D E S I G NI M P A C T

2 0 1 0 - 2 0 11ANNUAL REPORT

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OUR MissiON:Design impact works with resource-poor communities,

designers, and organizations to drive innovation where

it’s needed most. We empower communities through

sustainable business models and design solutions that

change lives. OUR sTATEMENT Of BELiEf:At Design impact we believe that change comes through

intimate relationships. That’s why we partner with orga-

nizations that are closely aligned with their communities,

and stay with that organization from idea generation

through measuring impact. Our team lives and works

on the ground full-time with the non-profits they serve,

embedding the design process within the organization

and the local community. We believe that fostering

diverse teams, listening to local leaders, and using local

resources are the best ways to create sustainable growth.

Our work is centered on design but is rooted in the best

practices of international development.

innovation where it’s needed most

D E S I G NI M P A C T

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Dear friends,

There is no doubt that 2010-2011 was a catalytic year for Design impact. When we began this work in May 2009 we were a small start-up of two, bound for india with the goal of partnering with non-profit organizations to design products and services that address basic human needs. We knew we had a world of listening, learning, and relationship building ahead of us.

As we write this letter, our first two projects (the Erikoodu Charcoal Briquette and the Paruva Kalaam soap project) have grown from concepts to pilot projects. We’ve kicked off an international design fellowship program to connect professional designers, non-profit organizations, and low-income communities in face-to-face, long-term relationships. We’ve expanded to five staff positions on two continents, we’re kicking off five new projects this year, and our non-profit partners in india have grown from one to six. Our Board and Advisory Board have developed in size and scope, challenging us to hold ourselves accountable to our partners, funders, and most importantly, the communities we design with. We’ve internalized the benefit, firsthand, of designing on-site as opposed to designing from abroad, and the insights we’ve gained from those first two years of living in rural Tamil Nadu, india are now being directly translated into our strategic plan.

in short, our model has matured.

in many ways, however, we’re just getting started. By 2013 we plan to expand the fellowship program beyond india and have a goal of reaching 300,000 individuals through the implementation of nine life-improving design solutions by 2015. We know we have a great deal of learning ahead of us. Designing product and service solutions to address some of the world’s most pressing needs—like better access to potable water, nutritious foods, safe environments, and healthcare requires input and expertise from multiple disciplines.

We are excited to see what our partners, local communities, and fellows accomplish in 2012, and we hope you’ll think about joining our team and adding your voice.

sincerely,

Kate Hanisian Ramsey fordExecutive Director Design Director

“We had a world of listening, learning,

and relationshipbuilding ahead

of us.”

fROM OUR fOUNDERs

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Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. Those that exist with such poverty often cannot afford to meet their basic human needs, such as clean water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. This underscores two major problems: 1) people lack access to income-generating opportunities (employment); and 2) products and services that address basic human needs are not affordable for most people. in short, we need better solutions.

Enter design.

in business, designers work with companies to drive innovation, creatively and effectively solve problems, and use skill sets such as user research, prototyping, and ideation to turn new ideas into impact. from consumer designs like the smartCar or the iPod, to life-changing designs such as the prosthesis or the wheelchair, design can dramatically im-prove the way people interact with products, services, or the environment. Unfortunately, most design efforts today focus on creating consumer goods for the wealthiest 10% of the world, and many of these goods are arguably not “needed” by society. At the same time, most designers currently lack professional opportunities to create products and services that address true human needs.

in 2009 Kate Hanisian and Ramsey ford started Design impact (Di) with the aim to change that, providing design-thinking and technical skills to non-profit organizations that work with communities affected by poverty. By creating a platform for professional designers, local communities and social sector organizations to work together, Di serves as a catalyst for incubating solutions which reduce poverty and improve the standard of living.

As a result of Di’s immersive design approach, the insights gained are deep, reflective, and community specific, allowing for more appropriate and sustainable solutions.

We believe that those working on society’s toughest issues need and deserve access to quality design services.

WHY iNDiA?

While india is home to 1/3 of the

world’s poor and struggles with

extreme poverty, india also offers

incredible innovation networks and

opportunities for design. We chose

india as our launching site with the

goal of expanding the Di fellowship

Program throughout Asia, Latin

America, Africa, and the Us.

fAiR TRADE sOAPDesign impact partnered with ODAM to develop the Paruva Kaalam line of handmade soaps, providing life-changing rural employment through fair trade wages and practices. Design impact provided soap formula research, user research, market audits and prototype and packaging designs, while facilitating community brainstorming sessions and partnership development to bring this soap to market.

Design impact designs with the end user, by living and working in the same environment over an extended period of time.

We believe it’s the smartest and most effective way to design scalable solutions to address some of society’s most pressing issues.

Di PROJECTs

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sAfER COOKiNg ENviRONMENTsfamilies in india often use wood or kerosene for their cooking needs—both of which emit severe, sometimes fatal, indoor air pollutants and cause numerous short- and long-term health problems. The smokeless Erikoodu charcoal briquette is a safe and cost effective alternative, manufactured locally in rural Tamil Nadu and sourced sustainably.

iMPROvED NUTRiTiONDesign impact will partner with Deep griha society (Dgs) to analyze and improve their community nu-trition program that provides meals in three Pune slums. This project aims to develop a new program that enables Dgs to provide more nutritious meals (characterized by an increase in protein and iron) while maintaining or reducing existing costs.

