Abstract:

Co-creating is defined as working with one or more people from the community to create something. There are many opportunities for co-creating programs in almost any community, the key is working together to make sure all stakeholders are represented, and their unique perspectives are heard.

The challenge the authors have faced in the Design Thinking for Social Product Innovation (DTSPI) sequence which the authors facilitate, is how to help middle class Midwestern students co-create in the global south. Each year the students are required to develop panels of expert in the country they are interested in studying to help them understand the problems they are focused on. Each student must select a country as well as a UNESCO Sustainability Goals and a segment of the population of one of the poorer countries of the global south to work on throughout the year. These are very real social justice projects.

Students, while technologically advanced, have been hesitant to reach out to in-country contacts for many years. At the end of Covid-19 in 2021, we began asking students to cold call people in their country and simply talk. Many of these cold calls led to exciting conversations and important discoveries in the design process. One student reported in 2022 that when he reached someone in his country and was talking about water quality, the young person on the other end made it clear that while you may be interested in cleaning water, we simply need access to water. A huge step for the US student working on the project as he redirected his work to access with the new partner in-country.

Students have also learned that one contact often leads to more. Once a relationship is built, students can ask for other names and effectively snowball or multiply the contact. As of the fall of 2022, the professors are asking for 40% of the contacts to be in the country. This is a real challenge for students who only speak English, for students who have countries in unfamiliar time zones, and for students who have never done anything like this before. It requires picking up the phone and dialing a +, a country code, and a number that you have found online. If you were anxious before, your anxiety is going through the roof.

Students search online forums, Reddit, Facebook, university directories, organizations of faith, the UN and more to get that first contact. It is hard work, but the rewards are there. When the US student can begin working in partnership with those from the local countries, real innovation takes place.

With the power of WhatsApp, it is expected that each student will obtain ten in-country, local panel members to help in the co-creation of their products. The student then moves from being the design dictator to being a facilitator of a co-creation process. This is empathy in Design Thinking terms, and inclusion in Social Justice.

The local participants can be easily involved in ideation, ideation reviews, affinity brainstorming, concept, and prototype reviews. The in-country person can help with pictures of the problem in their community. Working together, better ideas can be generated that may have a real impact. Technology and new ideas may empower the potential for effective virtual co-creation.

Keywords:

Co-Creation, Social Justice, UNESCO Sustainability Goals, WhatsApp, Design Thinking.