Policy & Practice | Winter 2024

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By Katrina Van Gasse

Centering People, Transforming Systems: Lessons from the Frontlines

W hile studying abroad in South Africa, I met a member of a U.S. humanitarian team who shared a story that I’ve never forgotten. Their team had spent months preparing for a project in a rural Zimbabwean village, designing a comprehensive fishing cur riculum and gathering the necessary supplies. Their mission was to teach locals various fishing methods and techniques with the goal of improving their livelihoods. When the team finally arrived and met with the village chief, they learned a critical detail: the village’s river had dried up years ago. There was no water source for fishing. The entire project—built on assump tions rather than understanding the community’s actual needs—collapsed, wasting time, money, and resources. This story stayed with me as a stark reminder of how critical it is to truly listen to the people we aim to serve. Years later, it’s a lesson I’ve had the chance to apply at AidKit. From Listening to Action: Why Community Voices Matter This fishing curriculum example highlights a broader truth: for decades, human services systems have been designed from the top down, often without meaningful input from the people they are meant to help. But that’s beginning to change. Community-led solutions—where indi viduals with lived experience guide design and decision making—are reshaping how we approach every thing from policy to technology. These solutions aim to center dignity and

equity, creating systems that truly meet people’s needs. When we co-founded AidKit, my team and I knew that creating meaningful systems required more than technology alone. AidKit builds modern software that helps government agencies and nonprofits deliver aid and benefits programs at scale—but we recog nized that the success of these systems depends on incorporating feedback from their intended users. That’s why we established our Community Advisory Council (CAC), a group of individuals with lived experience who ensure our tools and programs are human centered and effective. Here’s what I’ve learned about building community-led systems. Transforming Outcomes and Experiences: Why Shifting Power Dynamics Matters Traditional systems often fail to address the unique challenges faced by diverse communities. By putting

decision-making power in the hands of those with lived experience, we can: n Build trust and foster deeper connec tions with the people we serve. n Design solutions that are not only effective, but also honor the dignity of recipients. n Address systemic inequities by centering the voices of those most impacted. At AidKit, we’ve seen firsthand how shifting power dynamics improves outcomes across the board. Programs informed by recipient feedback con sistently deliver both tangible and intangible benefits. For example: n After implementing feedback to provide clearer instructions for col lecting bank account information, we reduced the overall automated clearing house (ACH) failure ratio from 2.58 percent to 0.0065 percent, enabling more payments to be sent successfully the first time with no back-and-forth.

Illustration by Chris Campbell

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Policy & Practice Winter 2024