5 or 6. They found several practices in common.

Children in the village were fed twice a day, mostly rice. Local custom held that an adult diet was harmful for young children. But the positive deviant parents were collecting tiny crabs or shrimps from rice paddies and giving them to the children along with the greens from sweet potatoes. While village wisdom held that you don’t feed a child who has diarrhea, the positive deviant families did.

They also fed their children often throughout the day, and washed their children’s hands before they ate.

The Sternins knew that helping villagers to learn about these deviant behaviors would not be enough. “Knowledge doesn’t change behavior,” said Monique.

“Practice changes behavior.” They

convened meetings of villagers to discuss how best to spread the behaviors. The villagers decided that parents of malnourished children would gather with their children daily at a neighbor’s house for two weeks.

Each family had to collect a handful of shrimps, crabs or greens and bring it to the gathering. With a trained health volunteer, the families cooked meals using the nutritious foods and tried out the new practices. If they didn’t become habit and the children were still malnourished, the families could do another two-week cycle the next month. “Trying something new always makes you a little scared. People got confidence through their peers,” said Monique.

Five and a half months after the Sternins had arrived in Vietnam, authorities weighed the children in the district who had participated in the program. More than 40 percent were now well nourished, and another 20 percent had moved from severe to moderate malnutrition.

The Sternins got their visa extended.

Vietnam eventually replicated the program in 250 communities.

Poor-country development usually works like this: Outsiders come into a community where there is a problem.

They bring in “best practice” ideas that have worked elsewhere, and design

WHEN DEVIANTS DO GOOD (CONT)

ways to teach the community to change its culture and adopt these new ideas.

And then they leave.

If they come back later, however, they might find that not much has changed: a few people adopted the new idea, but not many. And since that was not the way the community did things, even those adventurous few might abandon their new practices.

Here’s how the positive deviance approach is different: • Outsiders don’t bring in ideas to change a community’s culture.

Instead, they ask the community to look for its own members who are having success. Those local ideas, by definition, are affordable and locally acceptable—at least to some people in the community. Since they spring from a community’s DNA, the community is less likely to feel threatened by these ideas and more likely to adopt them.

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• The focus is not a community’s problems, but its strengths.

• Outsiders don’t design a communication or training strategy to teach the idea.

Outsiders can bring people in the community into one room,

but local people design a way to spread the new behaviors.

• Local leaders are not the ones who come up with solutions. That is the job of everyone on the front line dealing with the problem.

The leaders’ job is to facilitate the process of finding and spreading these solutions.

• Outsiders don’t monitor success.

They show people in the community how to do that. “If they see that things are getting better, that’s further incentive to continue the new behavior,” said Monique.

Positive deviance has now been used in dozens of countries to attack a wide variety of problems.

The nutrition program has been replicated all over the world—in each place using different, local solutions.

Positive deviance has helped to reduce rates of female genital mutilation in Egypt, improved prisons in Denmark, helped the mentally ill in Pittsburgh strengthen social connections and cut infections at Veterans Affairs hospitals across the United States. Tufts University is host to the Positive Deviance Initiative, which has a staff of four and several consultants who teach the process around the world (Monique is a senior consultant), and the Sternins wrote a book, “The Power of Positive Deviance.”

In 1997, the Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative was formed to try to improve hospital care.

One of its goals was to reduce the infection rate of MRSA, a deadly resistant form of staph, in local hospitals. The city’s V.A. Pittsburgh Healthcare System agreed to run a pilot program beginning in 2001, adopting the Toyota Production System. (Paul O’Neill, the former treasury secretary, was one founder of the Initiative; he had used Toyota’s manufacturing and logistics strategies when he ran Alcoa.) “This went a long way in solving some of the technical problems—providing soap, gowns and gloves where they were needed in quantities they were needed,“ said Jon Lloyd, a prominent Pittsburgh surgeon. “But the so-called behavioral problems were untouched. Once resources were withdrawn from the Toyota model it fell apart. The frontline staff didn’t own it. Physicians, especially, were not washing their hands—nurses were at 70 percent for hand hygiene, but physicians were at 15 percent.”

Lloyd read an article in Fast Company about positive deviance, and invited Jerry Sternin to come speak. He agreed, with the condition that Lloyd produce everyone in the hospital who

touched patients in any way. In July 2005, Jerry asked those 150 people who they felt was responsible for preventing infection; they pointed to nurses and the hospital’s infection control officers.

