https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition daily 0.75 2021-08-04 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstreams-design-innovation-featured-on-tvs-america-by-design monthly 0.5 2021-08-04 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/fast-company-recognizes-upstream-with-a-2021-world-changing-idea monthly 0.5 2021-05-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1621012732410-DZL736WZPRFWRV5F6DE5/World+Changing.jpg Recognition - Upstream Thinking recognized by Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/dexcoms-g6-takes-center-stage-during-the-biggest-game-of-the-year monthly 0.5 2021-02-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1613066680443-FL3YIXLW36731SLNT77S/Upstream%27s+work+featured+in+Dexcom+Ad.JPG Recognition - Upstream’s work in the spotlight during the Big Game! https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-featured-by-austin-healthcare-council monthly 0.5 2020-07-06 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstreams-innovative-design-wins-prestigious-medical-design-excellence-award monthly 0.5 2021-08-02 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-to-offer-innovation-certification-in-partnership-with-mccombs-school-of-business monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587425727834-I6C61825ALZXW36EQMPQ/Design-Thinking-Executive-Education.jpeg Recognition - Upstream partners with McCombs School of Business to offer Design Thinking Executive Education https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/esomar-foundation-publishes-upstream-case-study-driving-earlier-diagnosis-and-care-for-alzheimers-disease monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-participates-in-design-thinking-for-global-health-workshop-in-senegal monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-amp-mccombs-school-of-business-train-innovation-executives-at-yeti monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-speaks-at-motorola-innovation-summit monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-presents-at-tmcx-in-houston monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587424002466-EDR1I06RO32H15J2GYFM/image%280%29.png Recognition - Upstream presents Health Tech Adoption Drivers at TMCx in Houston https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-presents-action-catalyst-tools-to-implementers-from-15-african-nations monthly 0.5 2020-05-05 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-trains-innovation-executives-at-dell monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-featured-in-nextd-journal-unpacking-how-it-works-ibm-design-thinking monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-participates-in-panel-discussion-at-athena-health monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-participates-in-himms-austin-leadership-innovation-panel-discussion monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587422101021-683BQP0NAP1RD38HO8NY/HIMMS.png Recognition - Upstream participates in HIMMS Austin Leadership Innovation Panel https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-speaks-to-healthcare-innovation-by-design-group monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-presents-new-model-for-technology-integration-at-tcea monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587425571830-HW9AUQKOO8RQU46AHDBA/image+%282%29.png Recognition - Upstream presents new model for Technology Integration at TCEA https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-joins-panel-at-healthtech-atx-symposium monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587425095157-AUG7ZTDIKJG3FU8FV2YA/image+%281%29.png Recognition - Upstream joins Healthcare Design panel at HealthTech ATX symposium https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-hosts-panel-discussion-on-systemic-design-at-austin-design-week monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587423363129-B57TUQNW3TYCAXZAS85R/image.png Recognition - Upstream hosts Austin Design Week panel: Why our Biggest Challenges Require the Design of Systems https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-speaks-at-stryker-innovation-summit monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-announced-as-founding-partner-of-mass-challenge-texas monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/apple-advertisement-features-diabetes-app-designed-by-upstream monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-facilitates-homelessness-workshop-with-austin-stakeholders monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587569167526-JMVLPYXCW7HOLXDMIIJ7/Homelessness-Ecosystem-Workshop.jpg Recognition - Upstream facilitates homelessness workshop with over 200 Austin stakeholders https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-presents-austin-innovation-district-strategy-to-city-leaders monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-recognized-by-esomar-for-best-case-study-belief-intent-action monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/upstream-sponsors-app-design-project-for-childhood-obesity-at-texas-state-university monthly 0.5 2020-04-30 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/category/Adherence monthly 0.5 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/category/Events monthly 0.5 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/category/Barriers+to+Innovation monthly 0.5 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/category/Adoption monthly 0.5 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/recognition/category/Recognition monthly 0.5 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom daily 0.75 2025-04-24 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/aiforinnovation monthly 0.5 2025-04-24 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/data-killing-innovation monthly 0.5 2025-04-24 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/vaccine-hesitancy monthly 0.5 2025-04-11 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/3-ways-journey-mapping-supports-innovation-amp-growth monthly 0.5 2021-08-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1627508373401-N6GMCI9BA9XSSD15CW78/Picture5.png Insight - 3 ways Journey Mapping supports innovation & growth - Make it stand out Creating new value to attract digital subscribers https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1627507888106-ZJIBPGOD3QM0MP7IQQRK/Journey_Mapping_Healthcare.JPG Insight - 3 ways Journey Mapping supports innovation & growth - Make it stand out Increasing early diagnosis & treatment of disease https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/how-can-a-better-patient-experience-drive-kpis monthly 0.5 2020-10-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1602624024290-6AYKMWYP58WKPQIVU438/Patient_Experience_Alzheimers.jpg Insight - How can a better patient experience drive KPIs? Increasing early diagnosis & treatment of disease https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1602623423505-3ZVDUN6ZYMC82MV49XKX/Patient_Experience_Diabetes.jpg Insight - How can a better patient experience drive KPIs? Empowering people to control their disease https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/is-your-team-resilient-five-upstream-tips-to-guide-your-resiliency-strategy monthly 0.5 2020-08-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1597081748709-HBWX8YTZO90PX8H6UKL2/Increasing_EMS_Resiliency.jpg Insight - Is your team resilient? Five Upstream tips to guide your resiliency strategy. - Increasing first responder resiliency & retention https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1597168814042-NLHIC1QUAMCOKEG2MO2J/Improving_user_resiliency_on_social_platforms.jpg Insight - Is your team resilient? Five Upstream tips to guide your resiliency strategy. - Increasing user resiliency on social media platforms https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/corporate-innovation-amp-crisis monthly 0.5 2020-06-18 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/increasing-access-to-education-through-the-eyes-of-families monthly 0.5 2020-05-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1590603703293-LZGV8EYHR9S1CTBLPCDM/Pre-K-Enrollment-Journey.jpg Insight - Increasing access to education through the eyes of families Increasing Pre-K enrollment https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1590604057642-3EVSMRBDSHM9TSV8TOOX/Co-Creating-Strategic-Planning-Process.jpg Insight - Increasing access to education through the eyes of families Making the strategic planning process more human centered https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/solving-systemic-homelessness-a-multi-organizational-approach monthly 0.5 2020-05-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1590606274283-UEAZR5V2WGB58GCTV1FK/Solving-Homelessness-Workshop.jpg Insight - Solving systemic homelessness: A multi-organizational approach Reducing homelessness https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1590606748572-33MIY3OZGMCU82IU8CQ6/Volunteerism-Journey-Mapping-Research.JPG Insight - Solving systemic homelessness: A multi-organizational approach Scaling impact through volunteerism https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/4-considerations-for-reducing-hospital-readmissions monthly 0.5 2020-05-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1590604851345-XAJPJLM062P7030ESBGU/Surgical-Readmission-Journey-Map.jpg Insight - 4 strategies to reduce hospital readmissions Reducing post-surgical readmission rates https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1590605561244-2NHAPUON705G1L4YIL8X/Picture11.jpg Insight - 4 strategies to reduce hospital readmissions Empowering people to control their disease https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/systematic-design-for-behavior-change monthly 0.5 2025-04-11 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/blog-post-title-four-f67ge monthly 0.5 2020-05-22 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/top-6-barriers-to-breakthrough-innovation monthly 0.5 2020-05-22 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/5-ways-to-integrate-customer-experience-design-into-your-organization monthly 0.5 2020-05-22 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/technology-trends-to-confront-childhood-obesity monthly 0.5 2020-05-22 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/symptoms-of-growth-vs-atrophy monthly 0.5 2020-05-22 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/5-needs-driving-the-future-of-work monthly 0.5 2020-05-22 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/why-we-focus-on-health-education-amp-community monthly 0.5 2020-05-22 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/category/Lessons+Learned monthly 0.5 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/category/Approach monthly 0.5 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/wisdom/category/Insight monthly 0.5 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/our-approach daily 0.75 2023-02-06 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/home daily 1.0 2023-12-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1586963297329-PET9EU47UTXSAUM6JUQ9/RMNCH.jpg Home - Health Challenges We help leaders drive a range of Health outcomes. From systemic challenges like increasing early diagnosis and treatment of disease, to organizational challenges such as reducing post-surgical readmission rates, and new product/service challenges like design, adoption and use. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1586963251439-0BAQHDDSRIEHIA43MRZU/online-education.jpg Home - Education Challenges We help leaders drive a range of Education outcomes. From systemic challenges like redesigning district planning processes to achieve goals more effectively, to organizational challenges such as technology implementation to enhance teaching and learning, and new product/service challenges like design, adoption and use. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1586963154190-R2ASESAR9B6S09KFAAFO/homelessness.jpg Home - Community Challenges We help leaders drive a range of Community outcomes. From systemic challenges like reducing homelessness, to organizational challenges such as reducing anxiety on social platforms, and new product/service challenges like design, adoption and use. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/leadership daily 0.75 2021-07-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587133605336-7U169LBWT42WU56AD08U/Tim-Sweeney.jpg Leadership - Tim Sweeney Tim co-founded Upstream to pioneer the application of HCD and behavioral science to systemic challenges. He has over 20 years of experience leading human-centered design and research initiatives in consulting and corporate contexts. Tim helps manage the overall business and ensure Upstream is at the cutting edge of innovation practice. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587586935468-1GMBSLCSR1B177A0BYAJ/Melissa-Young.jpg Leadership - Melissa Young Melissa joined Upstream as a partner to help clients connect with their customers in novel ways. Her background in digital media and marketing enables us to holistically impact the customer experience. Melissa manages key account relationships and brings marketing expertise to each of our projects. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587674545738-V60CE8ED5BHQR7HVJNLS/Paul-Kramer.jpg Leadership - Paul Kramer Paul joined Upstream as a partner because of its potential to improve lives at scale. His leadership background in mixed-methods research and co-creation helps us drive community led innovation. Paul leads health and education projects for key clients. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587520592957-RZSPXPL0CFV3XG0X1PL6/Paul-Noble-Campbell.jpg Leadership - Paul Noble-Campbell Paul joined Upstream as a partner to help organizations, people, and communities thrive. He brings nearly 30 years of experience driving creativity and in-field prototyping to our work. Paul leads health and community projects for key clients. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587597806454-OH6LKWLCGFOWQBC2ADV8/Jeff-Mulhausen.jpg Leadership - Jeff Mulhausen Jeff co-founded Upstream to bring innovation leadership to organizations that have been traditionally underserved in this approach. He has vast experience leading product design initiatives and currently leads Executive Education courses on design thinking at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business. Jeff helps manage the overall business and leads our global health practice. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1627675598891-RH579QQP8NA5XBJYR6W7/AndrewLadd.jpeg Leadership - Andrew Ladd Andrew joined Upstream as a partner to solve cross-functional & cross-organizational challenges with a keen sense of empathy for consumer needs. He brings over 15 years of UX/CX research and strategy to our client engagements. Andrew leads our community and digital media projects for key clients. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/privacy-policy daily 0.75 2020-09-23 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/journeymappinglanding daily 0.75 2021-08-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1628703150022-BTRTY9MICAE98F4XC9WL/Journey-Mapping.png journey-mapping-landing - Make it stand out Creating new value to attract digital subscribers https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1628703002517-VQ21R2INTWM5661EHKEN/Co-creation.JPG journey-mapping-landing - Make it stand out Increasing early diagnosis & treatment of disease https://www.upstreamthinking.com/philosophy daily 0.75 2022-08-02 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/customercentricity-diagnostic-1 daily 0.75 2023-09-01 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/diabetes-diagnostic-1 daily 0.75 2023-09-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/7c2e36af-2846-4015-8de1-e2eeb6fc9a99/Picture9.jpg https://www.upstreamthinking.com/diabetes-diagnostic daily 0.75 2023-09-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/bd83bd88-741a-410d-9f3c-0b39ed2b3542/Diagnostic_landing+page+copy.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/2810e733-a13f-4b7b-9975-50fe54feb149/Designing-The-Ideal-Experience.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/aa1292f9-fc3e-4c51-a569-1105edbd0d38/Logo+page+copy.jpg https://www.upstreamthinking.com/diabetes-self-diagnostic daily 0.75 2023-09-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/bd83bd88-741a-410d-9f3c-0b39ed2b3542/Diagnostic_landing+page+copy.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/2810e733-a13f-4b7b-9975-50fe54feb149/Designing-The-Ideal-Experience.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/aa1292f9-fc3e-4c51-a569-1105edbd0d38/Logo+page+copy.jpg https://www.upstreamthinking.com/cultures-of-innovation daily 0.75 2023-09-08 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/finding-the-fuel daily 0.75 2023-10-04 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/innovationinphilanthropy daily 0.75 2024-02-29 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/innovationinphilanthropywithexample daily 0.75 2024-04-22 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/innovationbarriers daily 0.75 2024-04-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/f67420a9-aa94-4c60-98b0-a180a4f48725/Slide2.PNG Increasing innovation in philanthropy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/48c90355-87be-468d-ac2e-4441b238fc3a/Slide3.PNG Increasing innovation in philanthropy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/ecd7898b-cf0a-4b4a-9048-b86d4a1b861c/Slide4.PNG Increasing innovation in philanthropy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/3eb56220-64fb-403b-b79d-18d6a6759b16/Slide5.PNG Increasing innovation in philanthropy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/30b92d2c-578f-4c65-9f82-7d649ac0a645/Slide6.PNG Increasing innovation in philanthropy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/c6f4b1c7-1a35-4b2b-b4f6-6fa45a0bd3cb/Slide1.PNG Increasing innovation in philanthropy https://www.upstreamthinking.com/innovationbarriers2 daily 0.75 2024-04-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/cc4c9312-85ee-438f-8a8a-19e6f0f65f1a/Slide3.PNG Missing role needed for Innovation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/eac79f55-ce11-4606-a728-e7d59f77921a/Slide4.PNG Missing role needed for Innovation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/2f1a56a2-8d18-4c76-901a-9a7326175bc8/Slide5.PNG Missing role needed for Innovation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/73669be7-f265-4ee1-8d5c-f19e99814ed7/Slide6.PNG Missing role needed for Innovation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/59728c0c-ac61-4f06-903b-db801c51bd0e/Slide1.PNG Missing role needed for Innovation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/04d8295b-5b71-4e26-a91e-76209d669a6d/Slide2.PNG Missing role needed for Innovation https://www.upstreamthinking.com/innovationbarriers3 daily 0.75 2024-04-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/b93eaa90-4a6f-40bd-b9c7-3f7148fbea19/Slide4.PNG Innovation barrier 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/56ed16d0-b3bb-47b3-b7e0-72b422094646/Slide5.PNG Innovation barrier 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/c7e22021-e67f-4a9a-8a0d-d1d89bb23c66/Slide6.PNG Innovation barrier 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1c33c7bc-25e4-48f0-be41-cdd19a59bc1d/Slide1.PNG Innovation barrier 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/cbf7d05e-d2bc-4bf5-87b2-42aaf662597d/Slide2.PNG Innovation barrier 1 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/977f6bc3-cc6c-4aa6-b271-d6adea822558/Slide3.PNG Innovation barrier 1 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/innovationbarriers4 daily 0.75 2024-04-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/c1f7a21b-2995-4f58-ab6b-8524486b200f/Slide5.PNG Innovation barrier 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/4934e187-64da-4e1b-a5a5-32c9879402f1/Slide6.PNG Innovation barrier 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/c8d0b0f3-8562-4e02-84a3-6a131ce5f16a/Slide1.PNG Innovation barrier 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/4dba4592-d7d6-4168-8876-398c5f4236de/Slide2.PNG Innovation barrier 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/c7fb1ed9-a41c-4b14-a34f-77214a0ef9e0/Slide3.PNG Innovation barrier 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/e7ba47fe-cbb6-4aed-b149-1fdc241e7707/Slide4.PNG Innovation barrier 2 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/innovationbarriers5 daily 0.75 2024-04-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/b43b6433-364f-4c24-83a0-01b7fe89afaa/Slide6.PNG Innovation barrier 3 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/3b7b7a07-0447-4510-b870-5d83d5b7a1e1/Slide1.PNG Innovation barrier 3 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/72149f4b-4273-409d-bbee-e53d3e94644b/Slide2.PNG Innovation barrier 3 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/f3accea4-8a4a-4c31-be9e-e05bdeaa628b/Slide3.PNG Innovation barrier 3 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/6d146d94-aeeb-403c-9974-d7ba968ec305/Slide4.PNG Innovation barrier 3 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/e09b7aa5-354a-4fce-bfc4-24b5d54e989c/Slide5.PNG Innovation barrier 3 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/innovationbarriers6 daily 0.75 2024-04-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/4e2791b4-f7e2-4afb-bc28-8439200eb628/Slide1.PNG Innovation barrier 4 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/b4502188-5e51-427f-88f9-73e79ca4aa93/Slide2.PNG Innovation barrier 4 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/10f66a43-7524-499d-bc72-212c1e843a85/Slide3.PNG Innovation barrier 4 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/4e836a05-fbe6-4201-a9fd-f8f4a66950e0/Slide4.PNG Innovation barrier 4 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/83affa32-af5d-41d4-a3a9-f06f88cc3532/Slide5.PNG Innovation barrier 4 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/f5bbb743-18ea-4f56-8b56-115aef717902/Slide6.PNG Innovation barrier 4 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/healthtrends daily 0.75 2024-10-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/4e82c565-7a3b-4e9b-8737-ec4eb0db870e/Reels-48.png HLTH trends https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/6624d191-8d45-4557-95f5-e876a8a801f7/Reels-45.png HLTH trends https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/d232c98e-d107-4eeb-a647-803744b5b905/Reels-47.png HLTH trends https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/3858c4ab-fc37-41d1-8b96-d3cc49313a5b/Reels-41.png HLTH trends https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/76a3ed75-eb07-42cc-8938-24e35dc90cf5/Reels-42.png HLTH trends https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/3dcee090-60aa-4947-993a-77b0fec55724/Reels-43.png HLTH trends https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/a698affc-accc-4b2e-b894-a7882bb57724/Reels-46.png HLTH trends https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/0a28a975-0c64-41f7-a34c-c913ca2cc745/Reels1-21.png https://www.upstreamthinking.com/healthtrends2 daily 0.75 2024-10-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/4e82c565-7a3b-4e9b-8737-ec4eb0db870e/Reels-48.png Trends in healthcare 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/6624d191-8d45-4557-95f5-e876a8a801f7/Reels-45.png Trends in healthcare 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/d232c98e-d107-4eeb-a647-803744b5b905/Reels-47.png Trends in healthcare 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/3858c4ab-fc37-41d1-8b96-d3cc49313a5b/Reels-41.png