Design for America: student-led social innovation studios on campuses across the United States
-
DFA's interdisciplinary teams explore and address challenges that matter to them and their communities, while building lifelong skills and friendships.
- DFA's student-led projects align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
- DFA has relationships with 90+ universities across the US and is building an international presence.
- Recognized by the National Science Foundation and by Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, DFA's program of collaborative, courageous changemaking is now sparking cross-campus collaboration via a new social platform.
Some problems — like homelessness, climate change, and childhood illness — are so big that tackling them can feel intimidating. Design for America (DFA) encourages students to confront big challenges with design innovation rather than reactively fear what may seem complex and unknown. By valuing interdisciplinary collaboration, community building, real-world partnerships, and learning-by-doing, DFA takes a unique approach to training students — designer and non-designers alike — to address social issues through human-centered design. DFA’s heart is in its local campus studios. Teams work on extracurricular projects that have direct impact, but the stories of individual transformation suggest much more. Students from different majors and experiences become change-makers on campus and in their communities - and they carry these skills into the workforce and beyond.
DFA tools reach beyond the DFA Network. The DFA Process Guide has been embraced by DFA students, faculty, professional designers, and community members from around the world. Written in collaboration with DFA students, it is offered for free download and use under creative commons guidelines. Thousands of copies have been downloaded. The DFA Process Guide trains designers how to innovate for good. It outlines a common language that guides the DFA network and other practitioners through the design innovation process.
Launched at Northwestern University in 2008 by Faculty Founder Dr. Elizabeth Gerber and three Student Founders, DFA is now an independent nonprofit with a growing national and international footprint. DFA brings reciprocal value to both student engagement and faculty engagement. DFA students self-select, opting in to a community of like-minded, passionate community problem-solvers. They join DFA to connect with others, to apply their classroom learning to real-world problems, to build career-advancing skills, and to have a positive impact on the world. Similarly, DFA's Faculty Mentors often straddle disciplines (e.g. Engineering + HCD; Entrepreneurship + Design; UI/UX + Sociology) and want to help their students expand beyond the classroom. For example, current Faculty Mentors include: a computer science professor with a background in technology & society who introduced DFA to one of his classes through a co-teaching partnership; a Graphic Design professor and textbook author at an HBCU who is helping to launch a new DFA studio; a professor of Engineering & Environmental Design who is supporting and mentoring a cohort of student leaders launching a DFA campus studio.
