Risk and Reward: How to Diversify the Field of Civic Innovators and Designers

Key Insights

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  Designing in the public sector involves risk aversion, especially for professionals of color who face greater penalties for failure.

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  Credentialing and highlighting wins of marginalized designers helps legitimize their authority and fosters trust in civic innovation.

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  Tracy became the first Latina Chief Innovation Officer in Long Beach, supported by Mayor Garcia, who prioritized diverse hires to reflect community demographics.

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  Embedding designers who share the cultural backgrounds of community members improves resonance and trust in user-centered design efforts.

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  Hiring people with lived experience and non-traditional design resumes increases design effectiveness in municipal environments.

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  Tools like Post-it notes and digital boards democratize community input by preventing dominant voices from overshadowing others.

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  Reconfiguring physical meeting spaces and allowing community members to lead design sessions creates more inclusive innovation environments.

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  Traditional public sector job eligibility requirements limit access for diverse, emerging design talent; flexible hiring pathways help mitigate this.

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  Intentional recruitment efforts targeting local communities and historically Black colleges and universities build pipelines of diverse innovators.

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  Global efforts, such as in Guatemala City, show how user-centered design can be 'tropicalized' to local contexts by adapting language and culture.

Notable Quotes