“Six months later Jerry asked the same question, and every hand went up,” said Lloyd, who became the hospital’s positive deviance adviser and coach, and now does the same with other Pittsburgh organizations.

“The housekeepers at the VA turned out to be world authorities on infection prevention—people who are never asked for their opinions.”

Ideas came from all over. Edward Yates, on the housekeeping staff, was a wellspring of anti-infection ideas; his unit chose him to brief the staff (including high-ranking doctors) on the unit’s progress. One hospital pastor told his colleagues that he kept his Bible from spreading germs by gowning it with paper hats. He changed the hat with each new patient.

Lloyd said that the other pastors began to do the same. “No one had to tell the others to do this,” he said. “There was just a quiet understanding of a solution that came from somebody who shared their professional DNA.” Six months later, the infection rate

WHEN DEVIANTS DO GOOD (CONT)

had fallen by more than half, and the gains did not go away. (Since this was not a randomized control trial, there’s no way to know how much of the gains came from the use of positive deviance.)

The V.A. then adopted these changes in virtually all its hospitals, recommending that hospitals use the positive deviance approach and offering training in it. From October 2007 to June 2010, MRSA infections in intensive care units at the 153 V.A. hospitals in the program dropped by 65 percent; in nonintensive care units they dropped by 45 percent. (Again, we don’t know if the intervention can take credit, although it is significant that there had been no change in MRSA infection rates during the two years before the intervention.)

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Pittsburgh’s experience, ultimately successful, also shows why positive deviance can fail. “It’s particularly difficult for donors who want to have a clear sense of what outcomes will be,” said Roger Swartz, the executive director of the Positive Deviance Initiative.

Donors have solutions they like, and they will finance programs that use those solutions. But with positive deviance, you don’t know what the solution will be; it has to emerge as part of the process.

The approach can also be threatening to people at the top.

They are used to being the experts, but with positive deviance, it’s the people in the field who are the experts. In hierarchical institutions like hospitals, housekeeping staff members do not usually brief physicians. But where managers can accept revolutionary new ways of doing business, positive deviance can succeed. “I don’t know how this is going to work,” the Pittsburgh V.A. chief Rajiv Jain told his workers when they began the program. “But I have total confidence that you as the front line staff will know.”

STAKEHOLDER MAP EXAMPLE Example: Consider a businesswoman whom you are working with in the town. You have drawn her “Motivations” out, and decided that community, recognition, money, and family play key roles in her decision-making.

Did you uncover any surprising motivations? Did you uncover opportunities for building partnerships, aligning individuals and other stakeholders that could lead to high impact?

LEVEL OF MOTIVATION

Now take a look at the stakeholders you have analyzed.

What do they each demand from your product or service? What value is easiest to deliver? Where are motivations unclear?

Draw or write the stakeholders that threaten the idea because their incentives are not well aligned with the design team’s goals.

COMMUNITY

RECOGNITION

MONEY

FAMILY

KNOW THY CUSTOMER

As we mentioned in the background information, products and services require customers to have impact. The goal is to better understand your customer and what they want so they will actually buy the product.

Example: A business that sells vaccines may sell them to a clinic.

However, the clinic does not need vaccines. Patients who go to the clinic need vaccines.

1. Create a customer profile that aggregates attributes from many actual customers. This profile represents a character or business that your design team can engage throughout the prototyping process that would likely be a buyer.

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2. From your efforts to establish context answer the following question: Who is the best consumer to ensure that benefit is delivered efficiently to improve your Path Statement’s experience?

3. Draw a picture of your customer and create a character profile, answering the following questions: • What are the unique elements of the customer? What makes them unique?

• How do they think about their role in the community?

• Do they keep a budget and plan, or do they live a subsistence life?

• When is revenue likely to spike or drop?

• What is their willingness to pay for a product or service?

• How do they make money?

Does your idea help them make more money?

4. Evaluate: Is this the customer you think you should work with? Can you really provide value to this customer?

How do you know that they might be interested in this idea?

GAIN CONTEXT: 2X2 MATRIX In order to identify opportunities to redesign and understand experiences, you should understand the problems that community members experience.

