A New Direction for the HCDExchange: Localizing human-centered design in public health programming
August 2nd, 2024 | news
Members of the HCDExchange during a team retreat.
After three years of remarkable progress advancing the application of human-centered design (HCD) in public health, the HCDExchange is embracing a new and updated strategy to further this mission in Africa and Asia. This new approach, backed by a theory of change, repositions our services and products for increased sustainability, feasibility, and desirability. Developed in consultation with a dedicated community of practitioners and industry experts, the HCDExchange’s new strategy builds on our achievements over the last four years.
HCD is often not locally led, but for it to be a sustainable and effective strategy to support health programming in low-resource settings, design processes, expertise, and solutions must be integrated within the countries where they are implemented. This is a key focus of HCDExchange’s updated strategy. As the HCD and global health ecosystems evolve, HCD+Public Health practitioners require support and investment to create viable local markets to practice HCD in global health. To take advantage of the depth of HCD’s insights and solutions for better health and well-being, countries must identify their design requirements, cultivate a skilled workforce, and integrate HCD into their operational approaches. Going forward, the HCDExchange will ramp up efforts to support these undertakings.
Our new strategy centers on three winning themes: localization, workforce development, and user-driven health solutions. It positions the HCDExchange as a knowledge hub and market shaper driving locally led, HCD+Public Health in Africa and Asia.
