The most rewarding part of distributing Feedback Frames is seeing all the ways they support inspiring organizations that make positive impacts in the world.
One example is the Accelerator Program (acceleratorproject.xyz), a grassroots initiative in Toronto which aims to help homeless and at-risk youth escape the cycle of poverty by helping them to use tech skills to advance their employment, entrepreneurship, and personal goals.
The Accelerator team brought together 25 participants from Toronto’s tech industry and social services/non-profit sector to a consultation and co-design session on how to remove barriers for homeless youth in accessing the tech job market.
The two-hour workshop was planned in two parts.
Part 1: Identify Barriers & Challenge Assumptions
In small groups, participants were encouraged to discuss their biases and assumptions about why young people who experience homelessness are prematurely dismissed by employers. Groups used a mind-mapping with sticky-notes exercise to share their opinions and examine the relationships, trends and insights among them.
Part 2: Ideate Strategies to Overcome Barriers
Participants worked in pairs to come up with ideas of potential solutions to the challenges recognized in Part 1.
Participants generated 15 unique ideas.
Each idea statement was placed in front of its own Feedback Frame. Each participant then dropped one token per frame to rate their level of agreement with each statement on a five-point scale.
Group Decision-Making Made Easy
Participants appreciated the fun process that avoided peer pressure and groupthink. On revealing the results, it was obvious of the 15 ideas which were the collective priorities they needed to focus on. It gave an amazing sense of united direction.
The top solutions revolved around mentorship, soft-skills training, appropriate hiring partners, social systems and programmed support for basic necessities.
These results from the Feedback Frames activity have become an important foundation for the project moving forward, laying the groundwork for future consultations, research, and co-creation.
See the results summary 2-page report here and learn more at acceleratorproject.xyz
Thank you to Dilini Kurukulaarachchi who facilitated the event with other volunteers, and shared her experience with us. Photo Credits: Fitz Roy Powell (@focusbydesign_ / @fitzpowell)
