DESIGN FOR CHANGE ESPANA

Their core work

Design for Change España is a Madrid-based NGO that applies design thinking and participatory methodologies to social challenges in education and urban communities. In EU research projects, they act as a community engagement and educational innovation partner — bringing real-world reach into disadvantaged neighborhoods and informal learning environments. Their practical expertise spans facilitating creative science learning for young people (through coding, making, and play) and co-designing inclusive health and wellbeing interventions with residents of small and medium-sized cities. They serve as the bridge between academic research teams and the communities that research is meant to serve.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their H2020 trajectory shows a clear pivot from educational innovation toward urban social health. The 2018 entry point was creativity-driven science education — coding, making, games — oriented around engaging children in informal STEM learning. By 2020, the focus had shifted to health equity and territorial inclusion: disadvantaged neighborhoods, small cities, partnerships for wellbeing. The thread connecting both phases is participatory community work with underserved populations, but the application domain moved from education into public health and urban policy.

They are moving toward the intersection of urban planning, social determinants of health, and community co-design — making them a potentially useful partner for future projects in health innovation, territorial cohesion, or smart city initiatives targeting underserved populations.

How they like to work

Design for Change España always participates as a consortium member — they have never led an H2020 project as coordinator, which is consistent with their role as a community-facing implementing partner rather than a research orchestrator. They work in large, geographically diverse consortia: 33 unique partners across 15 countries from just 2 projects signals that they are embedded in broad European networks rather than tight bilateral partnerships. In practice, this means they likely contribute on-the-ground community access and engagement capacity that research-heavy partners cannot provide themselves.

With 33 unique partners across 15 countries from only 2 projects, their network density is exceptionally high relative to their portfolio size — suggesting active integration into large, multidisciplinary European consortia. No repeated partner clusters are visible from the data, pointing to broad rather than deep network ties.

What sets them apart

Design for Change España occupies a rare niche as a design-methodology NGO with proven EU research project experience — most NGOs of this type lack the administrative capacity or track record to participate in Horizon 2020 projects. Their specific value to consortium builders is community reach in Spanish urban contexts combined with a structured, design-thinking framework for co-creation with residents. For projects that need genuine citizen and community engagement — not just consultation — they offer operational credibility that academic or corporate partners cannot replicate.

Highlights from their portfolio

• IN-HABIT
  Their largest and longest project (2020–2025, EUR 305,625), addressing inclusive health in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods — a high-priority EU policy area with significant future funding prospects.
• CoM_n_Play-Science
  An unusual combination of informal science learning with coding, making, and play — positioning them at the intersection of citizen science, digital literacy, and creative education.