When you hear the word “innovation,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For many, it might be splashy new technologies, certain figureheads, or industries built around the promise of disrupting the status quo. But what about innovations built to meet the real needs of young people? Innovation that centers their safety, autonomy and well-being? What if the flashiest solution isn’t always the best one?

At the In/Tend Incubator Hub, we think about innovation differently. Rather than focusing on flashy solutions, we believe innovation should be relational and user-centered, solving problems with communities rather than for them. In doing so, we question some commonly held assumptions about what innovation should look like and suggest a new approach.

Move fast and break things ➔ Rethink and rebuild

The phrase “move fast and break things” has become associated with a tendency to prioritize speed and disruption over the safety and trust of the people a solution is meant to serve. This tradeoff carries real weight when the people affected are young people navigating their health and care. Although there is value in moving forward with imperfect solutions, breaking things without intention and input from end users is reckless and counter-productive to what we aim to accomplish.

Instead, In/Tend encourages teams to use rapid prototyping, user testing, and failure to challenge their assumptions and dive even deeper into the problem. For example, one team made lo-fi mini prototypes for each of their ideas that they shared with end users to gauge their interest. This testing helped the team eliminate ideas that didn’t resonate and focus on developing a prototype their end users were genuinely interested in.

The lone creative genius ➔ Collective success

True innovation is relational, not individual: the product of shared effort, trust, and lived experience.

Stories about innovation often center on the lone creative genius with an idea that changed everything. These stories erase the contributions of teams, communities, and ecosystems that actually make change happen. True innovation is relational, not individual: the product of shared effort, trust, and lived experience.

Our teams of three bring unique perspectives and strengths, and it’s that combination that makes their work stronger. For one team, bringing together three members of different organizations allowed them greater access to different communities than they would have had on their own. These connections enabled them to receive insights from end users from the multiple communities they aimed to bring together with their innovation.

Flash over substance ➔ Substance over flash

It’s easy to get caught up in the latest technologies, buzzwords, and trends. These things feel marketable, exciting, and like a way to attract attention. When combined with the assumption that innovation has to be something new, this can result in innovation that’s flashy but lacks substance. Instead of focusing on what’s new and buzzy, we encourage teams to focus on what their users say they need and not dismiss low-tech, simple, or tried-and-true ideas.

Some of our teams’ initial ideas were technology-based, like moderated chatrooms and apps, but after talking with end users about their needs, teams decided to go with lower-tech prototypes that were more accessible to end users.

Inaccessibility ➔ User-centered change

Innovation can feel exclusive. Some consider it the domain of those “in-the-know,” who assume they can anticipate, even manufacture, desires people don’t even know they have. In/Tend pushes teams the other direction: to challenge their own assumptions about what their users want, or even who their users are.

For example, one team came into the process with the assumption that their end users, fathers, were less willing or unable to talk to their children about sexual health. By talking more with their end users and challenging their assumptions, the team learned that they did actually want to talk to their children about sexual health, but didn’t have the space, time, or means to do so. Understanding and empathizing with the people they’re designing for enables teams to build trust with communities and create solutions that truly reflect their needs.

Measuring what matters in innovation

While these are key philosophies of In/Tend, they are also something we assess. As the team evaluating In/Tend, we look at two things: 1) whether teams are creating innovations that are feasible and genuinely reflect user input, and 2) whether the Hub itself is living up to this approach in how it supports teams, challenges assumptions, and builds trust with the communities it serves. Results suggest both are holding true.

Innovation doesn’t have to mean the next best thing. It can be reflective instead of reactive, collaborative instead of competitive, and responsible instead of reckless. At In/Tend, meaningful innovation starts with understanding the experiences of the young people and communities we’re designing for, and it’s how we’re building solutions that actually meet their unique needs.

The In/Tend Innovation Showcase is a time for us to celebrate all the time and work that the Innovation Development Teams (IDTs) have put in during their time with the Hub. It provides an opportunity for each team to share their innovation journey and present early-stage prototypes.

For In/Tend’s second cohort of IDTs, we held a hybrid Innovation Showcase this past May. The event was well attended both in person and virtually, and we received a lot of positive feedback from attendees! But truth be told, it was the first time we had ever hosted the Innovation Showcase in a hybrid format. We learned a lot about what worked, what didn’t, and things we should have considered. So, in the spirit of innovation and collaboration, we wanted to share our top four tips and tricks, so you can successfully pull off an engaging, fun, and smooth-sailing hybrid event.

Tip #1. Think about what experience you want for in-person and virtual attendees.

How will you and your team make an intentional effort to engage both the in-person and virtual attendees?

This tip is more of a mindset than an actual tangible suggestion. Start by imagining what experience you want attendees to have; it’s the very first step towards a successful event and happy attendees. How will you and your team make an intentional effort to engage both the in-person and virtual attendees? What does it look like to have high engagement among both types of attendees?

It’s easier to plan for in-person engagement; you and your team will be in the room with the guests. But often, when there are both in-person and virtual attendees, the remote attendee’s experience is not prioritized, leaving these attendees feeling disconnected and ignored. Make a concrete plan with actionable strategies for how the event, and the team running it, will engage with the virtual attendees. How will you ensure any questions or responses from virtual guests are treated as equally important to those shared in the physical room?

Tip #2. Create and assign distinct roles.

It is difficult, or nearly impossible, for one person to monitor the virtual side of a hybrid event while also ensuring the in-person component is running smoothly. More so, it is hard for someone who is in person to truly see how the event looks to a virtual attendee. There are many possible roles that can be assigned to your team, depending on the topic and format of your hybrid event, but here are some of the most important roles you should assign to your team:

• The event host/facilitator(s) – This is the person (or people) who will lead the event. They begin the event, facilitate transitions between speakers or activities, and wrap up the event at the end.
• The in-person producer – This role’s tasks are very specific to handling the setup of the event platform and monitoring the quality of the event. This person also facilitates the rehearsal of the event, ensuring video, audio, screen sharing, and any other technical components run smoothly before and during the event.
• The virtual moderator – This team member will attend the event virtually and is tasked with engaging with the virtual audience. They will actively monitor the chat, engage with virtual attendees, answer any questions, and be in direct contact with the in-person producer to communicate if any technical issues come up.

Tip #3. Test and confirm your AV setup.

Audio will make or break your event. The whole point of an event with the option for virtual attendees is so they can engage remotely, but if they can’t hear, you’ve already lost their engagement. Test the audio. Test it with people at different locations around the event room. If you can, consider investing in a good microphone setup that is easy to connect.

The camera placement may involve some creative solutions. Depending on the tech setup, some rooms or cameras can automatically shift focus to the speaker; this is a great option! But if you don’t have access to this function, consider having a camera where virtual attendees will see speakers/presentations in a similar way to the in-person attendees.

Remember to think about how camera placement may change the audio setup, as oftentimes the video camera and audio may be the same device, and if you set up a camera far away from the speaker, your audio quality will suffer. Another tip: Hide the self-view camera in person (but keep it visible for virtual attendees); it can be really distracting for both the speakers and the attendees!

This may be an obvious one, but just in case—test the bandwidth of the internet at the event location. Not all internet is made equal, and you can’t assume the event venue can handle a virtual event with cameras and variable numbers of virtual attendees.

Tip #4. Set up registration with clear instructions for attending.

When setting up an event that requires registration, it’s important to have a way to track in-person sign-ups vs. virtual sign-ups. Is there a maximum capacity for the room you’re using for the event? Explore registration options that allow you to set a maximum limit for those who register to attend in person. Knowing how many people will attend in person and virtually can help you and your team make decisions on role assignments, which will help you facilitate an engaging event.

Once attendees are registered, make sure to include clear instructions on how to join (address if in person, meeting information if virtual), the start and finish times of the event shared in multiple time zones, and, if possible, a brief agenda. It is best practice to include contact information for a person on your team that attendees can contact if they have any questions about the event.

