Resources

RESOURCES FOR DESIGN JUSTICE

We have several educational materials from a variety of design activities to create leaders in design justice.

Black icon of person with an open book in front of them

High School Bioengineering Lesson Plan: Designing Out of Self-Inquiry

Here is a written commentary and lesson plans dedicated to teaching Black high school students about bioengineering using health problems that affect their loved ones. Anyone can use this, but please notify me so I can document how this article has helped educators! Additionally, please contact us if you have barriers to accessing this article, so we can provide other options. This work provides culturally competent bioengineering curriculum to some of those most marginalized by the field.

Interdisciplinary Thesis: Lab Coat Culture and in Bioengineering Laboratories

This national study on the racial dynamics of bioengineering revealed how some parts of "lab coat culture" has evolved over time due to social justice pressures- for both the better and the worse. Few resources outside of this article, (if any) exist to describe these nuanced social dynamics. This work interrogates the growth of D**, E***, and I****** practices in the field and offers practical solutions to integrate into laboratories.

Mini Audits

Curious how effectively your research and innovation efforts connect with the broader community and industry ecosystem? Our Mini Audit offers a quick, actionable way to reflect on your team’s strengths and areas for growth—just like our Design Justice Quizzes, but tailored to research, adoption, and organizational strategy.

Identify gaps in community engagement and stakeholder alignment
Understand how adoption challenges may be impacting your impact
Get practical next steps to improve relevance and funder readiness

The Mini Audit is currently being updated to provide sharper insights for research teams, innovation programs, and product leaders. Want early access or a walkthrough?

3 Research-Backed Methods for Impactful Product Design

Originally done at the HIke2 Innovation Summit Lightning Talk at the August Wilson Center in Pittsburgh, PA

We discuss

Common Barriers to Product Development
Being Accountable to Market Needs
Flawed AI Models on Biased Training Sets
Missed Revenue Opportunities
Data Transparencies