Prospective Partners

Without great project partners, the Design for Extreme Affordability course would not exist. Being an Extreme project partner is a big commitment, but we hope that the benefits to our partners far exceed the costs.

Due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions, we are looking for partners in the Bay Area. If you are (or know of) a Bay Area organization working on issues related to poverty alleviation with an equity lens in your local community, please fill out the form below, we would love to hear from you!

Partnership timeline at a glance:

Aug-Oct // Extreme teaching team recruits partner organizations & works with them to develop project topics
Oct - Dec // Partner organizations are finalized
Late Jan. // Student teams are formed & matched to a partner/ project.
Feb - March // Students & partners get to know each other, the project topic, and start preparation for community involvement
Late March // Students spend significant time with community and partners on the ground (to the extent it is possible).
April - June // Students continue to work on their projects, with extensive partner interaction.
Early June // Private final presentations to partners followed by a public expo.

The experience, smarts and energy of both our Extreme teams, coupled with the rigorous design process provided by the d.school, allowed for very significant leaps forward in two different areas. I really believe that the power of a Stanford/miraclefeet team will result in the development of a brace that will have significant impact on the cost and effectiveness of clubfoot treatment on a global scale. And the simple text message tool developed by the other Extreme team is practical, low cost and leverages a technology that is widely available. Both ideas will make major contributions to clubfoot treatment, which in turn will transform the lives of children around the world.

Chesca Colloredo-Mansfeld Co-Founder and Executive Director, miraclefeet, Brazil

Extreme teams have the time and outside perspective to think deeply and creatively about a concept. The organizational reality for us is that we need to move fast and execute efficiently, and this creates pressure to stick with “safe” ideas. We leverage the creativity of Extreme teams to explore totally new ideas and keep us thinking outside the box.

David Klaus Proximity Designs, Myanmar