Our experience planning and hosting the Innovation Showcase taught us just how important each of these tips is when planning a hybrid event. Reflecting on that experience helped us identify these four tips and tricks as key ingredients in creating an engaging and successful event that brought our in-person and virtual attendees together and, most importantly, celebrated the hard work, dedication, and accomplishments of our second cohort of IDTs.

Oh, Miro. The digital workspace with lots of colorful sticky notes.

Por favor, let’s be real.

These times have millions of people on edge. As a result, it has fomented a chronic state of threat for teenagers during the most pivotal years of development and their caregivers, who juggle multiple stressors amid their kids’ adolescence phase. These issues have been especially difficult for the Spanish-speaking Latine immigrant communities in urban cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

We have a deep connection and motivation for our work, and we recognize the importance of advancing this work, especially in the context of the U.S. sociopolitical turmoil that has made our professional and personal lives stressful.

Historically, researchers and program designers working with communities have not shared identities and experiences with their research participants. On our end, we are part of the Spanish-speaking Latine community, as our own families, friends, and neighbors are among the end-users of our innovation. We all do direct service work from mental health psychiatric services to sexual health education in schools, clinics, and community spaces. We have a deep connection and motivation for our work, and we recognize the importance of advancing this work, especially in the context of the U.S. sociopolitical turmoil that has made our professional and personal lives stressful.

So, where do we stand as three Latines who are part of In/Tend, the incubator hub by Healthy Teen Network, as we try to do work with our own Latine Spanish-speaking caregiver community?

The unexpected challenges that were dealt with pushed us to brainstorm and pivot to new strategies as we made our way through the In/Tend innovation pipeline. Through our learned experience, we would like to pass along the following three pieces of advice for the next In/Tend Incubator Hub teams.

1. Safety should always take priority.
2. Allocate money in the budget for unexpected costs.
3. Pause and engage in rest.

This is YOUniversal Education Services with a dispatch from the messy middle: Greetings! Along with so many helpful practices and perspectives, we picked up that term of art—the messy middle—from our wonderful In/Tend coaches. May we say: It resonates right now.

Human-centered design (HCD) is a program design approach that asks us to slow down. To exist in the mess awhile. And to trust that the messiness isn’t something we did wrong or something we’re not intending to, but rather crucial to the process of coming to a solution people really want. Human desire isn’t anything linear. Why should a design process to meet it be neat and tidy? 

Are we comfy here? We are…not especially, no! Do we know where we’re headed? Yesterday yes, but today? Not so sure. Have we been tempted to travel roads that feel safe and familiar? Oh yeah, big time! Are we persevering nonetheless? We are! We even trust we’re getting close. (But whew! The sea of stickies. And whew! The chocolate required.)

The Rooted Collective team is made up of Elle Lynn Quimpo, Miriam Perez, and Nty Diakite, who work at the intersection of adolescent sexual and reproductive health, mental health, and community care. Drawing from their shared experiences bridging cultures and supporting young people from immigrant families, the team creates spaces grounded in connection, joy, and collective healing.

Together, they are working to address the needs of young people from immigrant families by tackling two key challenges related to sexual and reproductive health: the lack of culturally and linguistically responsive resources and the shortage of trusted, relatable mentors. Each member of Rooted Collective shares a nugget of wisdom from their experience with In/Tend, for future In/Tend Innovation Development Team cohorts.

As a team grounded in adolescent sexual and reproductive health, youth development, and prevention work, we brought decades of experience to our In/Tend innovation development team, the Waking Dreamers. As three Executive Directors of youth-focused organizations, between us, we have experience ranging from direct work with formerly incarcerated young people to federal public health grants management to national norms-change theater programming, and more.

But one of the most important things we did on this project was step outside that expertise—and into discomfort.

Through a series of experiences, including the experience of learning to be human-centered design innovators as part of the In/Tend cohort, we placed ourselves in unfamiliar situations: asking vulnerable questions, navigating unclear systems, sharing planes and trains and rooms with each other, and relying on others for guidance. In short, we tried to feel what it’s like to be a teen navigating and learning to talk about hard things.

I never really thought I was a “creative” person. I’ve always been drawn to the field of science and health. I liked math as a kid because there was a right answer and usually the “right way” to get it. I certainly wouldn’t call myself good at drawing, painting, or even writing. I used to think that creativity only referred to the arts, and that someone would or would not be “creative.” And I most certainly thought someone had to be creative to be an innovator.

But as I stepped into the innovation space as a project coordinator for In/Tend, I came to realize my definition of creativity was very narrow, that there were many ways creativity can show up in the world, and that maybe I was already being innovative.

But as I stepped into the innovation space as a project coordinator for In/Tend, I came to realize my definition of creativity was very narrow, that there were many ways creativity can show up in the world, and that maybe I was already being innovative.

So let me share with you how puzzles gave me a platform to reimagine what creativity and innovation meant, and how we might already be using innovation in our work.

Different approaches to the same problem

I love puzzles. I love the process of trying to figure out a problem and the moment when the solution is in sight. But do you know a really cool thing about puzzles? Everyone approaches them differently. While not every puzzle has multiple ways to solve it, the way each person brings themselves and their lived experience to a problem is unique. One person may approach a jigsaw puzzle by finding the edge pieces, while another person may start by grouping the individual pieces by color. Maybe you saw someone use a method and are trying to replicate it, or you and three friends are working together to complete the puzzle.

Regardless of the approach, the decision on how to approach a puzzle is a creative one. But how does innovation relate to my puzzle analogy? Well, let me ask you this: Have you ever completed a puzzle using one method and had it work the whole time for the entire puzzle, and for every puzzle you have ever done? I’ll take a wild guess and say it’s unlikely. That is where innovation comes in. When something doesn’t work, you probably think about or change your approach. You took what you tried, maybe what other people tried, or phoned a friend. That pivot? That moment you realize your approach isn’t working? That, my friend, is innovation.

Adaptation is creativity

Just as no single puzzle-solver holds the only right method, no single professional holds the only right approach to supporting young people.

Creativity looks different for everyone, and so can innovation. Just as no single puzzle-solver holds the only right method, no single professional holds the only right approach to supporting young people. This is why innovation in adolescent sexual and reproductive health is so important. Young people navigating questions about their bodies, their identities, and their futures deserve programs and support that are as dynamic as they are. The conventional approaches to sexual and reproductive health education have historically left too many young people behind. It takes creativity and innovation in how we teach and how we design programs and services to meet young people where they are and help them build lives that feel like theirs.

Think about how you already adapt in your day-to-day: how you explain the same concept differently to different young people, how you adjust a training when the audience needs more examples, how you follow a young person’s lead in a conversation rather than following a script. That is innovation. Turns out, you are probably already doing it. The magic of innovation happens when we bring our different strengths and approaches to the same table. When we bring our authentic selves, with our unique problem-solving approaches, our lived experiences, and our individual strengths, we build programs for young people that are more human, more accessible, and ultimately more effective. Programs and services for young people should be designed with young people at the center, just like a puzzle built around its image. Every piece is different, every piece has a place, and every piece is essential.

Together with Morgan Peterson and Sam Wakefield, Maisy is part of the CodED innovation development team for In/Tend, the Healthy Teen Network Incubator Hub. They are working to expand access to comprehensive sex education in rural communities. Grounded in youth support, community organizing, program development, and accessible communications, the team takes a human-centered, community-led approach to addressing gaps in sex ed. Building on early learning and feedback from young people, CodED is focused on prototyping and testing practical, responsive solutions that meet the real needs of rural caregivers and strengthen access to accurate, affirming education.

Please join us in welcoming Rebecca Skinner, MSPH, to the Healthy Teen Network team!

Rebecca is a Project Coordinator in the Innovation and Research Department at Healthy Teen Network, where she brings more than seven years of public health experience and a deep commitment to advancing health equity. She is passionate about improving access to comprehensive, affirming sexual and reproductive health care and education for all young people. Rebecca’s background includes program and study coordination, survey design, community partnerships, research translation, and specialized experience in youth-centered research methodology.