DESIGN 4 IMPACT

How might we become a zero waste school? This ambitious question was the focus of Design 4 Impact’s (D4i) first design challenge of the year. D4i, Avenues’ student-run social innovation startup launched in 2016, aims to bring real-world problem solving to all schools through a combination of its signature daylong design challenge offering and related curriculum for design thinking and entrepreneurship. So far, the organization has hosted over a dozen challenge events at Avenues, the United Nations, partner schools and conferences to show the power of teens as leaders and change makers.

Tuesday’s event pivoted from the traditional model in two ways: first, students debuted a condensed three-hour version unfolding over the course of an afternoon; and second, the client, instead of an external community or industry partner, was Avenues’ very own Zero Waste Club. The club had been exploring this topic–which has gained notoriety recently and “isn’t just for hippies anymore”–as a provocative response to school shortcomings around recycling and waste management. But what was the best answer given our school’s context? How to get all stakeholders on board? What would implementation look like?

Enter D4i, whose challenges force participants to break through the paralysis often felt in the face of a complex problem and enable them to leave with the prototypes and inspiration to take action steps. Over the course of the afternoon, a team of six D4i Leads worked with four teams of Zero Waste members and other D4i club members through phases of empathy, synthesis, ideation, prototyping, testing and presenting.

The atmosphere was upbeat, with music playing, peppy speeches by mic-passing students, and icebreakers and exercises to build a creative vibe. Groups embarked on empathy interviews with stakeholders throughout the building. After some head-scratching at the intellectual challenge of problem definition and How Might We statements, they busted out the ubiquitous colored post-its for more intuitive brainstorming. Soon teams were crowding around Carter, D4i’s famous plastic supply cart, for materials to prototype bins, signs, posters and more for the services and products they later tested, refined and pitched in entertaining and informative four-minute presentations. The event was a hit; club members walked away with four promising prototypes and mad design skills; and–since most of the products were recycled or returned to Cartman–it is believed that zero waste was created.

Look out for further D4i Challenges in 2018: in January with visiting Chinese and then Indian high school students (in a partnership with WFUNA); in February debuting at our new campus in Sao Paulo, Brazil; presenting a Summit at SXSWedu Conference in March; and student-led immersive Minimester and Fifth Term elective classes in spring!