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Understanding Humans is a hands-on workshop introducing the social science theories behind why people do what they do — and how to apply them in real-world contexts.
Nuts and Bolts
- Format: 8 hours (could take place over 1-2 sessions)
- Location: Online or in-person
- Group Size: 6–30 participants
- Cost: Sliding scale, tailored to your organization or team
- Scheduling: Flexible — we’ll work with you to find the right dates
- Facilitation: by InWithForward researchers and human-centred designers who have used these theories to inform research tools and successful prototypes
Workshop Overview
Cities, services, and systems are designed for humans — yet we often rely on intuition, assumptions, or generic models of behaviour. Real people, however, are gloriously inconsistent. We contradict ourselves. We adapt. We make meaning in ways that don’t always align with what planners, policymakers, or designers expect.
Understanding Humans brings together our favourite social-science theories that provide insight into the conditions required for humans to adopt new behaviours, experience wellbeing, benefit from their human rights, and more — and we’ll explore what that means for anyone shaping experiences, services, or policies, using real examples. We translate academic insights into practical tools that help you engage with the messiness of human behaviour, recognize hidden drivers of behaviour, and design with more nuance, empathy, and accuracy.
If your work depends on humans showing up, opting in, following through, feeling safe, belonging, or changing their behaviour — this workshop gives you the conceptual grounding to understand what’s really going on beneath the surface.
What you'll do
Explore core theories of human behaviour
Meaning-making, motivation, habit formation, social norms, identity, and context.
Work with real case studies
From design research, as well as successful human services and civic engagement prototypes.
Practice applying these theories to your own challenges
Working from your own pain points and challenges, we’ll help you select relevant theories and frameworks and use them to generate insights and alternatives.
Learn how to use different design levers
To shift conditions that drive behavioural patterns.
What you'll leave with
Who it's for
Anyone in the business of humans — including:
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Service designers, social innovators, and strategists
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City planners, policy analysts, and community developers
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Volunteer and social service program developers, frontline practitioners and managers
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Public-sector teams working on engagement, participation, belonging, or behaviour change
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Anyone curious about the science behind human behaviour
Got questions or want to book?
We can work around your team’s busy schedule. Connect with us to learn more or bring this workshop to your organization.