We want to design around assets, but we also want to solve problems. To do that we need to understand what is urgent and important, as well as what constraints exist that lead to problems. Mapping them out can help us pursue opportunities that respond to the greatest need and have the most impact. This action can help you prepare for reframing your Path Statement and prototyping by helping you choose what problems to solve and understand barriers that create these problems.

1. Draw a 2x2 matrix. On one axis put urgency and the other importance.

2. Make a list of all the problems you and your design team see in the community. Start broad, and then narrow in on problems that relate to your Path Statement experience.

3. Ask them which problems are most urgent, and which are more important.

4. Map them out on the axis.

Rearrange, refine.

5. Then create a list of constraints under which these problems operate (e.g. money, time, relationships, distance). What are the barriers that make these problems problems?

What makes them so difficult, important, and urgent?

6. Select the top two constraints and draw another 2x2 matrix, with one constraint on each axis.

7. Plot the problems again into this matrix.

8. EVALUATE: Does this change your design direction? How?

CREATIVE WAYS TO NARROW YOUR CHOICES CREATIVE WAYS TO NARROW YOUR CHOICES Bottle caps: This is a quick way to narrow the field of possibilities by eliminating ideas that may sound cool but receive zero votes. Write your top few ideas on separate note cards and spread them out across the table. Every design team member will receive 5 bottle caps to “vote� on their favorite ideas. Any note cards without bottle caps get eliminated. The three cards with the most bottle caps move on to step two.

5-minute debates: Take your top three ideas and create a structured forum to debate the merits of these competing ideas.

There are two rules: 1. All sides get equal time 2. Limit the time to 10 minutes for each side.

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Impact scorecard: fill in this is an easy-to-use scorecard that prompts specific questions for your team to consider in measuring the value of an idea.

Score ideas against the following questions from 1 to 10, where one is lowest and ten is highest.

PROTOTYPE BOOSTERS

Diagram

Song or Story

Draw the process or experience that your product or service creates in the community. Include where the product’s or service’s inputs come from, where the necessary inputs are sold, resold, transported, and ultimately, used.

Portraying the value to an individual through a short story or a song is a powerful reminder of what makes the Institute so powerful for everyone involved.

Write where people experience happiness, relief, or frustration.

What is oppressive for the individual, and what is easy?

Now do the same activity for other businesses in the same industry or category. How do others operate?

EVALUATE: • What is the value to your target audience?

• How did you display that in the diagram? Why? • Why and how would this idea be better than current options?

• Did you notice any new challenges?

• How much is this benefit worth to the people who will use it?

Pick a subject for your story, ideally a consumer who will benefit from your product or service.

Example: a small boy, a mother, or a local shopkeeper TIP Think of a scenario where a potential customer would use your product or service.

Take some time away from the daily work of building a prototype to develop a story line, poem, song, or other medium to express the emotional experience that is so central to the product or service.

Be creative. Test it out with another community member you have a relationship with or another design team.

DESIGN TEAM CAPABILITIES

Focus on the solution you have identified and begun prototyping.

Write out Distribution on a chart and list all actors who could deliver the solution possible actor, asking: • Where, when, how and why might the customer experience this solution?

• Which actors and channels touch the solution?

• What other channels could be used to reach customers?

• What is the range of possible ways this solution could be delivered?

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Write out Capabilities on another sheet and list where they are located, answering: • What human, manufacturing, financial and technological capabilities are required for creating and delivering this solution?

• Which of these capabilities do we have in the community?

Which do we have in the country? Which do we have internationally? Which capabilities will our partners need?

• Will we need to grow any capabilities on this list?

Write out Potential Partners and create a list, asking:

Narrow down the partner list.

Identify next steps:

• What organizations or individuals have capabilities that we do not?

• First steps the design team would have to take to pursue the partners needed

• What is our relationship with them currently?

• Next steps the design team would have to take to gain necessary capabilities

• How might we reach out to them and show the value of engaging with our organization on this solution?

• How you will modify your design to make it more feasible and viable

SHIFT BACKGROUND INFORMATION LEAVING THE COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN

TAKE A STEP BACK AND BREATHE. Before going further, reflect on all that you have learned, grown and achieved in less than 8 weeks. It’s remarkable.

ONCE YOUR TEAM has developed a prototype and received customer feedback, you want to set your local community partners up for success.

