Human Centered Design
At New Dream Consulting, we place people at the heart of every solution. Our Human-Centered Design approach helps organizations create impactful strategies and services by deeply understanding the needs, experiences, and motivations of the people they serve. We partner with clients to co-create solutions through a process of empathy, ideation, and iterative testing. Whether you're designing new programs, improving customer experiences, or innovating within your organization, we ensure that the outcomes are not only effective but also meaningful and inclusive. Let us help you design with intention—by putting people first.
What We Provide
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Deep Listening and Community Engagement: We start by listening to those who matter most—the people you serve. Through thoughtful conversations, focus groups, and community workshops, we gather real stories and experiences, helping your organization better understand the needs, challenges, and aspirations of your audience.
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Pathway Mapping for Positive Impact: We work alongside your team to chart the journey of the individuals and communities you serve, identifying barriers and opportunities for growth. This helps you visualize the entire experience from their perspective, guiding the way to meaningful, mission-aligned outcomes that improve lives.
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Collaborative Solution Design: In our interactive workshops, we bring together diverse voices—staff, stakeholders, community members, and beneficiaries—to co-create solutions that work. These sessions foster trust, creativity, and collective ownership of the solutions, ensuring that the outcomes are tailored to the unique needs of your community.
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Prototyping with Purpose: Before implementing new ideas, we develop simple, testable versions and invite real users to provide feedback. This allows us to make adjustments based on lived experiences, ensuring that the final solutions are both effective and compassionate, with the potential for real-world success.
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Empowering Your Team through Training: We believe in building your capacity to solve problems from within. Our training programs equip your staff and leadership with Human-Centered Design tools, empowering them to continuously create, test, and refine solutions that resonate with your community's needs.
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Guided Implementation for Sustainable Change: Bringing ideas to life requires more than just a plan—it requires people. Our team will stand with you throughout the implementation process, ensuring your solutions are inclusive, sustainable, and adaptable as you continue to evolve and serve.
Case Study
Driving Educational Equity and Community Engagement through Human-Centered Design
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Client Overview: Regional School District
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A regional school district in North Carolina aimed to address disparities in educational access and student outcomes, particularly in underserved communities. The district recognized that achieving these goals would require a human-centered approach and building strong partnerships with key stakeholders across various sectors.
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Objective
To develop and implement Human-Centered Design strategies that would improve student outcomes, increase community engagement, and reduce disparities in education across the district.
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Approach
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Engaging Stakeholders through Deep Listening
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Action: LaToya conducted empathy-driven research, including interviews, focus groups, and workshops with students, teachers, and parents. She focused on understanding their lived experiences, challenges, and aspirations to ensure that program development was rooted in real community needs.
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Result: These engagements revealed key insights about barriers to academic success, particularly for students of color and those from low-income backgrounds, which became foundational to the district’s program development strategy.
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Co-Creating Solutions with the Community
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Action: LaToya facilitated co-creation workshops with diverse groups of stakeholders, including students, parents, educators, and community leaders. Together, they developed tailored programs to improve student engagement, mentoring, and access to college preparation resources.
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Result: The co-creation process led to the launch of new mentoring programs and targeted interventions that resulted in a 30% increase in student enrollment in equity-focused programs.
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Building Strong Partnerships for Resource Alignment
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Action: LaToya identified and secured strategic partnerships with local universities, nonprofits, and businesses, providing additional resources, mentorship opportunities, and real-world learning experiences for students.
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Result: The partnerships contributed to a significant increase in resources for equity-driven programs, allowing the district to expand its initiatives and enhance student outcomes.
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Embedding Equity into Program Design
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Action: LaToya ensured that an equity framework was embedded in every aspect of the district’s program development, including culturally relevant curricula and diverse representation in leadership roles.
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Result: Equity became a guiding principle for the district, leading to a 50% reduction in student attrition and a 40% increase in overall student attendance.
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Iterating and Refining Through Feedback Loops
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Action: LaToya implemented feedback loops, regularly reviewing and adjusting program outcomes based on student and community feedback, refining prototypes of new initiatives in real time.
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Result: This iterative approach resulted in sustained improvements, with a 98% graduation rate achieved and over $4 million in scholarships secured for students.
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Outcome
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Under LaToya C. Crawford’s leadership, the district successfully applied Human-Centered Design to transform its approach to educational equity. These efforts led to measurable gains in student success, increased community involvement, and a stronger foundation for future initiatives.