How ToTransform MissionsIntoDesign Studios

Prepared by Leah Erica Chung

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There’s suspicion, or certainty, that the relationship between USAID Missions and local development actors is not a truly collaborative partnership.

But before any “problems” or “needs” can be identified, we need to do some research. What’s the dynamic between Mission staff and local organizations? Where does the power and decision-making really lie? Who’s serving who? Who else is involved in the Mission & local development actor partnership? Is it really a partnership?

What’s Needed• Fearless participants (any and all stakeholders that

are willing to participate, even just a little)

• A space to gather people (preferably with moving desks, or no desks at all, and sunlight)

• Food & drinks (preferably some cocktails)

Research MethodsAnonymous Feedback: Confession BoothTo get a sense of what needs are present in the Mission space, we need to find out what people are really thinking. A set of cardboard confession booths can be set up to create private spaces where local development

So what’sthe problem?

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actors, Mission staff, and everyone in between can write their sorrows down in a safe space. Anonymity is key here, based on the fact that local development actors (like the ones we saw in Thomas Dichter’s video) fear that their status and pay will change depending on what “controversial thing” they say. A humorous set-up can help loosen the tension and have people be really honest with us.

Once the anonymous confessions are submitted, they can be displayed, as if an exhibition, and people can go around putting stickers on the confessions that resonate with them. Soon enough, you’ll be able to see which issues resonate with people the most. Perhaps the top five confessions can be discussed as a group to promote more open dialogue.

Only after some insight into the relationship between Missions and local development actors is uncovered can we begin to pin point what the real problem area is.

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Reference AA pop-up workshop by Lynn Chung, gathering insights from various professionals on how happy they are with their work-life balance. http://www.lynnesther.com/futureblend-1-1

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Reference BCandy Chang, a public installation artist, held a gallery installation asking people to write their confessions down on a wooden tag. These were written in private booths then hung up for viewing. http://candychang.com/confessions/

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At my alma mater, the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD, pronounced Riz-dee), all four years and eight semesters of courses ended in one brutal day of “crit.” Short for “critique,” crit is the culmination of a semester’s worth of work, the day of judgment by your peers and professors. That is, ‘judgment’ in a good way. On crit day, students bring their final projects to the table (an actual table, and sometimes, the floor), and we go one by one, talking about our work while the rest of the class circles around. People are sitting on chairs, standing up, leaning against a column, or lying on the dirty charcoal ridden floors, all focused on the student in the middle. The student in the middle doesn’t just bring their finished product. They bring every single prototype, from a scribble on a piece of paper to the first

What We Can Learn From Design Schools

1.Crit Culture

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scotch-tape prototype to the “final” piece. It’s fascinating because you see the process from conception of vague idea to execution and realization. When I go to a Picasso exhibit, I enjoy the million dollar paintings but honestly, the sketches that represent the process is most exciting to me. Sometimes a student or two don’t “finish” their project but they still present their work and get valuable feedback because the process was still there.

There’s an unspoken rule of crit. You are free to speak your mind. Many times in the non-art world, we strive to get to a conclusion—a final answer. In crit, people make comments without necessarily making a conclusion. They affirm things they liked. They comment on things for improvement, saying they’re “excited to see this evolve.” Or they straight-up say, “it seems like you

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haven’t thought about this enough.” It’s all fair game. Although there’s a final letter grade that the professor issues at the end, the crit never ends with a conclusion—this was good, this was bad. Instead it finishes when everyone has expressed their thoughts. And people sort of know how good or bad it was.

How to do crit was never formally taught. The physical space and the way people sat together simply engendered a safe space for uninhibited discussion.

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Many crits also happen in between stages of development, and not necessarily just at the end of a project. Pictured to the right and to the very bottom are students taking a look at “form studies,” which are quick and dirty explorations of shape and material. It’s often helpful for students to stop and take a step back with fellow classmates before jumping to any serious prototyping.

What about Missions?Do Missions and local development actors have this kind of space for uninhibited, inconclusive discussion and exploration? If not, would they benefit? After a program or project is “completed,” do they sit together and reflect? Do people feel like they can’t speak openly in fear that they have to defend what they just said? Is the Mission and local development actor relationship truly collaborative or are we kidding ourselves?

From what I’ve observed in some of our own meetings, there is definitely a tendency to immediately reach a conclusion when someone brings up a random thought or semblance of an idea. It’s okay to say “we can consider that” and move on.

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2.Sitting Together

The culture of crit comes from being able to work together in a studio space. The setup of design schools is what a lot of tech and design companies, as well as other formerly “traditional” companies, are emulating. My industrial design studio space was an open floor plan of industrial drawing board desks you would move around to create classroom spaces. People that love the privacy of cubicle might hate this kind of setup, but an open studio setup without fail leads to free discussion and exchange of information. It often doesn’t even have to be a full discussion. Many times when I’m at my desk, classmates

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take a break and walk around, observing what others are working on and asking about it. Often it turns into an exchange of techniques and tips, where if you’re polyurethane casting for the first time, a classmate will kindly share that spraying plenty of mold release spray is necessary for a clean separation. With an open setup, you can’t avoid knowing what other people are working on. Things are pinned up on the wall, ideas are jotted down on Post-it notes and displayed onto the walls, and foam prototypes are lying on people’s desks for full view. Sharing “lessons learned” isn’t a whole concerted effort—it’s just a way of doing work.

