Design Fellowships

HCDExchange operates an annual fellowship program where we place human-centred designers in host organizations working on adolescent and sexual reproductive health initiatives.

Designers gain experience working on ASRH challenges and advancing the HCD+ASRH field. In turn, host organisations are able to build HCD skills and capacities as applied to ASRH programme design and implementation. Fellowships are between six and nine months long. Our fellows are hosted in ASRH organizations based in Sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia.

Fellows are expected to commit at least 15 hours a week to the fellowship and will be paid a monthly stipend.

Note: Applications for the 2020 fellowship cycle are now closed and selected fellows will be announced in January 2021. 

Annual cycle

The Design Fellowship cycle and milestones for 2020-2021 are outlined below.  Applications will re-open for the second cycle of the fellowship in mid 2021.

DateMilestone
12 August 2020Design Fellowship opportunity announced at International Youth Day convening.
September 2020Applications open for fellows.
23 October 2020Application deadline.
October – November 2020Match fellow(s) with host organisation(s). Scope(s) of work and contract(s) drawn up with host organisations. Fellow(s) and host(s) will be announced on December 1, 2020 and fellows will begin work on a rolling basis.
January 2021 – July 2021Active Design Fellowship period. Ongoing documentation, communication, and participation in the HCDExchange community forum.
12 August 2021Sharing of insights and community learning product at the Second Annual International Youth Day convening. Process for Fellowship Cohort 2 begins.

Host organisations

Host organisations are selected by the HCDExchange secretariat. Please contact us if you are interested in hosting a Fellow. Key criteria include:

  • Identify a specific project and develop a scope of work, in collaboration with the HCDExchange and the fellow
  • Commit to being part of a learning process, which includes participating in periodic retrospectives, contributing to the Fellow’s documentation and communication efforts, and participating in the community forum
  • Demonstrate a commitment to meaningful youth participation

Design Fellows

The profile of prospective Design Fellows includes:

  • Mid-level HCD process, facilitation, and workshop design experience (3–5 years)
  • Experience working with and for communities in the Global South to design interventions that address challenges in fields such as public health, poverty reduction, livelihoods improvement, or similar
  • Ability to dedicate 20 hours/week to the fellowship, including work with the host organisation, producing ongoing documentation and communications, and developing a learning product for the broader community (formats and specifics TBD)
  • Contribute to the HCDExchange community forum, with a special focus on mentoring emerging designers
    Reside or have work authorization in the host organisation country (TBD; will be in Sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia)