Case Study: Building Cash Products Through Human Centered Design

The complexity of disaster response projects makes it hard for developers to understand how to develop effective digital tools that meet the needs of the users. Human Centered Design is a design and management framework that develops solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process. It aims to help people get a better understanding of the problems they face and the solutions they develop.

Using science based and data driven methods and products to help improve humanitarian aid is very important. Ensuring people trust and use them with ease is just as important. ‘When we started with 510 we began with a data-driven approach, as we have evolved, we were able to introduce Human Centered Design into the digital creation process,’ says Orla Canavan, Strategic Product Design Lead at 510.

Human Centered Design has played a key role in developing the 121 platform to where it stands now. The 121 Platform has been designed to help humanitarian INGOs and local NGOs to increase the quality and scale of humanitarian cash programming. Through the 121 Platform they can ensure that people receive Cash and Voucher Assistance in an easy, safe and fast way.

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The scaling up of the 121 platform by the consortium (Dorcas, ZOA, Help a Child, Tearfund, Cordaid and 510) is made possible by funding of the Dutch Relief Alliance through the DRA Innovation Fund. This Innovation Fund is a fund created by the Dutch Relief Alliance with financial support of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Dutch Relief Alliance operates at a global level through an alliance of Dutch humanitarian organisations and in partnership with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2015. They work together with more than 100 local organisations.

31 January 2022