Since its founding in 2017, Imagine Deliver has been bridging an equity gap between companies, systems and the communities they reside in.
The Minneapolis-based consulting firm's founder and CEO, Kate Downing Khaled, along with her 10-person team, work to make traditionally underrepresented voices heard by drafting solutions to organizations and processes that are accessible to everyone, not just policy makers. Imagine Deliver implements this through a revamping process known as human-centered design, which strives to build institutions with users themselves, not for them.
For example, Imagine Deliver was instrumental in building the St. Paul Public Library’s latest strategic plan, which eliminated all fines and fees to broaden the public's access to library's services. And it's currently partnering with Hennepin Healthcare System Inc. to reimagine the entirety of overall care and the provider’s health equity strategy.
The firm's accolades include being recognized as a certified B Corporation in the Best For The World: Community category and in 2020, it landed a spot in the 2020 Lunar Startups cohort.
Downing Khaled spoke to the Business Journal about Imagine Deliver’s origins and what sets it apart from a traditional diversity, equity and inclusion consulting model. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What sets Imagine Deliver apart from other consulting firms?
I call [Imagine Deliver] the consulting firm for the new majority. How we do consulting is fundamentally different with that new majority at the center informing the work, because we believe that people who experienced problems have the best design solutions already. But that gap between companies, systems and communities is so wide.
How do you define the new majority?
What has been considered a minority in the past is now outpacing population growth to become the majority voice in the U.S. We still have mostly white men over the age of 35 at decision-making seats in government, in finance and on boards of large companies. Those decisions then trickle down to the new majority when they don’t have a valuable seat at the table.
How does Imagine Deliver accomplish this?
We work right now across three different areas, in health care, philanthropy and government systems, to really figure out how we bring our most valuable community voices to the design table.We call that our "user as designer." It’s a new approach to drafting plans that brings users of specific programs, services and products, to design with C-level leaders, what their strategies will look like. And we’ve seen really, really, transformative results.
What do those results look like?
I worked with the Minneapolis Park Board to reimagine Mill Ruins Park with an equity lens. We were able to bring community to the table to design different elements of that space, to think about what is a park that is built for everyone and truly reflects the community we serve.
How does a company know when it’s the right time to work with you?
We aren’t diversity, equity and inclusion consultants. We create strategy that is embedded and infused with principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. What that means is, we’re not here to work with a human resources team to improve team dynamics, although, that might be the first step in the work we’re doing. The next step, the one I think is really critically important, is how do you infuse a different model into your overall strategy. When you design for and with those who have been pushed to the margins, we’re going to end up with better products that are superior for everyone.
