About Inclusive Innovation

What is Inclusive Innovation?

Inclusive Innovation is a research and development (R&D) model that improves education by supporting communities and schools in co-designing innovative solutions. Inclusive Innovation starts by ensuring those closest to the challenge—including students, parents, families, and organizers—are at the table with district leaders, educators, researchers, and solution developers and intentionally involved in co-research and co-creation.

Inclusive Innovation is an investment in your community and an opportunity to unlock bold new ideas.

What Sets Inclusive Innovation Apart?

Our model results in education solutions that have been co-researched and co-developed by the community—students, parents, community members—in partnership with educators, solution developers, and researchers. This approach ensures solutions are relevant for all the people participating in education systems, especially students.

Additionally, Inclusive Innovation solutions are designed for eventual scale. The phased approach provides a roadmap for mutual partnership, rooted in a deep understanding of the community, so solutions can be effectively implemented in similar contexts.

How Does Inclusive Innovation Support Educators and Students?

Community members are at the table as:

Leaders

Holding positions of shared power and decision-making

Participants

Guiding the research, design, and creation of solutions

Beneficiaries

Defining outcomes that are of value to both communities and schools

What happens when districts and communities engage in Inclusive Innovation?

Barriers start to dissolve as districts and communities identify opportunities to partner to address challenges.
District leaders who engage in shared leadership and decision-making foster systems of learning rooted in belonging.
Teachers and parents support student learning by becoming collaborators, co-researchers, and co-designers.
Students who are closest to challenges have opportunities to step into leadership and innovation.

Digital Promise’s Inclusive Innovation Model

The process of Inclusive Innovation moves through intersecting stages. Our model emphasizes the importance of readiness and preparation to engage, the value of building trust upfront and throughout the process, and the progression from understanding the challenge to implementing and scaling a solution.

The foundation for Inclusive Innovation is anchored in a set of six tenets. These tenets guide school district and community teams collaborating with researchers and solution developers in building an inclusive approach to understanding education challenges and developing solutions, ultimately leading to powerful learning experiences for students.

Our Core Tenets

Icon	Core Tenet	Description
	Collective Ownership	The work is co-led, co-researched, and co-designed by collaborators who represent communities and schools to ensure mutual benefit.
	Student Voice and Leadership	Students are collaborators, and their perspectives are prioritized in the creation of solutions to educational challenges.
	Context Expertise and Proximity	The research and design process centers the perspectives, experiences, and identities of those most proximate to the education challenge or opportunity.
	Continuity of Commitment	Deeply integrated and continuous research and design practices address the conditions and barriers that impact students.
	Re-Imagined Progress	Progress measures must be multidimensional to ensure the access, participation, and benefit of those most impacted.
	Capacity Building	The process resources communities to sustain capacity for Inclusive Innovation into the future.

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Core Tenet	Collective Ownership
Description	The work is co-led, co-researched, and co-designed by collaborators who represent communities and schools to ensure mutual benefit.
Icon
Core Tenet	Student Voice and Leadership
Description	Students are collaborators, and their perspectives are prioritized in the creation of solutions to educational challenges.
Icon
Core Tenet	Context Expertise and Proximity
Description	The research and design process centers the perspectives, experiences, and identities of those most proximate to the education challenge or opportunity.
Icon
Core Tenet	Continuity of Commitment
Description	Deeply integrated and continuous research and design practices address the conditions and barriers that impact students.
Icon
Core Tenet	Re-Imagined Progress
Description	Progress measures must be multidimensional to ensure the access, participation, and benefit of those most impacted.
Icon
Core Tenet	Capacity Building
Description	The process resources communities to sustain capacity for Inclusive Innovation into the future.

The power and possibility are there—we have a process to unlock them.

Work With Us

What is Inclusive Innovation?

What Sets Inclusive Innovation Apart?

How Does Inclusive Innovation Support Educators and Students?

Leaders

Participants

Beneficiaries

What happens when districts and communities engage in Inclusive Innovation?

Digital Promise’s Inclusive Innovation Model

Our Core Tenets

Collective Ownership

The work is co-led, co-researched, and co-designed by collaborators who represent communities and schools to ensure mutual benefit.

Student Voice and Leadership

Students are collaborators, and their perspectives are prioritized in the creation of solutions to educational challenges.

Context Expertise and Proximity

The research and design process centers the perspectives, experiences, and identities of those most proximate to the education challenge or opportunity.

Continuity of Commitment

Deeply integrated and continuous research and design practices address the conditions and barriers that impact students.

Re-Imagined Progress

Progress measures must be multidimensional to ensure the access, participation, and benefit of those most impacted.

Capacity Building

The process resources communities to sustain capacity for Inclusive Innovation into the future.