Cozette Kosary, M.A., B.E.D.
UX Researcher and Strategist
EQUALITY JAM: Design Thinking through COVID-19.
Design Problem: The Human Rights Campaign Dallas Fort Worth (HRC DFW) Political Action and Community Engagement (PACE) Committee needed to find new ways to accomplish 2020 Goals in the time of COVID-19 when in-person events are not tangible.
My Role: Design Thinking Workshop Content Editor, Facilitator, Moderator, and Educator
Workshop Participants: HRC DFW PACE Committee Members: 2 Board Liaisons, 5 Co-chairs, and 5 Volunteers with a few months to a year worth of experience on the PACE Committee.
Platforms: Zoom and Mural
Methods: Design Thinking and Ideation
Final Results: 4 Events, 130 Social Media Posts, 22 Political Volunteer Hours, Engaged 5 Community Partners, 237 Participants, and Donated $3,135.92 to Community Causes.
Observe – Evaluate: Began by educating PACE leadership on what design thinking is and how it can be used to brainstorm new ways to meet goals. Once leadership was invested in the approach, research needed to be conducted to find a way to host a virtual design jam. Due to Covid-19 there were several articles about ways to conduct virtual design thinking workshops available online. Leadership agreed upon using a combination of Mural and Zoom. Mural was available to be donated by Board Liaison and offered some basic design thinking templates that could be edited to improve existing frameworks. The framework chosen was the Lightening Design Jam (LDJ) template created by AJ & Smart for it's low difficulty level and appeal to novice design thinkers. Zoom was chosen because the committee currently utilized zoom to host monthly meetings and the platform allowed for people without computers to call in and voice contributions and see the workshop via the screen sharing feature. This combination of platforms eliminated both lag time within the Mural application and was easier for new users to follow along and engage without focusing on the distraction of the leader icon.
A rehearsal test of the workshop was conducted between two leaders to see what items may need to be removed or added to the framework to ease the flow of the workshop. This exercise also allowed for the ability to track how long the workshop would take to complete. Participants agreed the removal of the secondary priority vote on solutions could be removed because solutions were evaluated and prioritized via the Effort vs. Impact chart solutions. Participants asked multiple times for a reference to 2020 HRC DFW PACE Goals to determine what needed to be accomplished within the year. So Goals were added to the first step of the workshop. Participants also had a difficult time with the Ideation step so a “How Might We” statement plus Pattern equals solution idea was added to help prompt people to look at the topics as different solutions they were more familiar with. i.e. "How Might We" look at this as a text, a virtual event, a fundraiser, a donation drive, etc? The framework was then updated and a date was agreed upon to host the Design Thinking Workshop with the entire HRC DFW PACE committee.
Make – Iterate: Steps 1-6 of workshop set out to assess all the ways the committee excelled or failed at meeting HRC DFW PACE Goals in 2019.
Step 1: The workshop started by first reviewing the 2020 HRC DFW PACE Goals. Participants were asked to start documenting things the PACE committee did well before COVID-19. Participants could create a post-it themselves or voice a idea they wanted to share and the moderator would create the post-it. When participants would get stuck, they were asked to reflect upon a particular goal and to list how the committee met that particular goal. Participants then took a few seconds to discuss their favorite post-it shared.
Step 2: Participants voted on ideas they would like to replicate for the 2020 volunteer year.
Step 3: Participant were asked to assess and document areas the PACE committee struggled or could improve. If participants were stuck they were asked to think about a time when they noticed a goal go unmet or a time they were frustrated in the last year while volunteering.
Step 4: Participants then voted on areas they would like to improve.
Step 5: Posts with the most votes from both sections were then moved to the Prioritize Problem Section to evaluate the committee's priorities for the 2020 year. The committee discussed each vote and whether or not they believed it was a high or low priority for the year.
Step 6: Participants were given a 5 minute break to refresh themselves. During this time, the moderator turned mid to high level priorities into “How Might We” ("HMW) statements. These statements would re-frame the priorities into statements the participants could conceptualize.
Reflect – Test | Brainstorm: Steps 7-10 of workshop set out to brainstorm new ideas for possible activities and ways to reach HRC DFW PACE Goals in 2020.
Step 7: Participants started Ideating Solutions by spending one minute pairing each “HMW” Statement with Pattern Cards and brainstorming solutions. For example: “HMW: Build Relationship with Straight Allies” + Pattern Card: Text = Solution Idea 1: send thank you text to straight allies, Solution Idea 2: send straight allies text invites to events. This exercise generated 48 possible solution ideas for 9 different "HMW" Statements.
Step 8: Participants then voted on the solution ideas they were most likely to help plan. The Solution Ideas not chosen were placed in the Ideation Vault and could be called upon later if needed.
Step 9: Solution ideas with the most votes were then evaluated via the Effort vs. Impact Chart to determine whether or not solutions would take low or high planning effort and make a low or high impact. Items that required little planning and made a small impact became a task for volunteers to complete. Items with high effort and low impact became solutions to table. Solutions with low effort and high impact became short projects to do immediately. Solutions with high effort and low impact became projects to focus on long term.
Step 10: Each Co-Chair then choose either a short term and long term projects to focus on. Volunteers and Board Liaisons then self divided to form teams. Each team then brainstormed what steps would need to be completed to bring the Idea Solution to life. The steps were then be divided among team members to accomplish as tasks.
Final Results: Teams emailed and met to accomplish assigned tasks. One new protocol for 2020 was PACE Committee activities needed to vetted and approved before outreach could begin. Teams 1 and 3 did not receive initial approval so teams went back to the Ideation Vault and chose new initiatives to execute. This exercise met Board Liaison Goal 3.
Team 1: Had to table social media campaign to adhere to HRC National brand and messaging. Opted to find ways to elevate HRC DFW Marketing efforts. Helped to provide over 130 pieces of content shared to social media. Met Board Liaison Goal 1 and 2.
Team 2: Organized Virtual Brunch Cocktails and Campaign Conversation with Julie Johnson to inspire volunteers to volunteer 22 hours. Met Political Action Goals 1, 2, and 3.
Team 3: Had to table HER Music Event and Fundraiser due to the event needing in person interaction. Shifted focus to events that connected community and support local organizations. Launched two virtual events:
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Virtual Back To School Family Story Time and Amazon Wishlist School Supply Donation Drive: 4 Host Organizations; 12 Books read by: 3 Local Authors, 5 Families and 7 Individuals; 79 people viewed the story times; and $1,581.53 worth of School Supplies donated via Amazon Wishlist. Met Board Liaison Goal 2 and Community Engagement Goals 1, 2, and 3.
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Virtual Trivia Night and Care Kit Donation Drive: 2 Host Organizations; 4 Event Hosts, 1 Event Volunteer, 28 Trivia Participants; and $1,069.39 worth of Care Kit Supplies donated via Amazon Wishlist. Met Board Liaison Goal 2 and Community Engagement Goals 1, 2, and 3.
Team 4: Launched Text Campaign raising $485 for meals to thank First Responders. Able to donate meals to both Dallas Police Department Community Task Force and Jonathan's Place Emergency Shelter Youth and Providers. Met Board Liaison Goal 2 and Community Engagement Goals 1, 2, and 3.
