How Design for Good uses Moodle Workplace to scale global change

In 2022, a small group of senior design leaders had a bold idea: to use the power of design to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges. They envisioned bringing together a global community of creatives to work on urgent social issues such as clean water and quality education. 

This idea became Design for Good, a global nonprofit alliance that organises designers worldwide to work on projects to support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From 2022-2024, Design for Good virtually assembled diverse teams of designers – from visual artists to graphic designers to UX specialists – to work on SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation. These volunteer designers demonstrated their impact by solving problems in the communities that needed it most.

Challenge: Scaling for impact with a growing global network

However, as Design for Good’s vision grew, so did its need for a platform that could keep up. Their existing platform, built in-house, couldn’t scale with their goals. It didn’t allow communication between designers, mentors, and partners and was difficult to manage as the community grew. “It was hard to use on a larger scale,” explained Joanna Bobeva, Program Experience and Project Coordinator. 

In 2024, Design for Good recruited even more volunteer designers and prepared to take on SDG4: Quality Education. They also began searching for a new platform to facilitate this work. With a goal of making a positive impact on all life, Design for Good needed a tool to unite its global network and turn ideas into impact.

Solution: Building a creative hub with Moodle Workplace

Design for Good needed a platform that was easy for hundreds of designers, mentors, and partner organisations to use for communication, collaboration, and resource sharing. In their search for a new solution, Design for Good discovered Moodle Workplace.

Moodle Learning Designers worked with the Design for Good team to configure their Moodle Workplace site to fit their unique approach.  The Learning Designers helped Design for Good build their site’s visual brand identity, set up the tools to support the work of the volunteer teams, and use reporting features to track progress. Design for Good’s mission guided every aspect of the site implementation process.

The login page for Design for Good’s new Moodle Workplace site. Image source: Design for Good

Early on, it was clear that some standard terms, such as “course,” “student,” and “teacher”, did not fit Design for Good’s project-based work. The Learning Design team helped Design for Good make key terminology changes, instead using “project,” “participant,” and “mentor.” These simple changes in language helped create a space that felt true to the organisation’s mission of real-world impact.

When it came to building project workspaces for the volunteer teams, the Learning Designers created several prototypes to help Design for Good determine the best structure for their programme. Although daunted at first by the task of creating a project template, Bobeva found Moodle Workplace to be intuitive. “I am most impressed with how easy it is to build and create with Moodle,” she said. “The ‘building block’-style functionality is very simple to use and even someone who is completely new to website design would be able to figure their way through creation.”

Design for Good designed their project workspaces (courses) to segment each stage of the two-year programme for their volunteer design teams. Image source: Design for Good

One of the key needs for these project workspaces was a way for the volunteer design teams to collaboratively submit in-progress work. This needed to be easy to use, visible to all team members, and mentors needed to be able to make comments on submissions. The Learning Design team created a template for Moodle Workplace’s Database activity to meet these requirements. This greatly simplified the project submission and feedback process.

Moodle Learning Designers created a Database activity template so that the volunteer teams can easily submit project deliverables. Image source: Design for Good

Now, each volunteer design team has their own project workspace. They can submit deliverables, share updates, and receive feedback from mentors. Bobeva explains that “Moodle has allowed the programme to be broken down into manageable chunks by segmenting out each stage.” This structured approach breaks the two-year programme into manageable phases, allowing teams to stay organised and on track with project goals.

Finally, in the spirit of openness and innovation, Design for Good also wanted to make sure that any volunteer could view the work of other teams. Moodle Workplace’s Catalogue and Guest access features made it easy to meet this need. This setup allows teams to share inspiration and learn from each other.

Design for Good uses the Moodle Workplace Catalogue to allow any participant to view the work being done across all projects. Image source: Design for Good

Impact: Creating lasting change through design

Though still in its early stages, Design for Good’s Moodle Workplace platform has already made a difference. As of November 2024, over 200 active participants and 30 mentors are working on 30 projects aimed at achieving SDG 4: Quality Education. Examples of these projects include:

• Developing playful education kits for young learners
• Helping vulnerable women thrive with job skills
• Supporting the fight against misinformation

For the volunteer designers working on solutions to these global problems, Design for Good’s Moodle Workplace site is a creativity hub. Here, they can access centralised resources, use communication tools, and stay on track with their project goals. 

Bobeva summed it up: “The platform has allowed us to meet all our program requirements seamlessly.” With Moodle Workplace, Design for Good is set to scale its impact, bringing together more designers to work on meaningful projects that drive positive global change.