GUIDELINES
The goal of the DNDA project awards is to reward groups early in their experience as innovators and creators for creating projects that enhance the quality of life. The projects can be already completed or in the early stages of development, but all must have built and tested sufficient amounts of the project to test its effectiveness and provide solid evidence that it has the potential for meaningful outcomes.
Part of the process of reviewing your submission includes how well you are able to describe the key components of a meaningful contribution to society using the principles of Humanity Centered Design.
Projects must be aimed at societal needs, such as described in the
UN’s SDGs
. Norman’s book,
Design for a Better World
, provides one framework but we are open to any of the many similar frameworks that exist under numerous names, for example, ecological design, life-centered design, community-centered design, planet-centered design, society-centered design, etc. We only ask that the spirit of
Humanity-Centered Design
(H+CD) be followed, but we ask that you describe the framework being followed. Projects must fit one of the
17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations
.
ADVISORS
An international group of advisors, listed on the “About” page of our website, will work with teams of “Talent Scouts” to conduct a broad search for early-carer practitioners whose projects are eligible for reward. In addition, any group can nominate themselves through the Qualifying Application form on this website.
PROJECT EXAMPLES
This list of example projects provides an idea of the kinds of projects we will consider. These examples should be useful even though they do not show all possible areas of work. Many other projects will fit our requirements of being beneficial to society. (Some of the projects would not be eligible for awards because they were done by practitioners beyond their early careers.)
Five projects from the United Nations Five community-based projects described by the United Nations: https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1117122
A Community-Based Project in Tijuana, Mexico
Don Norman visited this activity in Tijuana, Mexico by the nonprofit organization, Wild Coast (Costa Savaje).
https://cleancurrentscoalition.org/community-engagement-and-innovation-to-end-the-plastic-crisis-in-los-laureles-canyon-tijuana-mexico/
The World Design Organization’s World Design Impact Prizes
These 10 projects that made the shortlist for final selection in the 2021 World Design Impact prize contest. Don Norman’s positive experiences as one of the jurors of this contest provided one of the inspirations for developing the Don Norman Design Award program.
https://wdo.org/programmes/wdip/shortlist-gallery/
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR PROJECTS
This list of example projects provides an idea of the kinds of projects we will consider. These examples should be useful even though they do not show all possible areas of work. Many other projects will fit our requirements of being beneficial to society. (Some of the projects would not be eligible for awards because they were done by practitioners beyond their early careers.)
Early Career
Early career means that this is among the first three projects attempted by most of the group members (one member may have more experience).
Previous Awards
If the project has already received an award, that does not necessarily disqualify it. Each case is different and will therefore be carefully considered on its own merits. If it is felt that our award would be a substantial boost for the group, then it is eligible.
Your Ages, Educational Levels, and Fields of Study
The ages of group members are irrelevant. No age is too young or too old. We only care about years of experience in doing H+CD projects: the award is restricted to people just starting out: people early in their H+CD Career. These are not considered. We do not care what kinds of formal degrees are held by group members or what field they consider themselves to be in. We are judging the project results.
The Application Process for Projects
Projects have a two-phase application process: Qualifying and Full. First, we ask for a Qualifying Application. If the jurors decide that the project qualifies for further consideration, the group will be invited to submit a Full Application. The preliminary applications will be reviewed by our team of advisors. Groups whose applications are deemed to be of high relevance and potential will be asked to submit a full proposal. The reason for the two phases is to be able to tell groups before they have spent too much effort on the application whether they are eligible to compete.
The Full Application asks for the names of all the group members and their roles, names of mentors, and funding sources. Evidence about the success of the project (comparing the activities before the project with that as a result of the project) is critical. In addition, submit a description of the Humanity-Centered Design process that was used, with special attention to the role of the community for whom the work is intended. Some of this can be described in essay format (no more than 500 words), photographs, and a short video (2-3 minutes).
All applicants must agree that if their project is selected for an award, they will be present at the Award Summit in San Diego, California, USA on November 14-15, 2024. (Travel stipends will be available for a limited number of members of each project and educational awardee.)
Evidence of Project Performance
The evidence to confirm the project success must be reliable, comparing the community’s state prior to the project to the state resulting from the project. The evidence must use a standard set of metrics (which can be both quantitative and qualitative), collected in ways that minimize bias. We prefer an independent assessment of impact, but we realize that this may not always be possible.
If the project has not yet been completed. Measure whatever can be measured. We do not require the project to be finished, but we require evidence that it has great promise.
The evidence to confirm the project success must be reliable, comparing the community’s state prior to the project to that resulting from the project. Also discuss major difficulties, failures, and setbacks (difficulties and failures are expected. An honest appraisal of the path you followed, including failed steps will be judged positively.)
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR EDUCATION
Educational awards are for organizations that excel at providing students with the tools and techniques to perform effective humanity-centered projects of societal benefit. The award is given to the specific units of the organization that delivered the training for working on projects of societal needs. We will start by awarding a small number of education awards, but eventually, we hope to honor every organization that is doing this work. There are no geographical conditions for these awards.
The Application Process for Education
Educational applicants have a one-pass application process: the Full Application. All applicants must agree that if their project is selected for an award, they will be present at the Award Summit in San Diego, California, USA on November 14-15, 2024. (Travel stipends will be available for each institution that has been selected for awards.)
Required conditions
The educational group may be formal or informal. Formal institutions are established universities, colleges, or other certified educational institutions offering degrees, usually accredited by a national organization. Informal groups may offer workshops, boot camps, online courses, or self-directed courses, usually providing certificates or micro-credentials. In all cases, the institution must provide evidence of effectiveness in teaching Humanity-Centered Design for societal benefit.
Educational institutions must provide information about their curriculum and course structure plus the names of graduates now pursuing relevant projects or teaching about how to accomplish them. Educational institutions must be able to provide evidence to back their claims.
USEFUL REFERENCES
Websites:
The U.N. Sustainable Development Goals
https://sdgs.un.org/goals
Principles of Humanity-Centered Design
https://donnormanaward.design/2024/en/page/award
The Aga Khan Foundation's Guides to Human-Centered Design
(It is actually Humanity-Centered, but that term was not in use when they wrote this).
https://www.akfusa.org/our-stories/human-centered-design-approach-to-community-engagement/
https://schools2030.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/PPT_Schools-2030-FacilitatorGuide_PagetoPage.pdf
Book:
Norman, D. (2023) Design for a Better World: Meaningful, Sustainable, Humanity Centered. Cambridge, MA: London, UK: MIT Press. 2023.
An excellent guidebook for projects. It discusses what kind of evidence is useful, how to do the work by thinking big but starting small, testing each small component as you move forward, and how to deal with the difficulties of funding:
Chang, A. M. (2019). Lean impact: How to innovate for radically greater social good. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://www.annmei.com/book
DEMONSTRATION OF EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
The evidence to confirm the success consists of multiple measures but the most important will be a list of graduates who are now working in Humanity Centered Projects for societal needs. Statements from graduates will be useful.
The application form for educational institutions is more open-ended than the one for projects. However, we do not wish to be bombarded with multiple pages of text, multiple website URLs, and an excess of documentation. The information should be concise, no more than 10 pages, and a limited number of URLs or downloads. Any videos should be short: two to three minutes.
APPLY NOW
To Submit an application, go to the bottom of the awards page:
https://dnda.design/2024/en/page/award
To view the applications in PDF, please click the following links: