🌱 Stage 1 Submission Guidelines
Purpose of Stage 1
Before designing or coding, your mission is to understand your place: the real environment, people, systems, and stories from which your solution will emerge. Your project must be rooted in lived reality rather than assumptions. In this stage, you will explore, listen, observe, and make sense of what is actually happening in your community. Your outputs from this stage will become the foundation of your final project.
📋 Required Outcomes (What You Must Produce)
Every team must submit all four outcomes listed below.
1.1 Outcome 1: Community Essence Map
A clear representation of what you discovered during exploration.
Must include:
- Key stories or quotes from people you met
- Observations from walking your community
- Patterns, tensions, or themes you identified
- A simple timeline or narrative showing how life unfolds in your place
Format options:
- 1–2 page written narrative
- A diagram or timeline + short explanation
- PDF, doc, or image
1.2 Outcome 2: Stakeholder Map
A map showing the people and systems that influence your community.
Must include:
- Caretakers (those who support community wellbeing)
- Stakeholders (institutions, organizations, local actors)
- Emerging leaders (youth, innovators, informal influencers)
- Groups affected by the challenge you discovered
Format options:
- Diagram
- Table
- Flow map
- PDF, doc, or image
1.3 Outcome 3: Draft Challenge / Problem Statement
A clear, concise statement rooted in what you actually observed.
Must answer:
- What is happening in your place?
- Why does it matter?
- What opportunity or challenge is emerging?
- How might technology play a meaningful, supportive role?
Format:
- 3–5 sentences, written clearly and directly
1.4 Outcome 4: Team Reflection Summary
A short reflection capturing how your understanding evolved.
Must address:
- What shifted in your perspective?
- What surprised or moved you?
- What does the community appear to be asking for?
Format:
- Maximum 1 page
🪜 Step-by-Step Instructions (How to do this practically)
Follow these steps in order. Do not skip ahead or jump into solution mode.
Step 1: Set Your Intention as a Team
As a group, discuss:
- Why are you participating?
- What do you hope to learn?
- What does “serving the community” mean to you?
Agree on:
- How will you listen to each other
- How will you share responsibilities
- How will you document your findings
This sets the foundation for all your work.
Step 2: Explore Your Community
Go outside. Walk your place. Look closely at what is happening around you.
Observe:
- Where is energy or activity gathering?
- What feels neglected or stressed?
- What patterns repeat?
Listen:
Speak to at least 3–5 people, such as:
- Local shop owners
- Elders
- Students or youth
- Community workers
- Anyone with lived experience
Ask simple, open questions:
- “What is important to pay attention to right now?”
- “What is working well here?”
- “What challenges do people face?”
- “What opportunities do you wish existed?”
Document everything:
- Notes
- Quotes
- Photos
- Short audio (optional)
- Sketches
This raw material is essential for your outputs.
Step 3: Make Sense of What You Found
Come together as a team and put all your observations in one place.
You must identify:
- Common themes or patterns
- Surprising insights
- Tensions or gaps
- Strengths or bright spots
- Systems and people involved
You may use:
- Whiteboards
- Notion
- Paper
- Miro
- Simple diagrams
This synthesis becomes the backbone of your maps and challenge statement.
Step 4: Create Your Required Outputs
Using everything you discovered, produce the four required outcomes.
✔ Convert your stories and observations into:
- A Community Essence Map
- A Stakeholder Map
✔ Turn your shared insights into:
- A Draft Challenge Statement
✔ Capture how your understanding changed through:
- A Team Reflection Summary
Each outcome must be uploaded clearly and named properly.
📁 Submission Requirements (What to Upload)
💡 Please use the following link to submit your work: https://tally.so/r/aQ9Ba2
⚠️ Submission deadline is on December 9th, 11:59 PM (EAT)
We will upload all four outcomes to your team’s folder in the Publishing Stack.
You must upload:
1️⃣ Community Essence Map (PDF, doc, or image)
2️⃣ Stakeholder Map (PDF, doc, diagram, or image)
3️⃣ Draft Challenge Statement (3–5 sentences in a doc)
4️⃣ Team Reflection Summary (Max 1 page)
Optional but encouraged:
- Photos from your community exploration
- Audio clips or short transcripts
- Simplified maps, sketches, or drawings
- Additional notes or observations
These strengthen the narrative of your final project.
✅ Quality Checklist (Before Submitting)
Your outputs should be:
- Grounded: Based on real conversations and observations
- Clear: No vague statements or assumptions
- Local: Directly connected to your specific place
- Insightful: Showing patterns, not just isolated comments
- Purposeful: Pointing toward meaningful opportunities for technology
If your outputs meet all five, you are ready to move forward.