CHiLDREN’s EDUCATiONDesign impact will partner with Manav sadhna to redesign their “Earn N’ Learn” educational pro-gram to improve program efficiency and learning outcomes. The “Earn N’ Learn” program provides education, meals and income generating opportu-nities for street children while engaging them in the production of paper crafts.

LABOR sAviNg BiCYCLE BAsED iNNOvATiONsDesign impact will partner with National innova-tion foundation (Nif) to assess and develop their current portfolio of bicycle innovations. Nif has collected several concepts and prototypes from rural innovators, and Design impact will partner with Nif to refine, produce, and market the best innovations.

JOB TRAiNiNg CURRiCULUMDesign impact will partner with Quest in an effort to update and improve their current training cur-riculum and user interface. The updated curricu-lum will be based upon student input. Design im-pact will observe usage, extract user insights and apply these to developing an updated program.

REDUCiNg iNDOOR AiR POLUTiONDesign impact will partner with ARTi to improve their sarai cooking system. The sarai cooking sys-tem reduces traditional wood consumption and improves indoor air-quality for users.

fROM HERE

TO HERE

“After partnering with Di we now have the ability to use locally available resources to create tools that reduce the burden of the rural poor.”

– J. Elango, ODAM (DI Project partner)6

An estimated 28% of all deaths due to

indoor air pollution in developing countries

occur in india.

The smokeless Erikoodu is an environment-friendly,

low cost cooking-fuel solution..

Embedded Design

//Definition// A design process

that takes place entirely within

the user community, focusing

on community empowerment,

economic development and

life-changing solutions.

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is an experienced environmental consultant with a Masters in Envi-ronmental Policy from the Univer-sity of Delaware.

Di fellowship Location: Deep griha society, Maharashtra

ANisHA sHANKAR

is the director of operations for AHMsA, where he works to develop micro-enterprises in rural communities.

Di fellowship Location: Nif, gujarat

MARiO vARON

is an experienced social entrepre-neur with a strong background in product strategy and user research.

Di fellowship Location: Nif, gujarat

JOsH TREUHAfT

is a designer at DEKA Research and Development Corporation with a degree in Human factors from Cornell University.

Di fellowship Location: ARTi, Maharashtra

JED fARLOW

is an experienced communication designer from Designing Dublin, an independent learning initiative focused on applying design meth-odologies in a city environment.

Di fellowship Location: Manav sadhna, gujarat

BRiAN gOUgH

is an interaction designer at frog and has worked on creative strate-gies for improving educational outcomes.

Di fellowship Location: Quest, Karnataka

ALi MAiORANO

“During my time with Design impact in india, i grew both personally and professionally. The ability to apply my knowledge and skills to a project and see it grow from a concept into a tangible product was an amazing experience—working with the local community to make this happen was even better!” – Adam Shaw, DI Intern

MEET OUR fELLOWsBy living in and working with the communities they serve, Di fellows transform community-owned ideas into life-improving products and services.

Ramsey brings a wealth of design and entrepreneurship experience to Design impact. He has helped to further the conversation on inclusive design in the social sector through workshops, publica-tions and speaking engagements. He has a Masters of Design from the University of Cincinnati.

RAMsEY fORDDesign Director/Co-Founder

Before founding Design impact, Kate led strategic planning and capacity building as the Development Director for the Ohio Justice & Policy Center. Kate has an M.A. in Education and over ten years of non-profit experience. she has led youth development and pro-gram management initiatives in india, Jamaica, and New Zealand.

KATE HANisiANExecutive Director/Co-Founder

Anuradha studied at the Tata institute of social sciences, spe-cializing in Urban and Rural Community Development. she has worked in the development sector in india for fifteen years on resource management, capacity building, and rural livelihoods. she is the recipient of a Chevening scholarship and a fulbright fellowship.

ANURADHA PATiIndia Fellowship Manager

BOARD Of DiRECTORsAyush Chauhangavin Devore LeonardTom DierkingRamsey fordKate HanisianJohn KirschMatt Kornau

ADvisORY BOARDDanny AlexanderPaul DeMarcoJ. ElangoAlistair HamiltonUsha N.Raj MehtaDemtrius RomanosJohn ThackaraCraig vogelJody WeberJames Zimmerman

MEET OUR sTAff AND BOARD

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JULY 1, 2010 – JUNE 30, 2011PROgRAM AND gENERAL EXPENsEs

23%Employee and Payroll

11.5%Program Travel

38.5%Design/Prototyping

6.5%Office

1%Development

3%Administrative

16.5%Professional fees*

TOTAL EXPENsEs: $145,800.00

*for contracted services, including information technology and accounting10

“As we give we also get. Being involved in this type of strategy and design work allows us to exercise our creativity and our design thinking around problems that require really simple but effective solutions, using materials and resources that are readily available. for us this is a win-win.”– Matt Kornau, CEO, Kaleidoscope DI Funder and Design Partner

$137,800Corporate donations

$3,500individual donations

JULY 1, 2010 – JUNE 30, 20112011 DONATiONs AND REvENUE

TOTAL REvENUE: $147,000.00

$5,700Educational services

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D E S I G NI M P A C T

JOiN Us.

We hope you’ll think about joining our team and adding your voice. Whether you’re a

designer who wants to make a difference, a businessperson who

wants to implement life-improving products, a community member

who’s passionate about bringing design and business expertise to

your neighborhood, or a donor who wants to know that your

donation goes to a worthy cause, we’d love your involvement.

PO Box 9844, Cincinnati, OH 45209 Us: 347-925-9004, india: (011) 91-978-635-0346 DONATE NOW! W W W. D - i M PA C T. O R g