This is where we examine what we have learned and determine which perspectives to merge or amplify to create a clear picture of the factors and forces that impact experience the most. By reflecting at this phase, we are considering the nuance behind peoples' stories and selecting a balanced set of narratives with rich context.
Consider who within your organization and from the community should be involved in answering questions in this phase.
What findings might be difficult for our client/leadership to acknowledge or accept? Why?
If they want to reduce powersharing after learning our findings, how will we respond?
potential outputs
Create
Summary of process, findings, and recommendations to share
Understand
Role and decision-making power of community members
resources
Within Kaleidoscope, we're referring to impact as the emotional, social, and material results of one’s interaction with products, services, and systems. These effects can be planned, anticipated, or unintended.
Within Kaleidoscope, we're referring to factors and forces as the conditions or systemic structures that influence people’s experiences; these can include institutions, social structures, policies, people, technology, environmental and political factors, as well as individual circumstances that impact one's agency and access.
Within Kaleidoscope, context refers to the environment or situation in which a product or service is used, as well as the broader domain in which it exists (e.g., accessing primary care in a rural area, which sits within the broader domain of healthcare.) Defining the context enables us to examine the dynamic factors and forces within it (including social structures, institutions, political factors, policies, people, technology, and personal circumstances, etc) that influence the experiences of individuals and groups differently.
Within Kaleidoscope, we're referring to engage/engagements as inviting individuals or groups external to the immediate project team into the research and/or design process; types of engagement can range from consultation to methods that prioritize collaboration and sharing power (i.e., intentional actions to shift, grow, or rebalance power).
Within Kaleidoscope, we're referring to communities/community members primarily as the people and groups who will be served or impacted by the product or service you are creating. Although people can share common needs, values, or goals, applying an intersectional lens helps us avoid oversimplification, homogenous labels, and limiting assumptions when we think about groups. (For example, in a group of parents, we would benefit from looking deeper to explore the experiences of mothers, and deeper still to learn about the experiences of mothers of color.) Sometimes you may work directly with community members, and other times you might work with community leaders and advocates who have established trust with the communities your solution is intended to serve.
Within Kaleidoscope, we're referring to power as the capacity to influence or control ideas, institutions, situations, other people, experiences, or outcomes. Forms of power can be visible (e.g., formal rules and structures), hidden (e.g., controlling who is part of a decision-making process), or invisible (e.g., shaping people’s beliefs). While power is often associated with authoritative figures, there is also power in groups of people, organizations, and systems. Power can be a result of privilege, including social advantages or respect given to certain groups. As people involved in the creation of products and services, we have a responsibility to examine our own power in relation to the people our solutions are intended to serve.
Within Kaleidoscope, we're referring to power sharing as intentional actions to shift, grow, or rebalance power in a specific context. Sharing power challenges the typical dynamics that result from privilege, and may result in a shift of roles and responsibilities. It requires self-awareness and humility in order to avoid being paternalistic.
