After three years of remarkable progress advancing the application of human-centered design (HCD) in public health, the HCDExchange is embracing a new and updated strategy to further this mission in Africa and Asia. This new approach, backed by a theory of change, repositions our services and products for increased sustainability, feasibility, and desirability. Developed in consultation with a dedicated community of practitioners and industry experts, the HCDExchange’s new strategy builds on our achievements over the last four years.
HCD is often not locally led, but for it to be a sustainable and effective strategy to support health programming in low-resource settings, design processes, expertise, and solutions must be integrated within the countries where they are implemented. This is a key focus of HCDExchange’s updated strategy. As the HCD and global health ecosystems evolve, HCD+Public Health practitioners require support and investment to create viable local markets to practice HCD in global health. To take advantage of the depth of HCD’s insights and solutions for better health and well-being, countries must identify their design requirements, cultivate a skilled workforce, and integrate HCD into their operational approaches. Going forward, the HCDExchange will ramp up efforts to support these undertakings.
Our new strategy centers on three winning themes: localization, workforce development, and user-driven health solutions. It positions the HCDExchange as a knowledge hub and market shaper driving locally led, HCD+Public Health in Africa and Asia.
This new strategy is anchored in a new theory of change.
Our new mandate will be delivered through three key offerings:
- Technical services will provide implementation support, guide locally based designers to co-create programs with public health organizations, tackle design challenges, and enhance their ability to integrate design into health initiatives.
- A career portal for young design professionals, offering tools and opportunities to integrate HCD into global health.
- The knowledge hub that as a collaborative platform for HCD+Public Health practitioners, fostering connections and knowledge-sharing with partners like global health fellows and design schools. This hub’s interactive interface boosts community engagement and amplifies HCD’s role in global health.
“The HCDExchange history is a story of a group of people that have a passion for experimentation, commitment to learning, and a real curiosity. This is what embodies this community of practice and makes it different from others…the idea was always to be people-focused and to have experience together.” – Anne LaFond, CHIME Director, JSI
“In the past, we have really struggled to find the right places to share design opportunities. This platform provides a real opportunity to bring these opportunities together and explore how this might look like,” – Isaac Jumba, Co-founder, Mideva Labs
As convener, facilitator, and connector of a global community of practitioners working at the nexus of HCD and public health, we are confident that this new approach will increase access to and use of HCD resources, knowledge, expertise, and opportunities in public health programming.
In January 2024, the HCDExchange became part of JSI’s Behavior Initiative, a group of more than 90 experts in 18 countries advancing our SBC work.
