Empowering Change: Shifting from Human-Centered to Empowerment-Centered Design

In the social impact sector, human-centered design (HCD) has long been the preferred approach for developing solutions that address the needs of underserved communities and tackle society’s most pressing challenges. HCD emphasizes empathy, inclusivity, and iterative prototyping, ensuring that interventions are grounded in the lived experiences of the people they aim to help. While this has driven significant progress, it’s time to build forward to empowerment-centered design (ECD), championed by The Audacity Process, designed by Kalena Global LLC.

We must move beyond a model where the designers of solutions—though empathetic and committed—still drive the process. HCD implicitly states that individuals facing challenges have critical insights and information but cannot create solutions. What if we were audacious enough to say that those in need can create their solutions and that they have probably thought of it? All they require is empowerment and the resources to do so.

What is Empowerment-Centered Design?

Empowerment-centered design (ECD) focuses on enabling individuals and communities to not only meet their needs but also build and use their own assets to thrive. ECD shifts the goal from providing help to fostering long-term autonomy, resilience, and self-actualization.

Building and Using Assets

Empowerment-centered design asks: How can we equip people to create, own, and leverage their assets—whether financial, social, or personal? By asking individuals and communities what they need and empowering them with the tools to build their assets, we create pathways for sustainable growth and independence.

Self-Actualization and Lasting Change

At its core, empowerment-centered design focuses on helping people reach their full potential. In the social impact sector, this means designing programs that create pathways for individuals and communities to thrive on their own terms, leading to long-lasting impact.

Why Empowerment-Centered Design is Needed

Empowerment-centered design ensures that individuals are not just recipients of aid or externally designed solutions but are active agents of their own transformation, unlocking long-term, generational impact. It empowers, uplifts, and enables self-sufficiency.

What Kalena Global is Doing

At Kalena Global, we are championing this shift through The Audacity Process (T.A.P), a four-step process that puts those in need at the center as owners or co-owners of solutions. Rather than being recipients of prototypes, they are empowered to shape solutions from the beginning. We offer 2-day workshops on T.A.P, with the next one scheduled for January 2025, and we are also working on self-learning online courses to be released in 2025.

In a world where societal challenges are increasing in volume and complexity, we must empower individuals and communities to be the architects of their futures, equipping them with the tools and opportunities they need to shape lasting, meaningful change. By embracing empowerment-centered design, we can shift to a model where our approach to solving societal challenges catalyzes self-sufficiency, resilience, and growth. At Kalena Global, we are committed to leading this charge—because the future we envision is one where every person has the audacity to thrive on their own terms.