It is critical that you deliberately transition away from being the driving force behind the product or service so that community members may assume full control. This should not be a handoff. The local community has been involved all along. This action should, however, lead to a framework that you have co-created for the local community members to work with after you depart.

IN SHIFT, we focus on how you can Bring it Home. Bringing it home means finding closure from the experience, preparing to transition back to your home country, and, for long term impact, applying the Innovator to your daily lives.

DURING THE INSTITUTE you have developed habits, skills and perspectives that can enhance your ability to operate in a highly competitive, interconnected world.

The same value has been created in the community. The following actions are about sustaining momentum, building better habits, and tackling anything.

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IN MANY WAYS, this is where impact can become sustainable. Six months down the line, community members should be able to say, “I partnered with a wonderful scholar to identify an opportunity and for the last many months, I have built something I am proud of that is growing.”

ENVISION THAT FOR A SECOND. THINK HOW POWERFUL it is to have been a catalyst for new livelihoods, personal growth and economic development.

THE KEY TO SUCCESS here is planning. You are going to need a strategy.

WHAT IS STRATEGY? At ThinkImpact we think of strategy as a series of interrelated decisions.

Some are difficult, others less so. The key is to set goals within a given timeframe that you can execute upon. You want to keep goals concrete so you can see where you are, measure success and adjust appropriately.

BY DOING THIS, you will have broken the idea into its component parts.

THIS INFORMATION WILL inform your Community Action Plan, which begins with the “Integrated Cascade of Choices” from Playing to Win by A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin.

HOW YOU CAPTURE the memory of being in the community, the systems you set up to share information and stay in touch when you return to the United States, and the way you leave your family and team will stay with you for days after you return home.

LEAVING THE community is an emotional time on the Institute. You may feel awkward as well as sad.

You may wonder, “What am I leaving behind to help?” Don’t give in to the urge to promise something. You’ve made your mark. The relationships, the connections, the lessons you’ve learned, the teams you’ve built and more are your legacy.

Don’t undermine your time in the community by making quick-fix promises.

WE WANT TO HELP YOU TO LEAVE EFFECTIVELY. HERE’S HOW: MAKE NO PROMISES.

SAYING GOODBYE IT MIGHT SEEM ODD that the Innovator includes an “exit” section.

However, leaving the community can be as difficult as entering. It’s an emotional time, it always feels rushed, and it can set you up for a positive post-Institute experience if done right.

IN SOME RURAL COMMUNITIES, promises are extremely serious and locals will expect you to follow through. You may have good intentions when making a promise, and then accidentally forget or quite innocently fail to follow up. It may not seem like a big deal to you, but it is to them. When you make a promise you can’t (or forget) to keep, this is a deep offense to your community members and they will wait EVERY DAY for you to fulfill it. This reflects

SHIFT BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

poorly on not only you, but also the culture you inherently represent: the U.S., foreigners, your school, and ThinkImpact. Beyond being a scholar, remember that you are also a cultural ambassador! Your promises will ultimately impact future programs and scholars.

WE STRONGLY DISCOURAGE making promises. Here are a few examples that will do more harm than good: “I promise to return to the community.” Don’t make that promise. You have no idea what your future travel plans are. Things change. Life happens fast.

“I will send you money for school.”

Yikes! This is a major offense.

When you do this you create a new dependence and unfounded hope. You also face a tricky set of new questions: How will I send the money? How much? When? Don’t promise to send money. Don’t send money!

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“I will send goods for your house/ business/child.” Getting things into Africa often costs more time and money than the good itself. Don’t go there.

INSTEAD OF MAKING PROMISES… THINK ABOUT THE MEMORIES YOU WANT TO CAPTURE.

CAPTURE MEMORIES. In the last couple days in the community, make sure to find the most appropriate way to capture the memories you want to have. Is it a video, sketch, letter, photo or small memento that will help your hosts or you remember the times you’ve shared this summer? Breathe in. Mentally note the uniqueness of the place, its smells, its community.

Identify some time when you can share what you have appreciated about the experience, how they have made an impact on you, and so you can learn how you have impacted them. Discuss what they will do with the future.

