Hi! I’m Jessa. I collaborate with community groups to co-design services and civic technologies through assets-based approaches. My recent work includes the Street Peace App to support community-led violence prevention, and Chicago’s “My Chi, My Future” initiative to make out-of-school learning more equitable. I am a co-founder of the Intersectional Design Collective and have a Ph.D in human centered design.
Approach
Identify Assets & Goals
I use human-centered design methods to understand community members’ goals and challenges. I also draw from assets-based community development to collaboratively identify community assets (e.g., people, resources, infrastructure) that can be harnessed to achieve the community’s goals. I work with my partners to co-design workshops, focus groups, interviews, and surveys in this phase of work.
Research & Co-Design
I work with my community partners to co-design tools, practices, and social networks that help them connect their assets achieve their goals. We use workshops, focus groups and interviewsto incorporate feedback from a wide range of stakeholders. My partners and I synthesize the feedback and collaborate closely to execute the designs. When a novel technology is part of our approach, I develop prototypes to communicate designs and elicit feedback. To evaluate tools, I conduct usability tests, observations, and surveys.
collaborate
Every phase of my work is collaborative. I view my role as a facilitator who helps communities design tools that amplify their existing strategies, resources, and relationships. I am so interested in collaborative research and design that I wrote a dissertation (advised by Dr. Sheena Erete) on the topic!
To learn more, check out my publications or get in touch!
“As people push against, step away from, and shift the terms of their participation in power relations, the shape of power relations changes for everyone.”
Patricia Hill Collins
Jessa Dickinson, Ph.D. 