For my first major project at UNICEF Innovation, I designed a research project with the goal of identifying the shared challenges and opportunities in the urban areas where UNICEF works. As urban programming is a relatively new frontier for the 74 year old organization, it was critical to create a body of evidence that would empower UNICEF, and its partners, to adapt programming, innovation, and action to this rapidly emerging context.
I carried out interviews with 20 UNICEF Country Offices, dozens of external technology and design companies, and key urban decision makers to create a landscape analysis of both the issues that were most common and pressing for young people in developing cities, and the technologies that may be best suited to help address them. I synthesized these findings, along with in-depth literature review, into an easy-to-use use case handbook that you can read here. The handbook is intended to walk change makers (technologists, designers, entrepreneurs, etc.) through some of the most important opportunities to support children, mothers, and communities in rapidly urbanizing areas through innovation.
This handbook has been published on UNICEF’s website, and widely circulated within the impact design community. It served as the foundation for the Fast Company World Changing Idea’s Finalist project: Tech Bets for an Urban World.
Access the full handbook at this pdf.