Human-Centered Design
CorpsAfrica is committed to training Volunteers in Human-Centered Design Thinking (also known as "Design Thinking"), a problem solving approach that CorpsAfrica utilizes as the foundation for its work in asset-based community development.
In Morocco, Senegal and Malawi, CorpsAfrica facilitates hands-on human-centered design workshops led by an expert from the United States who supervised in-country trainers. This process teaches Volunteers how to engage in and empower their communities to collectively address unmet needs. Pre-service training includes two weeks of immersive exercises where volunteers practice the methods of Human-Centered Design and build upon the skills and mindsets they need for designing and implementing sustainable development projects in their communities.
So far, the results are powerful and the response from the Volunteers and their communities is enthusiastic.
In Morocco, Senegal and Malawi, CorpsAfrica facilitates hands-on human-centered design workshops led by an expert from the United States who supervised in-country trainers. This process teaches Volunteers how to engage in and empower their communities to collectively address unmet needs. Pre-service training includes two weeks of immersive exercises where volunteers practice the methods of Human-Centered Design and build upon the skills and mindsets they need for designing and implementing sustainable development projects in their communities.
So far, the results are powerful and the response from the Volunteers and their communities is enthusiastic.
Human-Centered Design in Malawi
Human-Centered Design is a critical piece of Pre-Service and In-Service Trainings. We want the CorpsAfrica model to be a laboratory for an academic approach to development and to be part of the conversation around Design Thinking principles. More importantly, Human-Centered Design provides a powerful framework that Volunteers need to be successful facilitators for community development at their sites.