Trends in healthcare 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/76a3ed75-eb07-42cc-8938-24e35dc90cf5/Reels-42.png Trends in healthcare 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/3dcee090-60aa-4947-993a-77b0fec55724/Reels-43.png Trends in healthcare 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/a698affc-accc-4b2e-b894-a7882bb57724/Reels-46.png Trends in healthcare 2 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/5fc71634-9564-4246-9d14-83d0c6e904b2/Reels2-20.png https://www.upstreamthinking.com/healthtrends3 daily 0.75 2024-10-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/4e82c565-7a3b-4e9b-8737-ec4eb0db870e/Reels-48.png Trends in healthcare 3 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/6624d191-8d45-4557-95f5-e876a8a801f7/Reels-45.png Trends in healthcare 3 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/d232c98e-d107-4eeb-a647-803744b5b905/Reels-47.png Trends in healthcare 3 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/3858c4ab-fc37-41d1-8b96-d3cc49313a5b/Reels-41.png Trends in healthcare 3 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/76a3ed75-eb07-42cc-8938-24e35dc90cf5/Reels-42.png Trends in healthcare 3 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/3dcee090-60aa-4947-993a-77b0fec55724/Reels-43.png Trends in healthcare 3 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/a698affc-accc-4b2e-b894-a7882bb57724/Reels-46.png Trends in healthcare 3 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/88ef8dd8-26b7-4b84-ab5d-e35a217c1af4/Reels3-21.png https://www.upstreamthinking.com/healthtrends4 daily 0.75 2024-10-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/4e82c565-7a3b-4e9b-8737-ec4eb0db870e/Reels-48.png Trends in healthcare 4 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/6624d191-8d45-4557-95f5-e876a8a801f7/Reels-45.png Trends in healthcare 4 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/d232c98e-d107-4eeb-a647-803744b5b905/Reels-47.png Trends in healthcare 4 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/3858c4ab-fc37-41d1-8b96-d3cc49313a5b/Reels-41.png Trends in healthcare 4 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/76a3ed75-eb07-42cc-8938-24e35dc90cf5/Reels-42.png Trends in healthcare 4 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/3dcee090-60aa-4947-993a-77b0fec55724/Reels-43.png Trends in healthcare 4 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/a698affc-accc-4b2e-b894-a7882bb57724/Reels-46.png Trends in healthcare 4 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/a6e0e29e-7146-4b8d-aecd-c458760d96ff/Reels4-23.png https://www.upstreamthinking.com/healthtrends5 daily 0.75 2024-10-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/4e82c565-7a3b-4e9b-8737-ec4eb0db870e/Reels-48.png Trends in healthcare 5 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/6624d191-8d45-4557-95f5-e876a8a801f7/Reels-45.png Trends in healthcare 5 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/d232c98e-d107-4eeb-a647-803744b5b905/Reels-47.png Trends in healthcare 5 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/3858c4ab-fc37-41d1-8b96-d3cc49313a5b/Reels-41.png Trends in healthcare 5 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/76a3ed75-eb07-42cc-8938-24e35dc90cf5/Reels-42.png Trends in healthcare 5 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/3dcee090-60aa-4947-993a-77b0fec55724/Reels-43.png Trends in healthcare 5 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/a698affc-accc-4b2e-b894-a7882bb57724/Reels-46.png Trends in healthcare 5 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/06d8d32e-9da3-47f3-b242-f61f863aa84c/Reels5-22.png https://www.upstreamthinking.com/healthtrends6 daily 0.75 2024-10-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/4e82c565-7a3b-4e9b-8737-ec4eb0db870e/Reels-48.png Trends in healthcare 6 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/6624d191-8d45-4557-95f5-e876a8a801f7/Reels-45.png Trends in healthcare 6 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/d232c98e-d107-4eeb-a647-803744b5b905/Reels-47.png Trends in healthcare 6 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/3858c4ab-fc37-41d1-8b96-d3cc49313a5b/Reels-41.png Trends in healthcare 6 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/76a3ed75-eb07-42cc-8938-24e35dc90cf5/Reels-42.png Trends in healthcare 6 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/3dcee090-60aa-4947-993a-77b0fec55724/Reels-43.png Trends in healthcare 6 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/a698affc-accc-4b2e-b894-a7882bb57724/Reels-46.png Trends in healthcare 6 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/c95136eb-9ce3-454b-96c0-4805f3cc4cf5/Reels6-24.png https://www.upstreamthinking.com/healthtrends7 daily 0.75 2024-10-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/4e82c565-7a3b-4e9b-8737-ec4eb0db870e/Reels-48.png Trends in healthcare 7 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/6624d191-8d45-4557-95f5-e876a8a801f7/Reels-45.png Trends in healthcare 7 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/d232c98e-d107-4eeb-a647-803744b5b905/Reels-47.png Trends in healthcare 7 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/3858c4ab-fc37-41d1-8b96-d3cc49313a5b/Reels-41.png Trends in healthcare 7 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/76a3ed75-eb07-42cc-8938-24e35dc90cf5/Reels-42.png Trends in healthcare 7 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/3dcee090-60aa-4947-993a-77b0fec55724/Reels-43.png Trends in healthcare 7 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/a698affc-accc-4b2e-b894-a7882bb57724/Reels-46.png Trends in healthcare 7 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/ad43f011-ce91-4b4d-aea9-2349d893b8c4/Reels7-25.png https://www.upstreamthinking.com/userexperience daily 0.75 2026-04-01 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/health-projects daily 0.75 2020-05-18 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/health-projects/increasing-adoption-of-hiv-prevention-methods-in-sub-saharan-africa monthly 0.5 2020-05-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1586021570503-8FD5JWHKYQB176QMSJGQ/Barriers-To-Prevention-Uptake.jpg Health Projects - Increasing adoption of HIV prevention methods in sub-Saharan Africa - Framing barriers to prevention uptake Prior research identified that most men intend to use prevention but very few follow through. Sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this phase focused on understanding the intent-action gap. We qualitatively engaged thousands of men in journey mapping and projective ethnography and then quantitatively segmented them based on their unique behavioral drivers. The insight gained was used to develop a framework describing the stages men experience and the barriers to advancing through them. A few of the barrier themes included a lack of prevention relevance in their lives, anticipated shame associated with using prevention methods, and distrust of those advocating for prevention. The framework was used to describe the unique reasons why each segment does or does not uptake prevention. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1586021603416-X83APL9ATAPY0L4VJ0D3/Organizational-Design-Tools.jpg Health Projects - Increasing adoption of HIV prevention methods in sub-Saharan Africa - Identifying solutions to move men forward Barriers were anchored in behavioral economic principles that incorporate levers for solutioning. Using the direction levers provide, we engaged; service providers, community healthcare workers, and target segments in co-creation to identify concepts to resolve barriers and move men through their stages. Concepts spanned mass media, interpersonal communication, and healthcare service experience. Prototypes of concepts were developed and evaluated in-field with target segments and then iterated until they proved effective at advancing men to uptake and advocacy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1586104565073-SL9DLCH0HEJIFCA8W9LO/Healhcare-Implementation-Tools.jpg Health Projects - Increasing adoption of HIV prevention methods in sub-Saharan Africa - Driving implementation across healthcare systems National healthcare systems in sub-Saharan Africa are dependent upon a variety of service providers, each with their own set of capabilities (e.g. mass media, community mobilization, service delivery, etc.). We developed a suite of Action Catalyst Tools designed to drive the implementation of solutions across this landscape. As countries continue to deploy solutions leveraging them as a common foundation, they are more able to cross-pollinate successes and further scale impact. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/health-projects/empowering-people-to-control-their-disease monthly 0.5 2020-05-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1586618729613-1AL4GBQE0MMJCS3NG3WD/Barriers-To-Product-Adoption.jpg Health Projects - Empowering people to control their disease - Framing the barriers to product adoption & routine use As #5 on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in Healthcare, Dexcom provides life-saving digital tools to help people manage their diabetes. Despite its positive impact in the lives of early adopters, Dexcom’s core technology, continuous glucose monitoring or CGM, had yet to reach the mainstream of diabetes care. Dexcom engaged Upstream to help move their products and services from early adopters to the mainstream. To support this goal, Upstream engaged executives and a cross-functional team in stakeholder interviews and a customer journey mapping workshop to frame the barriers to product adoption and continued use. We then validated and refined the journey framework through in-depth journey interviews with patients and physicians. Some of the barriers included a lack of product awareness, a disconnect between data CGM provides and the daily decisions and behaviors of diabetics, and a belief among primary care physicians and diabetics that CGM is only useful for preventing extreme cases of hypoglycemia. The journey framework that emerged was used to identify key opportunities across the continuum of experience and prioritize cross-silo opportunities to open the mainstream market. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1586618508405-FIGTRV9EDGW5IG5VMPI6/Designing-The-Ideal-Experience.jpg Health Projects - Empowering people to control their disease - Identifying product solutions to increase adoption & routine use While Dexcom pursued several marketing opportunities, Upstream focused on redesigning the product experience. We engaged mainstream patients and their healthcare providers to co-create and validate new experience concepts that improve and extend the value proposition of CGM. The approach leveraged a customized-designed toolkit that enabled patients and providers to create a CGM experience that provides value throughout a typical day. We were able to accurately define user experience flows, features, and the most effective ways to communicate in alignment with their goals and desires. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587741004831-9U65VV8CNO5BIZH087UN/User-Experience-Wireframes.jpg Health Projects - Empowering people to control their disease - Driving implementation of the new product experience To help Dexcom’s engineering team implement the new product experience, Upstream developed user-experience wireframes, screen artwork and functional guidelines for programming. We then worked with the team through the production cycle to troubleshoot technical challenges and ensure both design intent and functionality were maintained. The overall effort resulted in the revolutionary transition of CGM to the phone and the world’s first FDA-approved continuous glucose monitoring app to hit the market. The app continues to be featured in Apple advertisements to this day, and Dexcom has successfully opened the mass market. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/health-projects/reducing-post-surgical-readmission-rates monthly 0.5 2020-05-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587405086339-TYINVMMYBHTF4O1NTR44/Patient-Experience-Research.jpg Health Projects - Reducing post-surgical readmission rates - Framing the barriers preventing patients from successful recovery The U.S.’s largest non profit health system wanted to understand how to leverage a new Virtual Care platform to reduce readmission rates among patients undergoing complete joint replacement surgery (CJR). Recognizing there was variability in the patient experience leading up to and during recovery after surgery, they sought help from Upstream to identify opportunities to improve the experience and outcomes for patients while reducing costs for the system. Collaborating with their teams, Upstream set out to build a Service Blueprint to identify gaps in the patient experience before and after the hospital stay that could be filled with Virtual Care services. Upstream engaged recent patients in qualitative in-home interviews, capturing each story in a visual framework. In parallel, Upstream interviewed surgeons, physician office managers, billing specialists, pre-op and post-op nurses, and discharge social workers to understand each step of the experience from the system perspective. With this body of evidence, Upstream then constructed a Service Blueprint, showing where the experience breaks down and where new services are needed to support patients along their journey. Patient mindsets, provider trust, poor transitions, and isolated actions were four key barriers preventing patients from successful recovery experiences. For example, patients experienced a broad range of expectations established by their surgeons prior to surgery. In some cases, they were caught completely by surprise by the pain and active role they would need to play in their own recovery. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587404976280-UP3Y8TXQ4CV4ZWV62387/Service-Blueprint.jpg Health Projects - Reducing post-surgical readmission rates - Identifying solutions to prevent readmissions Utilizing this Service Blueprint framework, Upstream convened cross-functional System teams in collaborative workshops to envision an ideal Virtual Care workflow that would support patients before and after surgery to improve outcomes. Stakeholders representing nursing, operations, orthopedics, virtual care, and clinical innovation could see how they fit in the larger vision of supporting the patient experience and modify their workflows accordingly to fill service gaps. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587567444164-N5WV2ZR0Z7MT12YK8L1H/Hospital-Command-Center.jpg Health Projects - Reducing post-surgical readmission rates - Driving implementation of solutions Because of the variability of the patient experience from one surgery practice to another, this work highlighted the need for the hospital system to take on more responsibility for what happens before and after the hospital stay to reduce the likelihood of readmission. Already intent on establishing a Virtual Care Command Center, the Service Blueprint enabled the organization to structure its services against the unmet needs of patients to improve outcomes. The result was a coordinated approach to care navigation for the patient and the medical team. This Command Center has since become so successful that it has been scaled for use by healthcare systems across 20 states. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/health-projects/increasing-early-diagnosis-treatment-of-disease monthly 0.5 2020-05-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587669269049-CQMCEGRA95YQR6OXYP0Z/Barriers-To-Diagnosis-And-Treatment.jpg Health Projects - Increasing early diagnosis & treatment of disease - Framing the barriers to diagnosis & treatment The Alzheimer’s Association has been supporting people living with the disease and care partners for decades, yet little was known about the systemic challenges facing primary care providers in pursuit of a diagnosis. Upstream engaged people living with the disease, care partners, health system administrators and primary care providers in a qualitative research effort to identify the barriers to diagnosis and treatment across the healthcare system. Key barriers centered on the themes of knowledge, capacity, incentives and beliefs. The insight gained was leveraged to develop a system framework that was used to align internal stakeholders and prioritize challenges to focus solutioning efforts on those with the greatest potential for impact. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587669367574-VVCK1V9YB7WQ1E79O10C/Diagnosis-And-Treatment-Solutions.jpg Health Projects - Increasing early diagnosis & treatment of disease - Identifying solutions to drive early diagnosis & treatment Using the prioritized challenges as a starting point, Upstream engaged internal stakeholders, providers, payers, quality improvement experts, and other primary care organizations in a series of co-creation workshops. Several high-level solutions emerged that were both desirable for system stakeholders and feasible for the Association to develop. They spanned communications policy, care algorithms, payer coding and medical record keeping. The solutions were integrated into the Association’s strategic roadmap to guide near-, mid- and long-term investments. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587669469006-HENBU1RAHJSJNGN0G7MQ/Healthcare-System-Adoption.jpg Health Projects - Increasing early diagnosis & treatment of disease - Scaling adoption of solutions across the healthcare system The availability of solutions doesn’t mean they will be adopted into practice. The Association recognizes the need to drive adoption of solutions across the system. Upstream is leading a co-creation effort with various healthcare stakeholders (decision-makers and task force members) to ensure implementers are equipped with the tools and processes needed to deploy solutions at scale. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/health-projects/increasing-resiliency-retention-within-austins-ems-department monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587833188601-A1AERAU1MO7XCQ2MBV8V/Contextual-Inquire.jpg Health Projects - Increasing resiliency & retention within Austin's EMS department - Framing the barriers to personal resilience Austin’s EMS department had suffered from multiple suicides and was experiencing a high turnover rate. Upstream was engaged to identify the root causes and contributors of burnout. We engaged EMS personnel in contextual inquiry that included ride alongs, in-depth dialogue and journaling. The insight gained was leveraged to develop a framework describing the barriers to emotional resilience over several time horizons. Using the framework, we worked with Austin’s Office of Innovation to identify scenarios by day, week and career that lead to emotional stress and burnout. Identifying solutions to improve personal resilience Leveraging these scenarios, we worked with the Office of Innovation and EMS department to identify and design unique coping mechanisms to reduce daily and weekly stresses of the job. For example, the birth of a child during a career requires a different coping strategy than a service call that puts the provider’s life at risk. This enabled the Office of Innovation to match solutions to the right risk factors to reduce team turnover and increase resilience across the department. Driving systemic changes to put strategies into practice With solutions matched, we could then identify systemic changes required to put strategies into practice. Driven by the Office of Innovation and the EMS department, changes were made to laws, regulations, accreditations, organizational policy, procedures, programs and practices. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/health-projects/reducing-early-infant-and-maternal-mortality-in-india monthly 0.5 2020-04-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587319626242-J74JXK2PNZD36GDK5HCO/Household-Decision-Making-Framework.jpg Health Projects - Reducing early infant and maternal mortality in India - Framing the barriers to healthy decision making Prior research identified 12 behaviors as the primary cause of early infant and maternal mortality. They included behaviors rich in cultural tradition such as birthing at home, feeding the newborn honey and water for the first week, and covering the umbilical cord in oil. Culturally, the mother defers pre and postnatal decisions to either her mother-in-law or husband, presenting significant research challenges. To overcome this, we deployed a qualitative approach that engaged the father, mother and her mother-in-law concurrently. The approach consisted of a journey mapping exercise that spanned all 12 behaviors, and was based on decision making dynamics between these 3 family members. We then segmented families based on their unique decision making dynamics. The insight gained was leveraged to develop a framework describing the barriers to healthier decisions (e.g. birthing in a hospital, breastfeeding, body to body contact), and how different segments navigate those decisions. Some of the barriers included; a poor hospital environment for family members to wait in, derogatory communication from care providers, a belief that initial mothers' milk is rotten because of its color, and ineffective persuasion tactics by Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587321554785-P7TT3XWXB6XYWDJ6JP2R/Identifying-Solutions.jpg Health Projects - Reducing early infant and maternal mortality in India - Identifying solutions to drive healthy decisions Using the framework, we helped the Uttar Pradesh Technical Support Unit (TSU) identify feasible opportunities to improve family decision making and the effectiveness of the ASHA program. Some of the solutions that emerged included changes in mass media communication, leveraging existing women’s groups to disseminate correct health information and balance the dynamics between mother and mother-in-law, and improving the ASHA program. To further inform ASHA program changes, we engaged ASHAs and their key influencers, such as mentors and administrators, in contextual inquiry leveraging de-biasing techniques to reveal true behaviors and motivations. This led to changes in ASHA hiring policies, incentives, training and data tracking. The TSU continues to iterate these solutions in-market to reduce mortality rates over time. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587321170139-27KPESFA58QHL6K91DD2/Improving-The-ASHA-Program.jpg Health Projects - Reducing early infant and maternal mortality in India - Driving changes across the ASHA program The TSU was created to reduce early infant and maternal mortality rates by piloting systemic changes in a portion of Uttar Pradesh and tracking their impact. Their ultimate objective is to help the state government scale successes statewide. The TSU continues to iterate these solutions in-market to reduce mortality rates over time. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/health-projects/helping-cancer-patients-make-better-treatment-decisions monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587833437529-JQUYGT59V73P04T9QA8S/Patient-Centered-Research.jpg Health Projects - Helping cancer patients make better treatment decisions - Revealing opportunity by seeing the journey through patient’s eyes A nationwide cancer treatment network was interested in serving more patients with their unique approach to care. While they were one of the earliest examples of patient-centered care, their perspective was contained to the experience delivered to existing patients. Little was known about the entire experience a person diagnosed with cancer has before arriving at their treatment center. In conjunction with a large consortium, we applied a journey research methodology to study the entire journey and how they make a decision on where to get help. The result was a 3 stage journey, where 2 stages occur before even stepping foot in a treatment center. We uncovered that patients took 2 different paths to their decision, but all of them were seeking a sense of trust in their provider AND treatment plan. Progress or regression in their journey was determined by this path to trust. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587833514337-62JYTV17UJWZFURIDX03/Dimensions-Of-Trust.jpg Health Projects - Helping cancer patients make better treatment decisions - Identifying strategies to deliver trust Equipped with the patient decision-making model anchored to trust, we developed a structure for further understanding that goal. Ultimately, 7 dimensions of trust were defined that explicitly described an action that was tied to the development of trust. Further analysis of our journey research revealed a common set of roles that were present in the lives of cancer patients that served to influence them along their journey. Through additional quantitative methods, we defined which roles our client, a treatment center, was invited to play in the life of a patient and connected that role to the specific dimension of trust that they needed to deliver. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587833562716-IRSPZDJ4L7RP7Q87IGG7/Cancer-Patient-Journey-Map.jpg Health Projects - Helping cancer patients make better treatment decisions - Deploying the model to help more patients Our new journey model combining the stages of progress, the dimensions of trust and the roles in patients’ lives provided a completely new tool for the organization to connect with more patients seeking help. This tool informed new engagement strategies inside and outside of the facility. One powerful example was optimizations made to a call center to help specialists more precisely understand the person they were speaking with and provide the most relevant information they needed in their journey. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/health-projects/making-disease-prevention-relevant-to-vulnerable-populations monthly 0.5 2020-05-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587948578601-42UW76IBD58OWPG1RZ3S/Journey-Mapping-Research.jpg Health Projects - Making disease prevention relevant to vulnerable populations - Framing the barriers to prevention uptake In Africa, 74% of new HIV infections are among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). Not only is adolescence a period of vulnerability to certain health issues, it is also a time when critical behaviors are shaped that will affect health in the future. Sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Upstream engaged AGYW in “hot-state” interviews leveraging role playing techniques to gain unbiased insight into their relationship goals, the behavioral decisions they make to achieve those goals, and barriers to the uptake of existing prevention methods such as abstinence, condom use and PrEP in those situations. Additionally, we identified preferences for attributes of future HIV preventions using discrete choice modelling. We then developed 3 AGYW personas based on their unique relationship goals (social status, social affirmation and respect). Finally, we quantitatively identified the most significant barriers to preventive behavior. Leveraging this insight, we developed a solutioning framework articulating the habits each persona develops to achieve their relationship goals, how those habits form, and the barriers to preventive behavior. Some of the barrier themes included a lack of relevance of HIV prevention, challenges coping with negative influence, and partners questioning trust in relationships. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587948617681-LQTGXRRXMLANF1FWHOFG/AGYW-Co-Creation-Workshop.jpg Health Projects - Making disease prevention relevant to vulnerable populations - Identifying solutions to form healthy habits To identify how to help AGYW form healthier relationship habits, Upstream engaged groups of AGYW, Ministry of Health officials, donors and implementing partners in a series of co-creation workshops focused on the most significant barriers. From the large volume of intervention concepts generated, one was selected to develop further and pilot in the market based on potential impact and feasibility to implement at scale. Currently, we are in the process of prototyping the intervention and will be launching the pilot soon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587948669604-QSUH7OWQR9P1LLHZRB5A/AGYW-Habit-Forming-Framework.jpg Health Projects - Making disease prevention relevant to vulnerable populations - Building innovation capacity across healthcare implementers An auxiliary goal of this project was to build healthcare implementer capacity to design new programs and improve existing ones. Upstream interviewed key functional leaders of several implementers to identify capacity gaps and their needs within them. To address these needs, we developed 4 program design tools including; a Foundation Tool to align stakeholders to a common view of the challenges facing AGYW, a Prioritization Tool to identify service gaps and allocate resources to fill them, a Design Tool to make program ideation more effective, and Segmentation Guidelines to understand and identify AGYW by persona type. These tools are now being widely used across the spectrum of implementers in South Africa to drive greater impact. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/health-projects/increasing-fiscal-structural-sustainability-of-hiv-programs monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1588110023472-HB53WP0NGMQ9VLR5XUNJ/Healthcare-System-Analysis.jpg Health Projects - Increasing fiscal & structural sustainability of HIV programs - Defining the holistic system Sustainability is a key goal in many sectors, but has particular relevance in global health. It’s commonly described as achieving existing program outcomes in an environment without external funding. Creating a new investment strategy for HIV prevention sustainability requires a broad understanding of the system being impacted. Previously, such perspectives were largely gained through a “top-down” approach - meaning the view from the largest stakeholders at the top of the system like governments, funders and health care systems. Upstream’s approach informed this perspective from the bottom up - beginning with the view from the community level stakeholders where the impact is often greatest. Through a process of reviewing previously collected information and conducting in-person interviews in target countries, we were able to describe the system in a new way. We identified 7 characteristics of a sustainable system and revealed how all of the stakeholders were connected to them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1588110288341-CPE3JRFCRYL0WCBN9JGA/Strategy-Architecture.jpg Health Projects - Increasing fiscal & structural sustainability of HIV programs - Linking levers to outcomes Looking at a system through the lens of behavior allows you to see why certain outcomes may be achieved and others aren’t. In this project, we identified 3 major levers that were able to affect our system of HIV prevention which are common in large systems - Capability, Incentive and Information. These levers serve as the connection between our stakeholders and our outcomes. Understanding this linkage provided the foundation for a new Theory of Change - our model by which we can impact the system holistically. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1588110207501-XNJ8NC3K0GGIJV2I8J52/Theory-Of-Action.jpg Health Projects - Increasing fiscal & structural sustainability of HIV programs - Applying a theory of action The new Theory of Change established the comprehensive model for system change. Making specific choices related to the goals and principles of the foundation resulted in our Theory of Action. This Theory of Action was subsequently applied to 3 target countries. Upstream crafted the Theory of Action in a unique way that identified a series of key framing questions at each step. The answers to each of these questions would reveal the actions required. We worked with foundation representatives from each target country to apply in-country knowledge to these questions. In the end, the process resulted in 3 specific country level plans all of which tied to a common Theory of Change. Foundation investment decisions were optimized in line with this strategy and are now actively impacting the HIV prevention landscape in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/health-projects/creating-a-model-for-patient-centered-care monthly 0.5 2020-04-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587672420707-F5WMJY0DHWBSQSFK3FTC/Patient-Centered-Cancer-Care-Workshop.jpg Health Projects - Creating a model for patient-centered care - Framing the barriers to patient centered care Upstream collaborated with LIVESTRONG to help create a comprehensive model of patient-centered cancer care (PCCC) that would guide the creation of The Livestrong Cancer Institutes (LCI) which was being built at The University of Texas from the ground up - with the goal of providing a “fresh-canvas” for innovating new models for PCCC and taking quality care to an unprecedented level. The model was developed from a list of 110 PCCC ingredients identified by the community of care care providers, advocates, and key influencers, which were distilled into 6 core pillars for ensuring PCCC care addresses the patient’s values & changing priorities. These were understanding the whole person, incorporating all aspects of well-being into a holistic care experience (including the psychological, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual), educating health care providers, patients and families on all aspects of the cancer journey; empowering them to engage effectively, building effective communication systems to ensure all parties involved in patient care are connected and have the right information; and synchronizing all parties involved in patient care through systems for continuous care quality improvement. Upstream also synthesized these inputs into a patient-centric view of the journey to survivorship and the barriers they face along the way, juxtaposed against a system-centric view of barriers to delivering on the 6 pillars of PCCC. This view was used as a framework to engage the community of cancer care stakeholders to develop strategies to address patient barriers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587672262674-AERIPTOO5I7W01CRHVBV/Developing-A-Patient-Centered-Care-Model.jpg Health Projects - Creating a model for patient-centered care - Identifying a patient-centered care model Using this framework, Upstream facilitated a number of sessions with the community of cancer care stakeholders to generate challenge statements - using first of all a “top down” approach to make system-wide changes to address the 6 pillars of PCCC, and then a “bottom up” approach to create solutions that affect discrete points of the patient journey but that would later be linked to provide more systemic solutions. With Upstream’s input, The LIVESTRONG Foundation facilitated a PCCC Symposium with influential stakeholders in the field (including survivors, caregivers, health care providers, academics, researchers, community organizations, business leaders, and policymakers) to advance PCCC across multiple institutions. Upstream assisted by structuring ideation activities based on human centered design principles at the PCCC symposium, using the PCCC framework to illuminate barriers to ideal care, drive prioritization, and co-create new and ideal patient experiences. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587672322468-TX4D3E4NQHYI9ECE20EX/Cancer-Care-System.jpg Health Projects - Creating a model for patient-centered care - Driving strategies to scale impact The outputs from the symposium were synthesized by Upstream into a deliverable to inspire industry leaders not present at the Symposium to consider how they might enhance models of PCCC within their own institutional context. This created a forum for thought leaders in the eco-system of all constituents involved in care for cancer to collaborate, share ideas, and make a broader impact. The deliverable was optimized to drive action within their organizations by leveraging the principles of Design Thinking, the PCCC framework for change, as well as thoughts from the symposium in regards to which opportunities to prioritize, and the ideas attendees developed to deliver PCCC. The LIVESTRONG Foundation’s partnership with Upstream helped advance PCCC, extend the mission of The LIVESTRONG Foundation further into the cancer care community, and position the foundation as a pre-eminent thought leader in PCCC. Upstream also delivered strategies to enable LIVESTRONG to scale their impact by providing thought leadership to the industry in new ways, and transforming their offerings to survivors from a one-to-one to one-to-many approach. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/health-projects/relationship-queens-bootcamp monthly 0.5 2021-05-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1620403148039-SG9ZYKUIDWQCXVKFO01G/iteration.png Health Projects - Changing AGYW relationship behavior to prevent HIV transmission - The Relationship Queens Bootcamp was recognized by Fast Company as one of the World Changing Ideas of 2021. As the largest AIDS epidemic in the world, South Africa is the epicenter of the global HIV pandemic. In some communities, 60 percent of women have HIV. Nearly 4500 South Africans become infected each week, and one-third of those are adolescent girls and young women ages 15-24. Unfortunately, the response to this epidemic is not reaching high risk young women and girls in ways that result in behaviors that lead to prevention. As Melinda Gates noted in her annual letter, “for all that we do know about these girls, there’s a lot we don’t. We know how their lives look through our eyes. We don’t have a lot of data about what the world looks like through theirs. And that hampers our ability to develop effective solutions for them—biomedical and otherwise. Fortunately, the research is starting to catch up to this reality. When I was in Johannesburg last October, I spent time with a foundation partner that is working to close this data gap and engage adolescent girls and young women to co-design treatment and prevention services that will better meet their needs.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1620403608187-RP03XLJMO9TSE5HY9N2K/service_prototyping.png Health Projects - Changing AGYW relationship behavior to prevent HIV transmission - The world through their eyes is one motivated by the goals and aspirations in their relationships. And despite that perspective, HIV interventions simply are not built to engage through that lens. Our research, referenced in that letter and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, engaged with over 2,000 girls and young women to reveal a central challenge - for many reasons, they simply do not see the information around HIV prevention as relevant in their lives. Based on these insights, we co-created a new facilitated 5-week experience designed to engage high risk adolescent girls and young women called the “Relationship Queens Bootcamp.” Anchored on distinct relationship goals (Respect, Affirmation, Lifestyle) that are prevalent among this population, the program appeals to participants with the promise of helping them become “Queens in their relationships” - ensuring their relationships support their current needs and future goals. By striving to become a Queen, they discover how sexual health and HIV prevention can help them reach their goals. The program leverages custom design thinking tools to help participants visualise the future Queen they want to become and their path to get there. Each participant completes their own Crossing the Bridge Poster, a metaphorical storytelling tool that helps them envision where they want to go, and identify the changes, obstacles, and help they will need to achieve their goals. Commitment cards leverage principles of behavioral economics to help them stay accountable by keeping their goals top of mind in a visual format they can share easily with people they trust. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1620403980559-ZJYOY8IF2VZ26HXIOG4Q/activities.PNG Health Projects - Changing AGYW relationship behavior to prevent HIV transmission - The Relationship Queens Bootcamp represents a powerful new approach to engage adolescent girls and young women in HIV prevention. The focus of the intervention on building relevance for the topic serves to unlock a full range of services currently constructed but lacking demand from this key group. Efforts to learn from the initial pilots and scale across South Africa have already begun. Instead of leading with HIV health topics directly, relationship goals serve as an entry point to meet them where they are and set the stage for frank discussions and exploration into healthy and unhealthy relationships and associated behaviors. Participants identify their strengths, build confidence and self-worth, and learn communication skills through role play, leading to important changes in their relationships. Unlike didactic programs, the Bootcamp is built to guide participants to come to their own realizations to make lasting change. Participants are grouped into distinct Bootcamps based on a shared relationship goal, not only ensuring the Bootcamp is fun and meaningful, but also fostering sisterhood between them. This sisterhood is crucial for creating a safe space free of judgement, enabling honest conversations about challenging personal topics and providing a supportive community for lasting change. This trusted community fills an important gap in their support network that is not filled by family, friends, or healthcare professionals. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1620404163305-EPS7NNK4R1BVB52S69LY/service_testing.png Health Projects - Changing AGYW relationship behavior to prevent HIV transmission - “This was the first time I’ve had someone listen to me and I felt I could express myself.” - AGYW participant Structured over 5 weeks, participants explore 19 in-person facilitated activities of discovery, discussion, and personal reflection. In between sessions, participants stay connected and build community with one another and facilitators with prompted and informal discussion on WhatsApp groups. The Bootcamp culminates in a final session when participants are connected to resources in their community based on the specific changes they want to make in service of their specific goals. Early results of the Bootcamps are promising. Participants are highly engaged, see preventive sexual health in a new light, and make exciting changes in their behaviors. WhatsApp groups persist well beyond the end of the Bootcamps, indicating lasting relationships that are successfully filling an important gap in their support network. By creating these critical shifts in mindset and behaviors, the program fills a key gap by generating demand for essential sexual health products and services to prevent HIV among high risk populations. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/education-projects daily 0.75 2020-05-18 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/education-projects/making-the-strategic-planning-process-more-human-centered monthly 0.5 2020-05-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587756221394-O5F9JRH124STQAOT60Q3/Co-Creating-Vision.jpg Education Projects - Making the strategic planning process more human centered - Framing the district’s top priorities Faced with a changing educational landscape and intensifying competition from charters and private schools, Northeast Independent School District (NEISD) was ready to rethink their strategic planning process. Upstream was engaged to design a new process that would reflect the unique needs of the district and overcome the shortcomings of the previous 5-year plan. To start, Upstream facilitated an input session with district office leadership and faculty across 80+ campuses. This session gathered views on the purpose of the district, gleaned insights on top priorities facing campuses and the district at large, and exposed the challenges team members faced while executing the previous plan. Upstream synthesized the inputs into a new vision statement and key pillars that served to anchor the new NEISD strategic planning process. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587755851998-REQQTXVUBD01N8Y7XOZA/Driving-Implementation.jpg Education Projects - Making the strategic planning process more human centered - Co-creating a custom planning process for the district The district’s strategic plan was complex and needed to be inclusive of a number of functioning elements (board goals, state requirements, district improvement plans, campus plans, division plans, department plans, etc.). Working with stakeholders across functional groups (curriculum, operations, campus leadership, professional development, etc.), Upstream developed a planning process that captured the needs of functional groups in a categorical way. The process provided a method for prioritizing needs, developing needs into goals and goals into outcomes to be measured across divisions. The process mapped out stages/timing for inputs, feedback loops, decision points and activities per stakeholder groups. Having a visual framework and process flow provided alignment among district stakeholders and guidance for where, when and what to contribute during the planning process. Driving implementation of a new strategic plan Along with the strategic planning process, Upstream co-created a companion implementation process to ensure all district actions were aligned with desired outcomes. In a world of accelerated change, long-term plans age quickly. To keep NEISD responsive to changing needs, Upstream designed a strategic roadmap that allowed for yearly assessments of progress and re-assessments of priorities. This flexibility improved efficiency in the district’s budgeting process and effectiveness in resource allocation across community and enterprise goals. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/education-projects/aligning-technology-investments-to-student-and-teacher-outcomes monthly 0.5 2020-05-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587755169958-925DUMS1BR6F766E9EXV/Vision-Development Education Projects - Aligning technology investments to student and teacher outcomes - Distilling the vision of the district Dynamic and technology-rich, the city of Austin is seen as a hub for innovation. The Austin Independent School District (AISD), which serves over 80,000 students, embraced that culture and sought to “reinvent the urban education experience.” With Austin’s innovation and accelerated growth, the district also needed to keep pace. As a direct response to recent voters’ approval of $39 million in bonds for technology investment, a plan and process was needed to take into account the requirements of a growing, diverse population with a wide range of academic, economic and cultural demands. Upstream was engaged by district leaders to establish a human-centered approach to shaping the strategy to allocate the bond funds. While legacy approaches viewed such a decision as one about technology hardware, Upstream successfully re-framed the perspective to one of the future of education enabled by technology. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587755602088-O1D0KAKULWSRB8761SBJ/Engaging-Community.jpg Education Projects - Aligning technology investments to student and teacher outcomes - Engaging the community of stakeholders To inform the model for technology-enabled education, we structured a series of six co-creation events that included stakeholders from administration, teachers, librarians, current students, community members, etc. Some events included over 50 participants, but together they provided the structured inputs on possible solutions to empower the new model. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587755012992-IH6SGXAXBOPTWUOZX377/Technology-Integration-Model.jpg Education Projects - Aligning technology investments to student and teacher outcomes - Defining the roadmap Inputs from co-creation events were coded to establish core pillars of the new plan. Each pillar was prioritized and tied to specific action items and outcomes that formed the basis for the new district technology plan. Assessments of cost and feasibility resulted in a time horizon that actions were plotted against, establishing an actionable roadmap. The plan was formally presented at the school board meeting with resounding success. It was ultimately integrated into the overall district strategic plan and continues to influence the direction of the district today. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/education-projects/increasing-enrollment-in-prek-education monthly 0.5 2020-05-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587572131163-DY218S2CAD53KKSO0HWU/Framing-Enrollment Education Projects - Increasing enrollment in Pre-K education - Framing the barriers to enrollment The Austin Independent School District serves the needs of 80,000 students and families. As one of the leading public school districts in the nation, it's driven by a bold mission to “reinvent the urban education experience.” For most families, that experience begins with early childhood education. Though not currently mandated by state regulation, AISD had championed and offered a pre-kindergarten program in line with the scientific evidence that numerous benefits arise from children engaging in educational environments before the age of kindergarten (typically 5-6 years old). While the initial efforts were successful for several years, the district recognized that more families in the community could be benefitting from these programs, particularly socio-economically disadvantaged families. Understanding why more families weren’t enrolling in the available programs became the central focus of building a new experience to support more children in the community. In collaboration with AISD leaders in Early Education and Innovation, Upstream was engaged to further understand the situation and design new solutions. Recognizing that family decisions around children and education weren’t made in an instant, Upstream deployed its journey research methodology to engage with target families. In-person qualitative interview sessions were conducted in both Spanish and English with parents and caregivers across the spectrum of enrollment steps. The interview session explored the decision-making process and subsequent steps in the enrollment process. The results were organized by common milestones identified by families as significant in their experience. Once organized, the patterns of enablers and inhibitors to progress were identified. This established a new framework for understanding the enrollment experience as seen through the eyes of families. Similarly, Upstream engaged internal stakeholders at the school district to map existing decisions and processes that supported the enrollment experience. This resulted in a comprehensive blueprint for the existing enrollment process and revealed operational bottlenecks as well as resource challenges currently being faced. Combining the new enrollment framework with the operational blueprint identified the necessary steps to crafting a new experience to encourage enrollment. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587832665631-9JAYKIIEH1N06XZL8XLI/Identifying-Opportunities.jpg Education Projects - Increasing enrollment in Pre-K education - Identifying design opportunities Our new framework established four key stages that a family progresses through during the enrollment decision. Fundamentally, the perspective of a family is one of “having a plan for the fall” when school years begin. This is markedly different than simply enrolling in a program. It revealed that the needs of families were much wider than the program itself and that the enrollment processes needed to respond to those needs. For instance, considerations around after-school programs, normal drop-off/pick-up times and the proximity to parents’ workplaces were critical factors. Additionally, parents wanted to get their “plan for fall” in place as early in the year as possible. A lack of certainty in the existing process could increase the anxieties already present in parents with young children. For most, this represented the first time their child will be away from home during the day, so the emotional stakes of the decision were high. Three essential elements were required in the new design - Certainty, Simplicity and Trust. These three elements were prioritized in each of the four stages of the enrollment decision-making process, revealing 17 specific actions that needed to be taken to establish the new enrollment experience design. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587832758430-GZUYC5QI30BE0J63RTEM/Experience-Design.jpg Education Projects - Increasing enrollment in Pre-K education - Designing a new enrollment experience The research, resulting framework and associated 17 actions necessitated an integrated approach across district stakeholders. Designing a new holistic experience for families required a holistic approach within the organization. Implementing the new experience to attract more families is still an active ongoing process. A core team led by Upstream continues to develop the actions by engaging the appropriate departments within the design process. This research has provided the Austin Independent School District with new insights, structure and a process to co-create a solution that meets the needs of the Austin community. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/community-projects daily 0.75 2023-12-11 https://www.upstreamthinking.com/community-projects/reducing-homelessness monthly 0.5 2020-05-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587590153102-BYKJ9F4TC1L3VUQXC71W/Homelessness-Causes.jpg Community Projects - Reducing homelessness - Framing the systemic barriers affecting homelessness To solve for homelessness in our community, we needed to look beyond the aspect of “life on the street. Resources like the APD and EMS are overburdened by frequent calls for help as citizens grow increasingly concerned for their own safety. Having a holistic understanding of the drivers causing people to fall into homelessness, the factors prolonging it and the ecosystem of resources available in the community is a huge step to resolving it together. For this work, Upstream conducted in-depth interviews with stakeholders on the front lines, including EMS, APD, property/business owners, and non-profit service providers. Secondary research was also conducted to understand how other urban areas across the U.S. are handling the challenge. Upstream developed a complete framework that visualized the causes leading to each stage of the homelessness experience, impact to the person with lived experience, impact to the community, gaps in service and barriers preventing stability. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587569565474-P5H0OXK25L5SBMRWTBXZ/Community-Co-Creation.jpg Community Projects - Reducing homelessness - Identifying solutions with over 200 community leaders Upstream seized the opportunity to solicit input from over 200 community leaders across Austin during ECHO’s (Ending Community Homelessness Coalition) annual meeting. This meeting included leadership from the city, state, front-line service providers, business owners, property owners, and citizens who were eager to share their voice. The framework allowed community stakeholders to stand shoulder to shoulder and understand the challenge in the same way for the very first time. Leveraging the framework stages, Upstream facilitated input from stakeholders on the topics of addressing community safety, improving service delivery, creating sustainable solutions, engaging the broader community and including the unsheltered population in future solution creation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587590267238-NUUL51G5UHFALMX1BY47/Homelessness-Roadmap.jpg Community Projects - Reducing homelessness - Driving a unified roadmap across system stakeholders Prior to the development of Upstream’s holistic framework, front-line service providers were limiting their roadmap of solutions to only address challenges within the cycle of crisis. This work has informed better resource coordination across agencies, the development of services BEFORE crisis and AFTER housing, and up-leveled the challenge to focus on the cause and not just the symptoms. The City of Austin’s Office of Innovation leveraged Upstream’s work as a guide for the creation of HOST (Homelessness Outreach Street Team) and to secure one of seven grants issued by Bloomberg Philanthropies to address homelessness in cities across the globe. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/community-projects/reducing-anxiety-on-social-platforms monthly 0.5 2020-08-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587500588664-GWX34ZRW85LZF0EGN1MV/Behavioral-Drivers.jpg Community Projects - Reducing anxiety and conflict on social platforms - Framing the barriers to positive sentiment Offensive content was impacting Facebook user engagement and brand sentiment, while over-burdening the support function. This phase focused on understanding the reactions to various types of offensive content, their causes and unmet coping needs. We qualitatively engaged users across four continents in journey mapping and projective ethnography, and then quantitatively segmented them based on their unique desires and coping needs. The insight gained was used to develop a framework describing the emotional stages users experience and the barriers to positive brand sentiment. The framework was used to describe the unique reasons why each segment does or does not resolve anxiety. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1588355125101-5W9BG00S25E80N04KXN9/Design-Sprint-Ideation-And-Sketches.jpg Community Projects - Reducing anxiety and conflict on social platforms - Identifying solutions to achieve positive sentiment Barriers to positive brand sentiment were anchored to behavioral economic principles that incorporated levers for coping. Using the levers, we created a series of “how might we…” statements to frame solutioning efforts across existing and potential touchpoints of the user experience. We then facilitated a cross-functional design sprint producing concepts spanning information that Facebook provides to users, the tone in which they communicate, and features to provide users with a greater sense of control. Facebook quickly developed prototypes which we then evaluated with target segments and provided final refinements before they were rolled out across the platform. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1588004478869-BEWA7KEWDD8PGXMQXH4G/Design-Requirements.jpg Community Projects - Reducing anxiety and conflict on social platforms - Driving implementation across organizational functions Delivering holistic solutions from the user perspective required changes across marketing, communication, and engineering. We developed a requirements matrix to drive implementation across these functions. Functions were able to work from the same foundation in coordination with each other to deliver solutions that reduce user anxiety and improve brand sentiment. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/community-projects/increasing-adoption-routine-use-of-digital-community-services monthly 0.5 2020-04-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587318543827-NKS56SZHLV78LL1OSPNG/Barriers-to-Digital-Engagement.jpg Community Projects - Increasing adoption & routine use of digital community services - Framing the barriers to digital engagement The publishing industry continues to lose subscribers and routine engagement to alternative sources of news and information. This effort identified the barriers to routine use of digital subscription through in-depth journey interviews with current and former subscribers, and subscribers of others services. We qualitatively segmented respondents based on their unique barriers to subscription and routine engagement. The insight gained was leveraged to develop a ‘routine framework’ describing the unique reasons each segment does or does not subscribe and engage. Some of the reasons included a lack of triggers to the site, low relevance of content and price to value ratio. It was used to identify opportunities to increase subscription and engagement, while minimizing turnover. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587318684279-WNH92FSSDCW16PX61BF5/Identifying-Solutions.jpg Community Projects - Increasing adoption & routine use of digital community services - Identifying solutions to drive subscription & engagement Opportunities to increase subscription and engagement focused on fulfilling unmet subscriber needs. Starting from these needs, we engaged the target audience and internal stakeholders such as marketing, sales and product in a series of co-creation workshops to develop new concept offerings leveraging the assets of the organization. Concepts included content and services to help suburban families balance parenting and careers. By extending value through adjacent offerings, subscription would become relevant again. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587319267152-OE3GRJ9B46C6OD22RMGN/Creating-New-Services.jpg Community Projects - Increasing adoption & routine use of digital community services - Driving implementation of new offerings across functions The publishing industry has traditionally been change averse. The organization first had to see why current strategies were not effective from a market centric perspective. The ‘routine framework’ was leveraged as a tool to change perspective across organizational functions and motivate leadership to pursue development of adjacent offerings. Service blueprints were then developed to help each function implement services they hadn’t previously delivered. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/community-projects/improving-local-health-and-economy-through-a-world-class-innovation-district monthly 0.5 2020-05-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1588112861588-X2ZR6NEH4TE4YISV6EWI/Value%2BProp.jpg Community Projects - Improving local health & economy through a world class innovation district - Framing barriers to successful innovation ecosystems The creation of Austin’s first medical school (Dell Medical School) presented an opportunity to leverage it as a foundation for an Innovation District with global appeal. Upstream was engaged by the city’s Chief Innovation Office to create a vision for the district and plan for realizing it. Through secondary research, we discovered five key barriers to innovative ecosystems, which included, mitigating risk, access to talent, capital and ideas, exposure to markets, aligning to purpose and rewarding risk-taking. We then benchmarked how well other innovation zones addressed these barriers to identify underserved innovator needs that Austin’s Innovation District could fulfill. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1588112413250-ZZX9GVM1O0F2FRFJN4FX/Co-Creating-Roadmap.jpg Community Projects - Improving local health & economy through a world class innovation district - Identifying the vision and roadmap for the district With underserved innovator needs as an anchor, we engaged leadership from the city, medical school, local hospitals, universities, startup accelerators and businesses in a series of co-creation workshops to identify innovation district offerings. Some of those included programs to reduce cost of facilities and equipment for innovators and to connect them to capital and markets to fulfill their needs. Then we identified the roles each anchor institution would need to play to deliver the programs. With unique offerings defined, we again engaged stakeholders to co-create a vision for the district highlighting the unique assets of Austin and the value the district would deliver to innovators, citizens and the local economy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1588112552456-9ODEHZYQ2RTPN575CVS5/Roadmap.jpg Community Projects - Improving local health & economy through a world class innovation district - Driving implementation of roles across the ecosystem To jump-start the innovation district, we crafted an executive vision and roadmap artifact that was distributed to all key stakeholders. Additionally, Upstream presented the vision and plan to city stakeholders in the Mayor’s office, where it was decided by then-Senator Kirk Watson to create the 501(c)(3) organization, Capital City Innovation. The purpose of the organization was to act as a hub for integrating cross-organizational activities in alignment to the roadmap and ultimately deliver on the District’s vision. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/community-projects/scaling-impact-through-volunteerism monthly 0.5 2023-12-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587499973456-4Q8LTPIBSLD0YK5LYU27/Volunteer-Experience.jpg Community Projects - Scaling impact through volunteerism - Framing a new model for volunteer experience To face the growing epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease, the Alzheimer’s Association needed to quickly expand their reach beyond a one-size-fits-all volunteer model. To understand challenges and limitations with the current model, Upstream conducted qualitative research with existing volunteers, former volunteers and target volunteers. This research revealed four stages of the volunteer journey, each with a number of opportunities tied to the categories of awareness, value proposition, access and ease of use. This work exposed the key motivations people have for volunteering, criteria by which they’re evaluating available opportunities and a number of new volunteer pathways for the Association to design in the future. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587499915553-7AXIOJ02LSTP6ZTLA26X/Identifying-Right-Problems-To-Solve.jpg Community Projects - Scaling impact through volunteerism - Identifying the right volunteer problems to solve Orienting the Association to a volunteer-centered perspective was key to coming up with new solutions falling outside of the existing model. At the Association’s annual Leadership Summit, Upstream presented the new model for volunteer experience, revealing another side of the story never seen by the organization. Upstream also facilitated activities with team members and volunteers across chapter offices, gathering ideas to address key “How Might We…” challenges to create the future volunteer experience. These ideas were integrated into the strategic roadmap and informed the design of expanded volunteer roles throughout the Association chapters. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/1587500102505-K6VC7BWXUV5WZZJJKPDO/Best-Practices.jpg Community Projects - Scaling impact through volunteerism - Driving best practices across volunteer opportunities In order for chapter offices to maintain consistency with new volunteer opportunities, it was important to establish principles of best practices to guide their efforts. The principles of unity, consistency, focus, clarity and abundance were established as pillars of best practice to guide key questions arising in the management of new volunteer opportunities. This work has been foundational for not only evolving the volunteer program but for arming chapter offices with the tools they need to create greater impact. https://www.upstreamthinking.com/community-projects/community-led-design monthly 0.5 2023-12-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/95e95def-2379-4ade-9518-8d6e2348ce3c/TGF+journey+summary+1.jpg Community Projects - Solving systemic challenges with community-led design - Defining Community Opportunity Areas “How might we improve the ability of our vulnerable neighbors to find and secure short-term financial rental assistance”. The George Foundation recognized they needed a new approach to solve large, persistent community challenges: Upstream facilitated a Human-Centered Design process that engaged vulnerable members of the community and frontline staff from multiple agencies to identify opportunities and design solutions requiring systemic change that individual agencies would not have identified in isolation. Our in-depth qualitative research identified the diversity of challenges faced by the community, in addition to the inefficiencies agency staff and landlords suffer throughout the process. These insights were translated into a Journey Map which visually describes current unmet needs, barriers in achieving important milestones, and levers for change. We prioritized the most important Opportunity Areas to improve outcomes for community members, landlords, and amplify the effectiveness of agency staff. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/021794ed-7f17-405e-ba22-86a4a9d3408d/TGF+casestudy+3.jpg Community Projects - Solving systemic challenges with community-led design - Co-creating systemic solutions through community engagement Upstream rethought the whole rental assistance experience and designed a new system for use by all agencies in the community that makes the allocation of finite resources more effective. The new system is vastly simplified for all and incorporates a multitude of features that reduce the burden on tenants, landlords and agency staff. An ideal workflow, universal application form for services, and a cross-agency portal was conceptualized and defined in a Service Blueprint. This allowed us to test and refine the new workflow with tenants, landlords, and agencies. This validated workflow was translated into more detailed prototypes of the experience architecture and wireframes of what it looks like on a tenant’s or landlord’s phone; or on the computer of agency staff. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e7cfedc330eb1125dad2ff0/e18d8cae-3974-4743-9e63-d4056afc8ad4/TGF+casestudy+4.jpg Community Projects - Solving systemic challenges with community-led design - Guiding implementation of solutions Upstream played the roles of advisor and virtual creative director on behalf of the foundation to ensure the final solution development is in alignment with the needs of tenants, agency staff, and landlords. We provided the development partner with an extensive brief based on key insights from our research, design goals, and requirements for each touch-point in the experience. This included digital wireframes defining the experiential architecture, ideal workflows for each of the 3 user groups, and all key features. Upstream also provided the foundation guidance on organizational changes needed for successful deployment of the new system. We provided a “Playbook” and facilitated convenings to inspire the foundation’s grantees to think differently about how they design future services.