ESTABLISH COMMUNICATION CHANNELS. Staying in touch with your host family and your team is never easy. Time change, limited cell reception and simply the feeling of distance can cause you to lose touch with the community. Think about all of your options: Facebook, Email, What’s App, SMS and phone calls all keep you connected. Which would your host family prefer to use? Which communication channel will you consistently check? What is the time difference between your host country and your home? What time will be best to reach you when you return?

Invite them to stay in touch.

Communicate when they should call—they may know the time difference.

SAYING A “GOOD” GOODBYE AND GIFT GIVING

EVERY GRADUATE WILL BE CALLED UP AND RECOGNIZED FOR:

Set up an opportunity to see the whole family together. Don’t rush the goodbye. Find some time so you can really show your appreciation. Leave something that will remind your host family of you (photo, book, poem, etc.).

• Identifying a Path Statement and developing an innovation.

Think about how you will thank each family member and in what order.

• Becoming an Innovator in your own right having learned about asset-based development, design thinking, and social innovation.

As you think about the gift you will leave for your host family, consult the Country Team for additional guidance.

ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR FEELINGS about leaving the community.

Write down how you’re feeling about leaving, use an activity from the Innovator to put ideas on paper, or simply take a slow walk around the community to reflect.

TI GRADUATION COMPLETING THE INSTITUTE is a truly remarkable achievement.

ThinkImpact Graduation is an important moment to recognize what you have accomplished in the last two months.

• Completing 480 hours of work in the community over 8 weeks.

• Completing the Mind, Immerse, Inspire, Innovate and Shift phases of the Innovator.

SELECTED GRADUATES WILL BE RECOGNIZED FOR: • Best in Community Innovation • Best in Country Innovation

YOUR PARTICIPATION in the Institute is a milestone in your personal development. It represents a transitional period when you decided to learn to tackle any opportunity no matter the location, the language or the enormity of the challenge.

COMPLETING THE PROGRAM as a scholar entitles you to the benefits of being a ThinkImpact Innovator, a member of a select community of individuals who are engaging people through experiences to make every moment high impact.

SHIFT BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

BRING IT HOME During the Institute you have developed habits, skills and perspectives that can enhance your ability to operate in a highly competitive and interactive world.

The same value has been created in the community. The following actions are about sustaining momentum, building better, and tackling anything.

Bringing it home means finding closure from the experience, preparing to transition back to your home country, and for long-term impact, applying the Innovator to your daily lives.

SCHOLARS MAKE EXTENSIVE preparation before the Institute.

Many expect culture shock when they arrive to their destination. It’s common to go through a sharp learning curve about local customs and norms.

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WHAT MANY SCHOLARS don’t expect is how difficult it is to return home. You will find that people have different priorities than you. They may value material belongings more than you do, or not think South Africa is a particularly inspiring place. Each interaction with people upon your return will offer a new set of surprises, disappointments, and opportunities.

WHEN YOU GET BACK HOME you will be excited to share your summer experiences. You will not want to wait even one minute before launching into the details of the people you lived and worked with, the places you have seen and the things you have achieved.

CONSIDER TAKING it a little more slowly. When you arrive home, make sure to ask how others have been doing, how their summer has been, and what they experienced.

To become completely absorbed in your own story can shut people out.

Some may even feel bad about their own experiences. Make sure not to impose your views or dominate the conversation.

APPLYING THE INNOVATOR BACK HOME THE INNOVATOR WAS NOT DESIGNED JUST FOR THE INSTITUTE. IT WAS DESIGNED FOR YOU. As you know by now, the Innovator is a complex tool for uncovering assets, building relationships, establishing teams and testing ideas. You have become deeply familiar with the actions the Innovator can offer you.

Now think about how you can apply them in your daily life back in the United States or home country.

FOR EVERY ACTION in the Innovator, think about how you might identify a goal that is relevant in your daily life at home.

WHENEVER YOU FACE a new project, want to create something new, or simply understand something in a different way, turn to your Innovator first.

Leafing through the pages will reveal myriad learning tools and opportunities. There are infinite applications for the activities in your daily life.

WHAT ACTIONS DO YOU GO BACK TO MOST FREQUENTLY? WHY? When has understanding context proven valuable?

Have you built teams where you otherwise might not have?

Have you tested an idea and been pleasantly surprised with the results?

