In the dynamic urban tapestry of the Asia-Pacific, rapid urbanisation and climate-induced displacement strain resources and services, amplifying vulnerabilities for displaced women. UN Women approached Portable seeking a partner who could support them through a human-centred legal design approach. Over a week-long, in-person intensive session, we worked together to refine a project concept note with a view to securing support from potential donors.
The Opportunity
The UN Women Regional Office of Asia and the Pacific (UN Women) is currently in the process of developing their next project phase, spanning 2024-29, for their gender justice programming. As a prominent United Nations entity, UN Women is dedicated to advancing gender equality and empowering women globally. They play a crucial role in delivering programs, policies, and standards that uphold women's human rights, striving to ensure that every woman and girl can reach her full potential.
As a global leader in legal design, we rose to the challenge to support UN Women to define a concept note addressing the nexus between climate-induced urbanisation and the widening of the existing justice gap, which is escalating the risks of conflict and natural resource insecurity for women and girls across Asia-Pacific region.
Specialising in developing accessible products and services that enhance access to justice, this project signals our transition towards making an impact at scale in the justice sector globally. We assisted the team in gaining a clear understanding of how to employ a human-centred/legal design approach and consider the diverse and complex challenges that come with gender justice programming.
The Challenge
Socioeconomic disparities.
The Asia and Pacific region presents a unique set of challenges with some of the world's most powerful economies, coexisting alongside two-thirds of its poorest people. The region's rich political and cultural diversity is overshadowed by stark socioeconomic disparities, particularly those linked to gender.
Rapid urbanisation and climate-induced displacement.
Displaced women, constituting a significant portion of migrants, encounter heightened vulnerabilities such as housing insecurity and gender-based violence. Moreover, the challenges posed by climate-induced factors are intricately linked to the Women, Peace and Security agenda, underscoring the need to address gender-specific issues in these contexts.
Access to justice.
Governance and justice deficiencies further exacerbate the difficulties faced by displaced individuals in urban areas, with over 5.1 billion people globally lacking access to justice.
The confluence of these factors in the Asia-Pacific urban landscape demands urgent attention and innovative solutions.
Our Approach
UN Women approached us with a unique challenge — they sought to depart from conventional strategies to formulate a plan that would capture the hearts and minds of influential stakeholders and donors who play a critical role in shaping the authorising environment on the international stage.
Addressing systemic challenges
This endeavour was complex. It involved thinking systemically and working granularly.
Switching perspectives.
While we knew that we needed to develop a strategy that would affect populations in multiple countries and drive influential change across different governments, multinational NGOs and other entities operating in this space, we also knew that we had to dive deep into the day-to-day challenges that many women and girls face. During the week-long project, we focused on identifying key stakeholders within the system, delving into human-centric pain points before exploring interactions between entities and identifying feedback loops. This way of working involved taking both individualised human-centred perspectives and collective systemic perspectives.
Balancing structure with flexibility.
We facilitated open, constructive dialogue over a rigid agenda, and through it all, sought to create a safe space for participants to share freely, be creative and explore ideas that felt fresh and bold. As facilitators, we sought to strike a balance between trusting the process and challenging the process, acknowledging the mental toll of the task and responding to the needs of the human beings present in the room. Adaptability was essential, prompting us to utilise a mix of methodologies, approaches and mindsets throughout the project, ensuring responsiveness to evolving needs and challenges.
The set up
In the initial phase, we prioritised relationship-building and getting a good overview of the problem space. We dedicated time to understanding the context and our participants, issuing questions and asking for resources. This approach not only enriched our understanding but also helped those attending consider the subject matter and prepare themselves ahead of the engagement. Recognising that we wanted this week to be as much about capacity building and education as it was about problem-solving, we planned our activities accordingly and drew together resources that the team could use beyond the week.
Workshop delivery
During the week, our focus shifted from meticulously exploring the problem space to generating ideas for initiatives and collaboratively refining them to support the development of the concept note.
Understanding the problem space.
Leveraging desktop research and prompting discussions between participants, we delved into understanding the intricate context of the Asia-Pacific region. We guided the team to reflect on their context and deep understanding, fostering a shared awareness about the extent of the problem. This provided an opportunity to identify the intersecting layers of challenges.
Intention setting.
Confronted with the multifaceted challenges and complexities, we collaboratively set the intention for the week, shifting the team from panic to clarity. By setting a clear intention up front, the team was able to find comfort in the face of complexity.
Crystallising the problem to address.
The creation of concise problem statements was a must-have, offering a structured approach to defining problems. The process enabled us to reframe the greatest challenges as opportunities and provided a jumping-off point for really rich solution generation.
External contributions.
Transitioning into the solution space, diverse perspectives were introduced to enrich the team's understanding of the challenge. The inclusion of different people in the process not only contributed to a more holistic understanding but also facilitated a more comprehensive and nuanced approach to developing the final piece.
Using external frameworks.
Providing frameworks allowed those in the room the ability to think about things differently through a new lens. In addition to practice-based training in HCD methods, we introduced frameworks for participation and engagement and monitoring and evaluation.
Outcomes
The week-long intensive provided precisely what the team needed, having not only gained valuable insights but also dedicated time for thoughtful reflection—an opportunity rarely afforded in their usual work routines. Notably, the team appreciated the innovative way of working, acknowledging the stark difference from conventional methods and recognising the fruitfulness of this approach. Engaging in a novel initiative, the client is breaking new ground by doing something for the first time, setting a precedent for addressing complex challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. From our perspective, this project catalysed reevaluating how to approach systemic problems, particularly through the lens of imagining futures.
Reflections
Working closely with UN Women was an incredible opportunity. The complexity of the problem they are addressing is far from straightforward. I was humbled by the opportunity to play a role in helping set the foundations for this piece of influential work. Anticipating the future, I am eager to continue supporting the team and realising some of the ambitious goals we carved out during our week in Melbourne.
Emily MacLoad, Portable Senior Design Strategist
Team
- Simon Goodrich, Co-founder
- Willhemina Wahlin, Senior Design Strategist
- Emily MacLoud, Senior Design Strategist
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