UNICEF INNOVATION FUND

UNICEF Innovation Fund is a pooled funding vehicle to grow open-source solutions and provide mentorship for communities focussing in new and emerging markets.

ROLE: Design Direction, Project management, Project Vision to Implementation.

TEAM: Collaborating with a cross-functional team at UNICEF Innovation and it’s Partners.

HIGHLIGHTS : Iterative Prototyping, Service Design

Pics: Courtesy of UNICEF

BACKGROUND

The team consisted of diverse experts such as Financial Analysts, Software Engineers, Communication Specialists, HR Specialists, Supply and Procurement Specialists to name a few. The project involved from design using extensive collaboration with the experts and their knowledge.

The project was in a early concept stage, as the donors needed tracking before the launch . Keeping the core research from the design intern we started to build prototypes for iterative feedback.

PROTOTYPE 1

LETTING THE USERS USE IT.

Translating content from Wireframes to a Live Platform with website content being reflected in real-time.
The Architecture of the Site was built with the primary users as Donors, to track investments of the fund in real-time, as the companies which received inputs update their GitHub repositories.

BETA SITE OF THE INNOVATION FUND

The Content of the site was dependent on Financial Data, Start-Up Content, Start-Up Code documentation etc. which were collaborated using a spreadsheet.
This content was updated semi-weekly and the site had to reflect real-time tracking of these investments.

The main administrators of the site were spreadsheet-savvy and it was necessary to adapt to the end-user’s tools.

PROTOTYPE 2

With the increase in the number of investments, the website architecture and design needed to evolve. Design elements such as Card Listing to navigate between investments, searching through Filters, Display of Investment Status,

PROTOTYPE 3

News and to increase applications submissions were embedded as a part of the website.

PROTOTYPE 4

This prototype focussed on utilising the background for updating website live. Below is a site anatomy to describe how adding a cell reflects on the website.

ENGAGING END USERS and STAKE HOLDERS

Feedback through interviews from applicants highlighted aspects about the fund platform. Users were also interviewed and mapped to identify insights and map enhancements and newer opportunities. To delve deeper, workflows for country offices and start ups were mapped along with the stakeholders.

KEY INSIGHTS highlighted that the focus of the fund was evolving from donor reporting to applicants from country offices and start-ups.

Responsive design layout | The mobile version had selected features, such as

MAPPING WORKFLOWS

Restructuring the Service Blueprint Model to map the fund workflow. This was used to identify limitations faced by the applicants, the need to enhance communication for all the phases: announcement - onboarding - collaboration - handover, and provide a support model for the applicants.

Mapping the workflow for country offices to identify the different methods for funding.

Below are elements of the identified touchpoints for enhancing interactions.

Using the above opportunities, process for submitting applications was enhanced.

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Interactions and behind the scenes

This project is an outcome of a collaborative effort with UNICEF innovation and is currently in its next phase. Some parts of the project cannot be shared due to confidentiality.