HISTORY
Design for America is a national network of innovators working together to improve their local communities through design. DFA began as the brainchild of Northwestern University faculty member Liz Gerber and three of her students in 2009. Gerber saw how design could be used to bring new solutions to seemingly intractable social issues and how the training and experience could equip young people with the capacity to make change. The network has tackled hundreds of challenges—ranging from accessible healthcare to drinkable water—and has inspired more than 4,000 passionate students, educators, and design professional across the country. DFA shapes the next generation of social innovators.

A COMMUNITY FOR IMPACT
DFA is more than a collection of projects, it is a movement. It is students, mentors, alumni, community partners, entrepreneurs, researchers, industry experts, and users who work together to address major social issues. Their work generates insights and ideas that turn into companies and projects that last well beyond a semester schedule. The real work and personal experiences DFA projects afford changes everyone involved.

Whether it is students deciding what club to join in college, a community group looking to work with university students for the first time, or an organization or business looking to engage this generation, DFA gives the systems and tools needed to achieve success. When it all comes together, students develop, communities flourish, universities evolve, industries shift and systems change. This is the DFA Network.

THE MAGIC OF DFA
Design for America is a proof case for teaching design across domains, that impact learning can happen 24/7, not just in the classroom, and the future of learning is networked and not contained to a single campus. When Design for America started, we ambitiously called it that for two reasons: one, we wanted to design solutions to tackle social challenges across America and two, we wanted to do so by having teams across America working in their local communities. We’ve imagined the day when our leaders use design for social good. Read Less