Overview

• Plan an initiative for the community you serve
• Intentionally design moments to promote greater sense of belonging
• Get unstuck in your process
• Leave with design strategies to apply to future planning
• Join a growing community of Design for Belonging Alumni to share ideas, troubleshoot challenges, and provide support

Who Participates?

This workshop is designed for any University of Maryland community member who has responsibility for community-building, onboarding and/or diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice and belonging (DEIJB) initiatives.

The workshop asks participants to focus in on a particular moment, so participants may repeat the workshop as frequently as they like to expand their initiatives or explore new ones each time.

In the inaugural year of Design for Belonging workshops, we worked with 75 individuals from 20+ departments & programs across campus.

Workshop Structure

Reflect

30-minute pre-flection activity to prepare for live session

Innovate

90-minute design workshop to identify a challenge, brainstorm alternatives, and prototype a solution

Pilot

Gather feedback and join monthly roundtables for ongoing support for implementation

Why Belonging

Substantial empirical research affirms the importance of belonging to protect emotional wellbeing.

Those who feel othered/excluded are vulnerable to poor outcomes like impulsivity and lower academic attainment.

Psychologists see belonging as a universal & fundamental human need.

Belonging is a major component for corporate success, touted by organizations like Deloitte & Forbes Magazine.

Research & Resources

To learn more about the scholarly work being done around the concept of belonging, view our growing reference list.

To learn more about design thinking, visit our Academy of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at innovation.umd.edu or the Stanford d.school at dschool.stanford.edu.

Testimonials

“The Designing For Belonging workshop was a wonderful experience for my team and me. We were able to use a creative collaboration style to help think about our processes in a whole new way. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to infuse some energy into their programs." -Julia Crooks (Training and Development Manager, DOTS)

"I think it's really helpful to see how our colleagues tackle onboarding and work around similar issues. It's also a great way to receive feedback and gain new ideas."

"it doesn't take very long and "forces" you [to] work on the opportunity instead of "I'll get to it one day"'

Connect

Social media: @ terrapinstrong, @terrapin_strong

Email: terrapinstrong@umd.edu

Web: terrapinstrong.umd.edu