UNHCR Innovation Labs // Fund
THE CHALLENGE

A global humanitarian NGO providing services for refugees commissioned us to redesign an innovation fund distributed to refugees. The innovation fund is managed and distributed by an innovation service within the organisation. The projects supported by the fund aim to improve refugees' lives. The fund had run for two years prior, and had been awarded to employee teams within the organisation, who would work collaboratively with refugees. However, the fund did not seem to achieve the desired impact.

THE INTERVENTION

We designed a new system which places refugees at the centre of the equation. The system is designed based on refugee empowerment through access to the right resources, the right knowledge, and the right people from within the organisation and outside. The system design draws on existing resources previously neglected or used in a different way.

The service has been live since, here.

YEAR

2020

YEAR

2019-'22

ROLE

Service Design

COLLABORATORS

UNHCR (client),Reason (agency)

COLLABORATORS

UNHCR Innovation Labs (client),Reason (agency)

Process highlights

Primary Research

  • We held a series of interviews with past and potential grantees of the fund from the organisation to uncover their challenges from the past rounds, the benefits of participation, and the expected benefits of participation.  

  • A series of interviews with the NGO's innovation service team to understand their capabilities in supporting the fund grantees. 

  • Designed and launched a survey across the organisation globally. The survey received a high level of engagement and supported the qualitative findings.


Co-creation

  • We designed and facilitated a two part strategy and vision workshop with the core innovation service team, where we defined the mission, the vision and the principles that would form the basis of the new service.

  • We designed and facilitated a series of discovery, creation, and validation workshops were held with different refugee groups globally. Held online, and in different languages. I facilitated in English and Arabic.

  • We designed and facilitated workshops with employees from across the organisation to map successes and pitfalls of the past

  • We designed and facilitated workshops with stakeholders to refine interventions and consider feasibility

Outcomes

The new service envisions a connected network of support mechanisms that enable refugees to bring their projects to life. These were communicated through a design manifesto that outlined how the service would work, and how its success would be measured.

Snippets from discovery, research, strategy, co-creation workshops, service blutprints, system mapping, and service prototype and validation.

UNHCR Innovation Labs // Fund
THE CHALLENGE

A global humanitarian NGO providing services for refugees commissioned us to redesign an innovation fund distributed to refugees. The innovation fund is managed and distributed by an innovation service within the organisation. The projects supported by the fund aim to improve refugees' lives. The fund had run for two years prior, and had been awarded to employee teams within the organisation, who would work collaboratively with refugees. However, the fund did not seem to achieve the desired impact.

THE INTERVENTION

We designed a new system which places refugees at the centre of the equation. The system is designed based on refugee empowerment through access to the right resources, the right knowledge, and the right people from within the organisation and outside. The system design draws on existing resources previously neglected or used in a different way.

The service has been live since, here.

YEAR

2020

YEAR

2019-'22

ROLE

Service Design

COLLABORATORS

UNHCR (client),Reason (agency)

COLLABORATORS

UNHCR Innovation Labs (client),Reason (agency)

Process highlights

Primary Research

  • We held a series of interviews with past and potential grantees of the fund from the organisation to uncover their challenges from the past rounds, the benefits of participation, and the expected benefits of participation.  

  • A series of interviews with the NGO's innovation service team to understand their capabilities in supporting the fund grantees. 

  • Designed and launched a survey across the organisation globally. The survey received a high level of engagement and supported the qualitative findings.


Co-creation

  • We designed and facilitated a two part strategy and vision workshop with the core innovation service team, where we defined the mission, the vision and the principles that would form the basis of the new service.

  • We designed and facilitated a series of discovery, creation, and validation workshops were held with different refugee groups globally. Held online, and in different languages. I facilitated in English and Arabic.

  • We designed and facilitated workshops with employees from across the organisation to map successes and pitfalls of the past

  • We designed and facilitated workshops with stakeholders to refine interventions and consider feasibility

Outcomes

The new service envisions a connected network of support mechanisms that enable refugees to bring their projects to life. These were communicated through a design manifesto that outlined how the service would work, and how its success would be measured.

Snippets from discovery, research, strategy, co-creation workshops, service blutprints, system mapping, and service prototype and validation.

UNHCR Innovation Labs // Fund
THE CHALLENGE

A global humanitarian NGO providing services for refugees commissioned us to redesign an innovation fund distributed to refugees. The innovation fund is managed and distributed by an innovation service within the organisation. The projects supported by the fund aim to improve refugees' lives. The fund had run for two years prior, and had been awarded to employee teams within the organisation, who would work collaboratively with refugees. However, the fund did not seem to achieve the desired impact.

THE INTERVENTION

We designed a new system which places refugees at the centre of the equation. The system is designed based on refugee empowerment through access to the right resources, the right knowledge, and the right people from within the organisation and outside. The system design draws on existing resources previously neglected or used in a different way.

The service has been live since, here.

YEAR

2020

YEAR

2019-'22

ROLE

Service Design

ROLE

Service Design

COLLABORATORS

UNHCR Innovation Labs (client),Reason (agency)

Process highlights

Primary Research

  • We held a series of interviews with past and potential grantees of the fund from the organisation to uncover their challenges from the past rounds, the benefits of participation, and the expected benefits of participation.  

  • A series of interviews with the NGO's innovation service team to understand their capabilities in supporting the fund grantees. 

  • Designed and launched a survey across the organisation globally. The survey received a high level of engagement and supported the qualitative findings.


Co-creation

  • We designed and facilitated a two part strategy and vision workshop with the core innovation service team, where we defined the mission, the vision and the principles that would form the basis of the new service.

  • We designed and facilitated a series of discovery, creation, and validation workshops were held with different refugee groups globally. Held online, and in different languages. I facilitated in English and Arabic.

  • We designed and facilitated workshops with employees from across the organisation to map successes and pitfalls of the past

  • We designed and facilitated workshops with stakeholders to refine interventions and consider feasibility

Outcomes

The new service envisions a connected network of support mechanisms that enable refugees to bring their projects to life. These were communicated through a design manifesto that outlined how the service would work, and how its success would be measured.

Snippets from discovery, research, strategy, co-creation workshops, service blutprints, system mapping, and service prototype and validation.