Liberatory Design is an approach to addressing equity challenges and change efforts in complex systems. It is a process and practice to:

• Create designs that help interrupt inequity and increase opportunity for those most impacted by oppression

• Transform power by shifting the relationships between those who hold power to design and those impacted by these designs

• Generate critical learning and increased agency for those involved in the design work  

Liberatory Design is both a flexible process that can be used by teams and a set of equity leadership habits that can be practiced daily. It can be used in a variety of ways and by a variety of actors, including innovation efforts, strategic planning, community-driven design, and collaborative teams. At the core of Liberatory Design are a set of beliefs:

• Racism and inequity have been designed into systems and thus can be redesigned;

• Designing for equity requires the meaningful participation of those impacted by inequity; and

• Equity-driven designs require equity and complexity informed processes.

Liberatory Design is the result of a multi-year collaboration between Tania Anaissie, David Clifford, Susie Wise , and the National Equity Project [Victor Cary and Tom Malarkey].