THINKIMPACT FAMILY WELCOME TO THE GROWING COMMUNITY OF INNOVATORS! “A TRIBE IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE CONNECTED TO ONE ANOTHER AND CONNECTED TO AN IDEA. FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS, HUMAN BEINGS HAVE BEEN PART OF ONE TRIBE OR ANOTHER. A GROUP NEEDS ONLY TWO THINGS TO BE A TRIBE: A SHARED INTEREST AND A WAY TO COMMUNICATE.” —SETH GODIN, TRIBES

When you confirmed your participation on the 2014 Institute, you did not merely sign up for a one-off study abroad or internship placement program. You took the first step in joining a community, a family, and a tribe to which you will belong for the rest of your life. Your experience with ThinkImpact is linked to the experiences of others before you and the community partners that continue to push the boundaries on what is possible in emerging economies.

WE BELIEVE...

1. We are the generation that is going to shift the way people seek opportunities.

2. We have the skills, resources and community needed to make change real.

3. We are the future of social innovation. We all have something to bring to the table.

We stand ready to act every day and make every moment high impact.

ThinkImpact is here for you as you take on this opportunity.

At first, we will provide you with a number of resources as you return to the United States or home country: writing opportunities, events, and

SHIFT BACKGROUND INFORMATION (CONT)

social networking tools. As the year (and years!) progress we will continue to provide you new, exciting ways to make every moment high impact—in your education, your career, your travels, your life.

The responsibility to make use of these resources and to share your assets across the community of scholars and advisors is yours. We look forward to all that you will create!

GET PUBLISHED Do you have a project that needs some good publicity? Are you an avid blogger and writer?

Well, you are officially a lifelong contributor to the ThinkImpact Blog. We have created a unique login for you to submit posts throughout the year. Our team will review your drafts and post blogs on a weekly basis.

Please send your blog and corresponding photos and videos to Jessica Morse at Jessica@ thinkimpact.com.

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JOB BOARD Find a Job You Love.

ThinkImpact has partnered with ReWork.jobs to provide

ThinkImpact Innovators Fast Track access in their nationwide talent search.

Apply to ReWork’s talent pool for the chance to get matched with “clients” looking for all-star talent to fulfill a multitude of roles with companies and organizations that truly think impact.

ReWork is building a tight-knit community of talented professionals that are interested in addressing the big social and environmental challenges of our time. ReWork helps these professionals find meaningful work by connecting them to paid opportunities with companies and organizations that are making the world a better place.

And, of course, don’t forget to follow ThinkImpact on Linkedin.

THINKIMPACT INNOVATORS (ALUMNI) ONLY FACEBOOK GROUP TIPS TO CONSIDER WHEN USING THE FACEBOOK GROUP: 1. BRING “ASKS” TO YOUR COMMUNITY. Looking for a job?

Need a couch to surf on in a new city for the weekend? Want to attend an event with a fellow alum? Ask your community...but don’t forget to give back!

2. ORGANIZE A MEET-UP. Use a poll to ask who in your area is interested in a ThinkImpact alumni meet-up. Designate a theme or topic of conversation for the event.

3. SHARE ALBUMS FROM YOUR TIMELINE! It is easy to share albums from the Institute or alumni meet-ups in your community to the group: open an album and click “share” at the bottom of the page, then designate that you would like to share with the “ThinkImpact Innovator (Alumni) Only” Facebook group.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!

STORYTELLING Market Your Experience Consider the advice on how to market your experience on LinkedIn or in your latest resume.

Go the extra mile and give your advisor or your fellow scholars a recommendation on LinkedIn for the hard work they did this summer. All you have to do is “CONNECT” with your scholars or Advisor and “RECOMMEND” their work on the ThinkImpact Institute.

This is a great way to help craft their story and journey through the Institute in a professional setting.

TRANSITIONING HOME

Questions To Consider:

Empathy Maps:

1. What do you foresee when you return?

Make an Empathy Map for your partner. Make an Empathy Map for a family member or friend back home on how they might perceive your experience abroad. How will they relate?

2. What behaviors do you want to change about yourself when you go home?

3. Will your priorities clash with those of your family and friends?

4. Do you think others will understand what you have done over the summer?

5. Do you think they will share your excitement?

Topics About Returning Home: 1. Are you worried that you will miss your “second home�?

2. How will you bring the perspectives you have gained into your daily life?

3. How will you direct your career now?

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4. What are you bringing back home from the Institute experience?

