A Human Centered Approach to Designing a University Innovation Ecomap

Background

At a university the size of UNC, the democratization of knowledge and resources related to design, innovation, and entrepreneurship requires a systematic, multistage process to engage key parties across 13 federated schools and the community beyond. We started with the challenge “How might we create an ecomap that is user-friendly and connects users to next steps on their founder journey?”, and led the year-long development process of a tool that supports faculty, staff, students, and the North Carolina community to better understand the resources available to support their work. The tool is set to launch publicly on Tuesday, September 24th 2024.

Approach

Process and co-creation

    • Differentiating outdated data from current data 

    • Navigating overlapping offerings between different schools and their programs

    • Importance of indexing to convey content AND responsible host

    • Key personas identified:

      • Faculty Founders

      • Student Innovators

      • Community Changemakers

      • Curious Citizens

    • Faculty need to better understand mechanisms to access existing resources 

    • Students want a defined pathway to find opportunities for involvement and funding

    • Community changemakers and curious citizens want a clearer understanding of how UNC resources are available to them 

Methods for co-creation processes

  • Interactive Workshop

    • Brainstorm and prioritize the greatest facilitators of effectively guiding users on their innovation journey

    • Generate strategies/solutions to advance facilitators

    • Sketch low-fidelity prototypes of possible solutions

  • Facilitated Sessions

    • Rapid Prototyping

      • Working with our hands stimulates creativity

      • Early feedback tells is if we are on the right trac

      • Methods include: Journey mapping, role playing, modeling

    • Crazy 8s Design Sprint

“Regions with the highest levels of local connectedness accelerate all their entrepreneurs twice as fast in quarterly revenue growth.”
— Ecomap Technologies

    • Content

      • Populated with existing sources 

      • Indexed, organized, and confirmed by organizing partners

    • User Experience

      • Human-centered design framework​

      • Identification of key persona groups​

      • Interviews with key community stakeholders

  • Compile data using Notion for input into compliable, indexable tool for complex data (Ecomap)

    • Identify programming and opportunities related to innovation, entrepreneurship, and design on UNC schools’ websites

    • Connect with the school representative for an individual interview to receive feedback on identified resources

    • Iterate and update the data according to feedback

Next

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