Civilla

Can human-centered design help rebuild trust in government? We're pretty optimistic. Government Technology explored this question in their most recent issue, and featured our CEO, michael brennan, alongside many other orgs within this space (New America, Code for America, to name a few!). More than ever, the effects of the pandemic deepened the need for human-centered design in government institutions. Has your organization explored HCD in your work recently? Read the full piece below to see tips on how government agencies can get started ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/dDX5Hg2F Thank you, Adam Stone for including us!

Let's get you checked in ✅ Recently, our team took time to reflect on what truly drives us within our work. Exercises like this can be insightful and keep you energized in your day-to-day work life. Whether it's your coworkers, your organization's mission, or the work itself, what brings you the most joy and fulfillment? Let us know! #CivicTech #Government #GovTech #humancentereddesign

Today the Digital Benefits Network and the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation are kicking off their Summer of CX (#customerexperience) webinar series. The event this afternoon will focus on Principles to Improve CX and feature Michigan's #UIA Chief of Staff Brett Gleason as well as our design partner Rachael Carson of Civilla, Sylvie Williams - Transformation Officer, Customer Experience from the US Department of Labor, Mai Do- Chief Customer Experience Officer for the California Employment Development Department, and of course Jennifer Phillips facilitating. You can still register for the webinar. https://lnkd.in/gcRxvZvJ

Warmer days are making their way through Detroit, which means summer is here! We recently brought the team together to reflect on our Spring season and to welcome an exciting new one. During a team exercise, we asked each member to write down wins and challenges for the previous three months. As we took a step back to see all we had accomplished, we celebrated: - New teammates joining Civilla - Growing relationships and trust with our partners - A successful two-week pilot for our Washington team's work - New studio tours (that have sold out each month!) - Meaningful features in media articles and segments (hello, John Oliver!) - New learnings, prototypes and deeper confidence across all teams We are grateful for all that this season brought us and look forward to seeing how we grow this summer! Thank you for coming along this journey with us.

Thank you to Bob Sutton for lifting up our work on Hidden Brain by Shankar Vedantam! This episode "Innovation 2.0: Shortcuts and Speed Bumps" explores the process of moving from an idea to implementation. When we look back at Project:Reform, commitment to execution was the anchor in seeing that work become a lasting reality. Listen to the podcast episode for the full story (our mention starts at 19:00)! https://lnkd.in/gBQ4MKFu

✨We’re pleased to announce that our August studio tour slots are now open! ✨ Join us for a special 90-minute visit to Civilla’s studio here in Detroit on Wednesday, August 14, hosted by our CEO, Michael Brennan. This is a unique opportunity to learn about our human-centered design process within government institutions. We’ll also have time to discuss your questions and challenges in your own work with Michael. We’d be honored to have you join us. Grab a spot today! https://lnkd.in/gUVyzk5z

Let's talk about pilots! An HCD pilot is a preliminary, small-scale implementation of a project. It's purpose is to test the feasibility, impact, and effectiveness of new solutions before a full-scale rollout. Pilots are crucial for moving good design ideas into real, lasting change. When weighing out the pros of hosting your own pilot, here are some crucial benefits we have found in our recent public benefits work: 📝 On-site learnings: Every human-centered design project we conduct includes user interviews in our research phase. However, hosting an on-site pilot allows our team to make rapid improvements to designs before moving them into implementation. 👀 Environment Immersion: On-site pilots have been pivotal to deepening relationships and trust with our partners. They enable us to embed ourselves in their environment and work shoulder-to-shoulder in a way that grows appreciation, understanding and solidarity. 👥 Impact: Pilots enable us to measure the impact of designs before scaling them. The qualitative and quantitative data that pilots generate enable us and our partners to make the case for change. Do any of these benefits resonate with your own work in government and human-centered design? 

A big thank you to Jennifer Phillips for shining a spotlight on equitable access to unemployment insurance during her testimony at the U.S. House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Work and Welfare hearing on June 4th. This hearing presented crucial insights on fair and effective service, and lifted up Civilla's work with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) as an example of how to improve the experience of navigating unemployment claims. We are grateful for dedicated advocates like the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation who help move this work forward! Want to read the full testimony? Check out the blog here: https://lnkd.in/g2-rr5KR

When was the last time you got to connect with nature? Last week, a few team members had the chance to volunteer at Oudolf Garden Detroit at Belle Isle, a beautiful state park in the city. We helped plant a new meadow that will extend the current garden by over 15,000 native plants. Oudolf is only putting in about 50% of what they expect to ultimately live there. But once these plants start to grow and attract birds and bees and other wildlife, the animals will bring other native growth. This visit was special to our team. As we continue to think about how to connect nature to our work, this trip allowed us to get our hands in the dirt and learn about native gardens. We can't wait to build on all we've learned!

It only takes a moment for institutions to lose trust with the public, but years to rebuild it. COVID-19 hit Michigan hard, causing unemployment claims to soar from 5,000 to over 388,000 a week. The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) was overwhelmed. Under the leadership of Director Julia Dale, Civilla has partnered with Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency to revamp the unemployment insurance experience. Together, we're focused on rebuilding trust and creating lasting improvements for Michigan residents. Check out Civilla Stories below on our partnership! https://lnkd.in/dKRXpasS