Double-D: Design in Development

by i-marco via Flickr

A significant component of my undergrad program in Learning and Organizational Change was built around the concepts of systems thinking – how interdependent elements affect and are affected by other elements in the system. This was typically applied in an organizational setting but could be applied to anything from car mechanics to climate science. My current graduate program, Development Practice, was developed out of a need to bring more of a systems thinking approach to development. You can see this systems approach in practice in the Millennium Villages.

Design thinking is tangential to systems thinking, and recently I’ve been wondering how a design approach would work within development. The basics of d-thinking depend on who you ask, but to me the essential component is the focus on creating an experience built around the end-user’s needs and desires (whereas systems thinking takes more of a problem solving approach and extends the boundaries of analysis). I know there are examples of development orgs out there that have this type of approach, Architecture for Humanity to name a big one, but I’m having trouble thinking of any beyond the architecture, engineering, mental health, and urban planning fields. I always hear the word “innovative” when I hear of development organizations that promote a design-mentality. This worries me. I feel that user-centric design concepts should be integrated into all development initiatives; that beneficiaries should be viewed more as clients and participants than as recipients. I’d like to hear of more development orgs, especially any large INGOs, that incorporate this type of approach into their programs.