How can public programs be designed not just to serve communities, but to strengthen them? In 2025, the Public Policy Lab hosted a webinar, “Co-Designing to Build Capital,” exploring how collaborative design methods can help individuals and communities build lasting forms of capital—financial, social, and beyond. Drawing on our year-and-a-half-long project supported by the National Science Foundation, we shared how co-design with undercapitalized innovators led to the creation of Innovation Compass, a platform that equips early-stage STEMM founders with the tools, knowledge, and networks they need to thrive.

During the session, members of the PPL team walk through how co-design processes can be used not only to improve public services but also to grow people’s capacity, agency, and resources. We outlined practical methods for co-designing across difference, engaging communities as co-creators, and reframing public investment as a means of capital-building. Whether you’re a policymaker, funder, designer, or community advocate, this session offers tangible strategies for designing systems that foster long-term resilience and shared prosperity.