SHARING YOUR STORY

Evaluate: 1. Does sharing your story help you process your experience?

If nobody relates to your experience, use the resources you have for support:

2. What parts really enliven the conversation?

• ThinkImpact Innovator

3. Is there a common question everyone asks? How do you handle it?

• Your Advisor

4. Do you feel that people are able to relate to the experience in any way? Are they just confused?

• Facebook group • ThinkImpact HQ • Campus groups focused on Africa/Latin America, Social Entrepreneurship or International Development

ANNOUNCING: THINKIMPACT TEAM LEADS

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Starting in 2014, ThinkImpact will be launching an exciting new opportunity for alumni to deepen their experience with social entrepreneurship and innovation abroad—by becoming Team Leads. The Team Lead role is an incredible opportunity to grow the movement for social innovation on campus and develop invaluable leadership skills.

Team Leads recruit their peers, invite them to apply, review applications, and select participants to join the program.

Team Leads must recruit at least 8 scholars to participate on the custom Institute. All of

ThinkImpact will invite all alumni to apply for the Team Lead opportunity. Students who are selected will return to campus to recruit for and lead their own custom Institute. Team Leads can select the dates (between 1-8 weeks), country and topic (from a select list) of the program and will have direct input into The Innovator, our social innovation curriculum for their group’s Institute. Each program will publish a unique Innovator and the Team Lead will receive a byline on the book.

Institutes, all country-related program logistics will be handled

by ThinkImpact staff in country.

the Team Lead’s expenses— airfare, accommodations, meals and program fee— will be fully funded by ThinkImpact. As with all of our

TIMELINE FOR SUMMER 2014—SUMMER 2015 AUGUST 29: DEADLINE TO APPLY TO LEAD A WINTER PROGRAM

OCTOBER 17: DEADLINE TO APPLY TO LEAD A SPRING PROGRAM

September 1-5: Skype Interview with the CEO

October 20-24: Skype Interview with the CEO

September 8-12

October 27-31

Team Leads are chosen.

ThinkImpact sends them a kit and invites them to their own Unleesh Path September 30 Deadline to submit topic (health, social, or create your own) and select country (Ghana, Kenya*, Rwanda, South Africa, Panama) and select dates (minimum of 9 days, including travel days) October—December

Team Leads are chosen.

ThinkImpact sends them a kit and invites them to their own Unleesh Path November 14 Deadline to submit topic (health, social, or create your own) and select country (Ghana, Kenya*, Rwanda, South Africa, Panama) and select dates (minimum of 9 days, including travel days) November—February

Recruit students (minimum 8)

Recruit students (minimum 8)

Curriculum review (to make tweaks using Unleesh, publishable book)

Curriculum review (to make tweaks using Unleesh, publishable book)

2 weeks before trip start date Pre-departure orientation related to the theme Custom Institute Abroad Lead reflections in the field and guide scholars through curriculum

2 weeks before trip start date Pre-departure orientation related to the theme Custom Institute Abroad Lead reflections in the field and guide scholars through curriculum

ANNOUNCING: THINKIMPACT TEAM LEADS (CONT)

JANUARY 16: DEADLINE TO APPLY TO LEAD A SUMMER PROGRAM January 19-23: Skype Interview with the CEO January 26-30 Team Leads are chosen.

ThinkImpact sends them a kit and invites them to their own Unleesh Path February 13 Deadline to submit topic (health, social, or create your own) and select country (Ghana, Kenya*, Rwanda, South Africa, Panama) and select dates (minimum of 9 days, including travel days) February - May Recruit students (minimum 8) Curriculum review (opportunity to make tweaks using Unleesh, publishable book) 2 weeks before trip start date A100

Pre-departure orientation related to the theme Custom Institute Abroad Lead reflections in the field and guide scholars through curriculum

Benefits • Scale your impact through an entire Institute launched by you!

• Full support for recruitment: Promotional event budget ($100) and branded materials to help you get your peers excited • Build a campus community around social innovation • Gain valuable leadership and curriculum development experience • All expenses paid international

experience • Continue your involvement with ThinkImpact and your design team** • Add “Team Lead” to your resume and demonstrate to potential employers a variety of skills and experiences to set yourself apart • Gain subject area credibility

*Pending University approval in some cases **If you choose to return to your previous Institute country