Social Impact Design NOW: Supporting the Next Generation of Practitioners

What are the existing structures of support for designers working with social impact and social justice goals? On June 17, 2015, Jessica Garz with Surdna Foundation's Thriving Cultures group led a panel of speakers who run university-based training programs, organizations with fellowship opportunities for emerging leaders, and groups that provide funding to design-based organizations. The conversation covered the current landscape and future opportunities for field-wide growth. The three-part webinar series, Social Impact Design NOW, explores how the field of Social Impact Design (or Public Interest Design or Human Centered Design) has changed since the NEA hosted a summit on the topic in 2012, in partnership with the Lemelson Foundation and the Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum. That gathering asked three primary questions: Where are the gaps in the field? What organizational models are successful? and How can we educate the next generation of designers to do this work? Since 2012, there have been both subtle and dramatic changes in the field, with new approaches to academic and public education, a broadening awareness of Social Impact Design in general, and notable change in who is doing the work and how they do it.