Rural Child Hunger Innovation Lab
branding | messaging | strategy | web design
2022, US
IDEO.org partnered with Saves the Children to design and launch an innovation lab to reimagine the rural food system in the U.S. The innovation lab featured an open call to apply for grant funding, with a goal of finding, catalyzing, and launching fresh ideas around serving rural communities.
The engagement included mapping out a holistic strategy for the innovation lab, including how to reach potential applicants, how to ensure their proposals met the innovation requirements of the grant, as well as the overall criteria for selecting winners and setting them up for success with support. We conducted design research with previous grantees as well as looking in workshops within saves the children to surface an effective strategy for the lab.
After nailing down the logistics of the grant process, our team of three of worked toward translating the opportunity into an open call that was approachable and exciting. The innovation lab was seeking to reach grassroots organizations that sometimes lack the know how for writing grant proposals. We addressed this need throughout the grantee experience. For the reach campaign we used simple, direct language in highly visualized and paced layouts to create a low barrier to entry, and we designed the grantee experience to include support moments such as office hours and an incubation workshop.
My role for this work included leading the brand and design of the website as well as supporting with key messaging and content mapping. I created a look and feel for the innovation lab that is firmly rooted in Saves the Children’s brand while also highlighting the playful possibility of the innovation lab experience.
In 2023, Saves the Children selected five community organizations and awarded each of them $100,000 in Innovation Lab funding.
