Establishing local innovation ecosystems for disaster risk reduction

Oxfam America and MIT D-Lab have partnered on a project in 4 rural communities in El Salvador to bring members of the community into the design and creation of solutions that mitigate the risks they face due to changing climatic conditions. At the centre of this collaboration is MIT D-Lab’s participatory design program, Creative Capacity Building (CCB) - a hands-on interactive design curriculum geared to train people in grassroots communities how to frame the problems they face and develop innovative solutions using the design process. This Ignite session will include an explanation of the CCB design process, outcomes from the trainings, and a video of the community members’ experience and the impact is has had on them.