The Social Impact Design Fellowship is an yearly fellowship programme by SPRF India that introduces students and early-career researchers to design as a tool for research communication. Recognising that the impact of research depends not only on the quality of evidence but also on how effectively it is communicated, the fellowship equips participants with the skills to translate complex social and public policy research into accessible, engaging, and visually compelling formats.
Key Objectives:
- Build the capacity of emerging researchers to communicate research through design and visual storytelling.
- Introduce design thinking, visual literacy, and knowledge translation within research and public policy practice.
- Strengthen public engagement by making research more accessible to diverse audiences.
- Foster interdisciplinary collaboration between research and creative communication.
Outputs
Fellows are working independent research on a social issue and transform their findings into public-facing communication outputs such as zines, comic strips, posters, data visualisations, and other visual formats. The programme also develops participants’ skills through workshops, one-on-one mentorship, and practical design exercises.
Leadership
The fellowship is led by Ariba Khan, Programmes and Communications Associate, in collaboration with Faraz Rupani, Research Lead, and Tahani Khan, Design Lead, at SPRF India.
Duration
The fellowship runs for two months, combining research training, design mentorship, and hands-on project development to enable participants to produce impactful research communication outputs.