Challenges and opportunities for human-centered design in CGIAR

CONTEXT: Human-Centered Design (HCD) is an open-ended, iterative, and creative approach to problem solving. HCD is increasingly applied in CGIAR, a global AR4D consortium, to overcome problems with adoption, use, and inclusiveness of innovations. With the current digital transformation in food, land, and water systems HCD is gaining more traction. HCD is a process that can help create solutions that are adopted by users and are more inclusive. But the potential of HCD is strongly influenced by the organizational context that surrounds the design process. OBJECTIVE: In this article, we want to increase the understanding of the organizational embeddedness of HCD as a process and contribute to the ongoing discussion around the role and operationalization of HCD in AR4D. We provide a reflection and discussion on the challenges and opportunities for HCD implementation in CGIAR and provide recommendations to increase systematic HCD integration into CGIAR innovation processes. METHODS: We are building on the literature as well as the experience of the authors in facilitating HCD processes in CGIAR. We complement this by applying a simple maturity survey developed by Nielsen Norman Group, a global UX consulting firm. This maturity survey gives a more structured idea of the organizational situation in different areas with regards to HCD implementation and effectiveness. We identify a few action areas to improve HCD implementation in CGIAR. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: We identify three main areas that have a strong influence on HCD processes in CGIAR. A global driver for HCD is the digital transformation in food, land, and water systems: the sharp contrast between available tools and the low number of adoptions and lack of inclusivity drives the search for new ways of doing innovation research. At the organizational level of CGIAR, mindset and funding mechanisms have a strong influence on HCD implementation, presenting both challenges and opportunities. The organizational maturity, meaning how strategically HCD is integrated in organizational culture, strategy, processes, and outcomes, is relatively low in CGIAR. SIGNIFICANCE: The importance of discussion on how AR4D should develop innovations that are adopted, are inclusive, and are scalable is reflected in the current reform in CGIAR. This article provides a perspective on HCD as a process-based, open-ended, and creative approach to problem solving that can help address this challenge. This can inform strategy and operationalization of HCD in CGIAR and AR4D in general.