PROJECT
Longitudinal discovery research on lived experiences of economically vulnerable families with young children (ongoing)
Questions explored:
❋ How can we center families’ voices in social policy design, ensuring that policy solutions are informed by real experiences?
❋ What is it like for families across a variety of communities to raise children under the age of 6 with limited financial resources?
❋ How can benefit programs and community services be designed so that, through their utilization, families reach their definition of thriving?
Project Elements:
Co-Design Workshops
Facilitated two Spanish-language and one English-language co-design workshops with families from diverse backgrounds. These sessions encouraged participants to envision an ideal social safety net and share their personal experiences with current programs.
Diary Studies
Over 18 months, families use audio-visual diary entry platform to record their dynamic support needs and evolving experiences. These entries were complemented by periodic check-ins with the design team and policy experts, enabling ongoing dialogue and deeper understanding of their lives. Spanish-language diary study responses were regularly discussed in analysis meetings, ensuring that insights were integrated into the broader findings.
Workshop and Asset Creation
Co-created workshop materials and flow for optimal participation and discussion. Workshop materials and transcripts were translated and back-translated between. Collaboratively create prompts for diary study to achieve research goals and refine as the project evolves.
Research Findings Dissemination and Discussion
Identify and present key insights and quotes on ongoing basis to community partners, policy and design teams and prompt discussion to guide the application of findings and direct future research.
Ongoing strategic support on participatory practices and working with unique needs
Advise team on trauma-informed practices to avoid harm in the research process for families participating in the project. Additionally, highlight additional opportunities to integrate families in the design process and ensure their co-ownership of their stories in our research.
Impact / Contribution
By exploring the lived experiences, we are gaining more insight into the common and unique hurdles that different families experience in raising their families, as well as where they currently turn for support. This research will inform the design of state and federal social safety net policies aimed at improving family economic security and well-being. Additionally, by incorporating insights from Spanish-speaking participants offered a more representative and nuanced understanding of diverse family experiences.
This work spurred other opportunities to amplify the experiences of Spanish-speaking participants in other projects with the client. Trauma-informed practices established within the study also laid a foundation for organizational practices across various projects.
Feel free to follow this ongoing work and learn more here.
Why this work lights me up
Primarily, I know from firsthand experience that, all too often, programs are designed with processes and requirements in mind that make it harder for families to advance in life, which is unfortunate because that is the opposite of what these resources are created to do. I believe end-user voice is crucial in understanding what direction social impact projects should go when building supports, whether that be a policy, a new service, or a digital product.