Are you a design thinker?
According to design thinking thought leaders, Tom and David Kelley, there are two prerequisites to a good design idea: a good question and empathy for your end-user.
So, where do you find a good question? Good questions come from close observation of your environment – it is in this detail that you will find insight and from insight, your line of enquiry. And end-user empathy? This is all about the old adage – walking in another’s shoes; seeing experiences through their eyes; understanding why people do what they do.
The art of design thinking is then about bringing the two together – taking your insights from both to inspire or validate your ideas. It is at this meeting place that the creative and solution-focused design sparks really start to fly!
“Design thinking relies on local expertise to uncover local solutions”
– Stanford Social Innovation Review
And so, the challenge lies ahead. In just a few days, research partners from Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique and Nigeria will be donning their design hats in Abidjan. Under the expert guidance of YAAY, our information design specialists, all collaborators will undertake a masterclass in design thinking.
This will be the second field-based collaborative session facilitated by PHISICC. It represents the next phase of the project’s mission to design an innovative intervention package through hands-on and co-creative workshops.
“Design thinking – inherently optimistic, constructive, and experiential – addresses the needs of the people who will consume a product or service and the infrastructure that enables it”
– Stanford Social Innovation Review
The focal area for the design work will be the paper-based health information systems currently operating in the primary health care systems of the three countries. The performance of these systems is challenged by a range of issues (read our reports here) and the project seeks to apply design principles in order to improve day-to-day processes, decision making and, ultimately, primary care health outcomes.
We would like to thank our research partners and hosts, CSRS in Côte d’Ivoire, for their ongoing support in organising the workshop and all our collaborators for their willingness to take the time to travel and attend the session. We really appreciate your commitment to PHISICC, especially at such a busy time of the year.
Safe travels and we look forward to meeting with you all soon.
PHISICC team – Basel
#DesignThinking #HealthInformationSystems
Resources:
Brown, T & Wyatt, J. Design Thinking for Social Innovation (Winter 2010), Stanford Social Innovation Review.
Kelly, T & Kelly, D. (Winter 2014). Creative Confidence: The Path From Blank Page to Insight. Harvard Business Review.
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