Organization:Design for America

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Overview

                                                                               

Founded in 2009 at Northwestern University's McCormick School of Engineering, Design for America (DFA) focuses on creating student led design studios that find meaningful ways to create impact in their local communities. DFA has spread to 17 universities throughout the United States and continues to grow, with an increase of 70 applications in 2013. Looking at an individual studio level, DFA is a student-led organization on each campus. Studio is a term used to define a group of like-minded students that come together to think, design, and innovate. Studios at different universities vary from an actual designated physical space on campus to available classrooms where students can meet. The main idea of Design for America is that students find projects and create an impact within their community. DFA provides these each campus with the resources and training needed to be successful as a nascent organization. 

From teaching design innovation, Design for America hopes to give young adults the experience needed to be team players, purposeful learners, and leaders in every sense of the word. Another important aspect is that DFA has attempted to keep its student-led grass roots atmosphere by using the same formula from Northwestern's studio to build new studios on campuses throughout the United States. 

Design_for_America

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7v6mrdC2lQ

Purpose

Design for America is an organization based on the idea that people cannot innovate without believing in themselves. This principle defines their motivation behind working on a national level to build a network of students who actively create impact at the local level through team-based projects. Design for America's goal is to create a network of students working to solve social problems and make a significant impact in their respective communities. Student teams survey their local community in order to assess its challenges and complete all the steps in the design process from ideation to viable product development. Teams of 2 to 3 students will then set out to create solutions based on the challenges identified. Student teams are either a part of a studio or independently run by students on campuses nationwide. Design for America believes that every student has the ability to make an impact, and through design innovation, students can solve problems in the world around them. 

Co-founder Dr. Liz Gerber has researched new ways of learning about human centered design called Extracurricular Design-Based Learning. This method engages students, community members and partners to think about our biggest challenges that we face in education, health, economy and environment. The best words to summarize this organization's vision is motivation informed by belief in ability. Design for America holds the idea that we must believe in our ability to develop innovative solutions that can address the world's challenges by implementing extracurricular design-based learning.

Distinct Differences From Other Offerings

The distinct value that Design for America offers is the formation of a campus organization devoted to helping students develop their ideas through working in teams and also using proven methods of designed-based learning. DFA provides studio support through faculty, advisors, professional design mentors, community partners, and administrators within the DFA organization. The significance of Design for America on your campus is the ability to create a pipeline of leaders and thinkers that can make an impact within their community. DFA is also simultaneously broadening the idea of an "impact" from the traditional sense of starting a new venture, to all types of social endeavours. For example, starting a volunteer organization or teaching classes about nutrition in the local community. Lastly, DFA is committed to the continuing development of interdisciplinary student teams. Students from all majors and backgrounds play crucial parts on campus studios and bridge the gap between business, science, engineering, and liberal arts. 

Impact Achieved For Students and Campus

Since the creation of Design for America, over 2,000 students have participated in campus studios, 17 physical campus studios have been developed, and two start ups (SwipeSense and Jerry the Bear) have come to market and raised $1.5 million in funding. Furthermore, DFA has become nationally recognized through publicity such as the New York Times, Chicago Tribue, Forbes, and MIT Technology Review. Design for American has received several awards, invites to conferences, and grants. DFA also reports that employers consistently search out candidates from a DFA campus studio group for hiring because of their unique experiences while in DFA . 

Student teams work on 2-3 self-selected design projects throughout the academic year and apply skills, knowledge, and expertise from their course work. Design for America teaches students how to look at their local community, find problems, think of solutions, and implement those changes. 

Students in DFAcampus studios usually report that they were able to find and learn more about their passion. Furthermore, students learn important marketable skills for the work place such as: team working abilities, problem solving, creativity, and perseverance. In addition, students enjoy connecting and working with students from across their campuses and outside their majors. Many students enjoy the impact they are able to make while in college, which in many insistences turn into a career path. Below are some of the campuses involved and companies that have started through DFA. 

Colleges Involved in Design for America:

1. Baltimore
2. Barnard | Columbia
3. Case Western | CIA
4. Cornell
5. Duke
6. Northwestern
7. Rice
8. RISD | Brown
9. Standford
10. UC Berkeley
11. UC Davis
12. UCLA
13. UIUC
14. UO Eugene
15. Vanderbilt
16. Virginia Tech
17. Yale

Some Design for America Projects:

• Jerry the Bear- How can we reduce hospital acquired infections?
• Right Angle- How can we help diabetic children care for themselves?
• Swipe Sense- How can we use less water to wash dishes in a cafeteria?
• Fruit Buddi- How can we encourage and reward healthy snack choices?
• SEE[K]- How can we encourage alternative forms of transportation?
• Melo Sense- How can we increase play among children with non-verbal autism?
• Hot Dorms- How can we reduce waste heat energy in dorms?
• Helmet For- How can we encourage riders to wear their helmets?
• Bottle Share- How can we reduce the waste on college campuses?
• Tinker Turf- How can we create an exhibit that empower children to tinker?
• Luna Lights- How can we reduce the risk of falling for older adults?
• Blue Button Narrative- How can we make medical records more intuitive?

All this and more can be found here: http://designforamerica.com/projects/

Steps Required To Bring Resource to Campus

In order to bring this resource to campus, student leaders need to learn the application process of Design for America. 

1. Contact Design for America and start the DFA application 
2. Student Leaders must attend conference in August to receive training from Design for America 
3. Student leaders must identify a group of 30 students interested in Design for America
4. Charter a Design for America studio on campus
5. Identify 1- 10 projects for the studio
6. Identify community partners 
7. Start one project and go through the design process
8. Final Interview and selection

For more information about applying, visit the Design for America webiste at http://designforamerica.com/get-involved/students/apply/.

Contact Information

To recieve more general information visit Design for America's website: http://designforamerica.com/

To get in contact with the Design for America team, submit a request or start the application process: http://designforamerica.com/contact/