Our Design Sprints

What if? Let's Find Out.

    EXPLORING THE FUTURE OF WORK

    The ways in which we work today - weekends off, 8-hour shifts, overtime, employer-based health care - were structures fought for and imagined by workers from over 100 years ago. We need new solutions for 21st century work and modern workers. 

    Design sprints are "for anyone with a big opportunity, problem, or idea who needs to get answers now," explains Google designer Jake Knapp in his book, Sprint. At The Workers Lab, we make this Silicon Valley process our own. Once a year, we lead Design Sprints to explore ideas that can impact workers and the future of work.

    Read about our most recent Design Sprint below.

    WHAT'S A DESIGN SPRINT?

    We adapted Google's Design Sprint methodology - an intensive, time-bound approach to solve problems that reduces risk when bringing a new product to market - in order to:

    1. Understand the problem and existing solutions
    2. Ideate a set of solutions
    3. Decide on a solution 
    4. Prototype and Validate a Minimal Viable Product (MVP)
    5. Pilot the solution with upwards of 500 workers and evaluate its impact

    DESIGN SPRINT FOR SOCIAL CHANGE 

    We tackled the issue of worker income volatility from 2017 - 2020 with a Design Sprint focused on getting emergency cash to workers.

    “What if,” we asked, “workers had $1,000 available - no strings attached - when they needed it for unexpected expenses?” 

    In what we called our “Design Sprint for Social Change,” we partnered with thought leaders across the fields of financial inclusion, product innovation, and labor and employment policy to design and test an emergency cash delivery pilot.

    Our methodology and findings from this experiment are now available in a report and recorded briefing.

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    What We Learned

    Our Design Sprint for Social Change led to the 2019 pilot of The Workers Strength Fund, which made $1,000 in emergency cash available to gig workers. What did workers spend the money on? Was $1,000 enough? Learn more about our methodology and findings.
    Find Out More

    DESIGN SPRINT UPDATES

    Sprinting to Get Gig Workers Unemployment Benefits

    We’re happy to announce the product of our latest Design Sprint focused on increasing power for gig workers by easing the headaches around securing unemployment benefits.

    Learn More →
    The Workers Fund - How Our Lab Grew an Emergency Fund from Idea to Implementation

    How Our Lab Grew an Emergency Fund

     When COVID-19 hit, we were tasked with developing a plan for getting emergency cash to workers quickly. Our role as a lab for ideas that increase worker power helped us answer that call, and so did...

    Learn More →
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    Sharing the Impact of Emergency Cash

    Two years ago, we set out to explore the impact that emergency cash could make in the lives of gig workers. On May 21, we shared findings from the Workers Strength Fund in a virtual briefing.

    Learn More →

    WHAT WILL DESIGN SPRINT 2020 BE?

    We’re looking for our next big opportunity, problem, or idea that could unlock potential for every worker. Send us your thoughts.

    Email us: designsprint@theworkerslab.com

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