Your desk is your playground. People can’t help but be curious as to what you’re working on.

At the end of each year, all departments at RISD hold what’s called “Open Studios” where students from whatever departments can go to each others spaces and see what other students are up to. Students set up their spaces as a display and stand at their desks while students come around asking questions. It’s geared toward Freshmen, who need help deciding their majors, but it’s enjoyed by all grade levels. There’s often snacks and drinks available, along with music, making it a very welcoming space.

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Everlane, a direct-to-consumer fashion brand, is one of many companies with a very open studio-like setup with individual desk spaces as well as communal tables.

IDEO San Francisco office

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What about Missions?If we rethink Missions altogether and discard the idea of a traditional USAID office, we can open ourselves to create a physical space and atmosphere that leads to true collaboration, open discussion, and creative thinking.

Do local development actors and Missions get together regularly and just gather around a table to have conversation? Maybe we’re thinking “lessons learned” all wrong. Maybe it’s not about creating a website or document that features written stories of successes and failures. Maybe it’s about gathering with those that care deeply about the communities they’re serving and just having conversation and exchanging stories as naturally as one would.

Can the development community hold “Open Studios” as well? Whether it’s a Mission or local NGO, anyone interested can participate to take turns and host “Open Studio” sessions where people can visit offices to see what they’re up to, what kinds of things they are struggling with, and what kinds of things are working really well for them. It can be very low-key, maybe like an open mic night where people can share stories from the field.

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Art and design students love putting things up on studio walls. We not only put our final works up during crit, but we also put up process work: sketches, random thoughts scribbled on Post-it notes, magazine clippings that inspire, and even paper prototypes.

There are a few things that happen when you put something up on the wall:1. You automatically step back to look at it. Nobody just

stands there staring at what they put up that close. Putting something up on a wall forces you to step back and look at it from a far. When you have more and more ideas up on the wall, you are able to look at them altogether at once, allowing you to connect the dots and observe patterns.

2. Others can’t help but see your stuff on the wall. Putting something up on a wall is quite democratic. Whether it’s a community bulletin board or conference room white board, it’s for everyone to see. When you put up your work, you’re allowing others to see your thoughts in full view, and indirectly inviting them into your space.

3. Using the walls

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What about Missions?I often joke that all you need to start a design studio are some modular IKEA desks and a wall full of Post-it notes. There is some truth to it. Have Post-its and Sharpies available at all times in the conference room. Use them the next time you need to brainstorm ideas with the team.

I don’t know what most Missions look like so it may be that there aren’t any cubicles anyway. But it’s very possible that even without explicitly divided spaces, there is no culture of sharing work and ideas openly. Something as simple as a designated wall space where anyone can post ideas or suggestions pertaining to a specific question could be a good start. A space where some kind of consistent cross-pollination of ideas can take place in full view is needed.

Everyone should draw more. In my sophomore year Design Principles class, our professor told us to brainstorm 30 possible opportunity areas to explore and draw them, one on each piece of paper. It was a difficult task because you had to draw very abstract ideas with finality and form. In class, we put up all 30 drawings and used them to get feedback from the class on what they saw as a good design opportunity to explore. Drawing ideas as opposed to writing about them was a helpful practice in that everything on the piece of paper had to be intentional, forcing you to think about the very essence of the idea.

When my house mates and I hosted Thanksgiving, we had a designated Post-it wall for people to write what they’re thankful for.

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Design charettes are a great way to get people to understand and practice the design process. They are short and intense planning or problem-solving activities that involve defining the problem all the way to delivering a sound design solution in small groups of diverse skills sets. The small groups often come together to share new findings and solutions with the larger group. It is basically a design studio simulation, condensed into about a days worth of activities.

We can divide everyone up (Missions, local development actors, etc) randomly, into groups of 4-5, making sure there’s an equal balance of USAID folks and local folks, and have them be teams for the day. Facilitators can

How can Missions learn the design process?

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provide a crash course on the design process, and have the teams carry them out through a design charette. Any problem area can be defined for this charette, as the point is to practice the design process and familiarize your hands and minds with it. However, starting with a real-life problem area that is directly relevant to the group will be most helpful in engaging people, than any fictional problem area.

If it’s hosted at a Mission office, does that make people—especially local development actors—more nervous? Could a local organization volunteer to host something in their space and even lead future workshops and charettes? Could that help transfer the power from Missions and USAID Washington to local development actors?

When hosting any event, it might be

worth considering how location and whose

location changes the dynamic.