Strengthening Engagement through Improved Onboarding and Participation for Members in Mental Health Recovery
Organisation
Richmond Fellowship Community Network
Project type
Service design
Member & staff experience
Process improvement
Timeline
4.5 months (2021)
Country
Hong Kong
Overview
The problem
Richmond Fellowship Community Network (RFCN) was a peer-led mental health recovery organisation supporting older people in recovery (PIR). However, over half of its 50 PIR members disengaged quietly, threatening both the organisation’s sustainability and its chances of becoming a certified NGO.
The goal
This project aimed to uncover the root causes of disengagement and co-design low-effort improvements that strengthen engagement and help RFCN sustain its peer-led mission over time.
My role & key stakeholders
As a Service Designer, I framed the opportunity space, adapted research methods to constraints, and co-developed low-fidelity prototypes in partnership with another service designer and RFCN program lead.
Design process
Empathise
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Testing & implementation (next steps)
Methods
Interviews
Surveys
Field Studies
Workshops
Impact
The enhanced experience in onboarding and peer-led activities was expected to increase member engagement by 20-30% by 2022.
Enabled sustainable engagement that contributed to RFCN’s NGO certification in 2023.
Strengthened shared understanding between members and staff around RFCN’s purpose and expectations.
Framing the Design Approach
Co-mapping the ecosystem with RFCN to inform design focus
To clarify the project scope and understand who directly and indirectly shaped the member experience.
The program lead, who stretched in capacity, and peers were the most central to the member experience.
We focused our research and design efforts on RFCN's internal service system, especially the interactions between members and the program lead.
Balancing constraints & care
Limited access to members
Low tech literacy
Minimal staff capacity
Research methods adapted to constraints
1:1 staff interviews
Member feedback surveys
Field studies in the RFCN centre
How the research helped our next steps
To construct the member journey
To uncover key friction points both frontstage and backstage
How the insights guided our design principles
Low-tech, low-effort and low budget solutions to accommodate the limitations
Why it matters
Adapting to constraints built trust in a sensitive healthcare setting and ensured the solutions were realistic for staff to sustain beyond the project.
My little internal drama
While browsing RFCN’s Facebook page, I was briefly tempted to reach out to a few active members to better understand their first-hand experiences. But doing so would break trust. As a designer, I chose to prioritise ethical integrity and respect for the organisation’s boundaries, even if it meant working with more limited access.
Discovering Insights
Understanding the full experience
To identify the most influential moments for disengagement, based on research insights, we mapped the member journey with RFCN, giving us a holistic view on member's experience, friction points and improvement opportunities.
Zooming in the root causes
The member journey revealed that the most influential breakdowns concentrated on the engagement and retention phase:
Prioritising opportunities
In the workshop with RFCN, we prioritised improving the engagement and retention experience, focusing on onboarding and participation, considering the 4 criteria:
Why it matters
The prioritisation guided us to design low-effort, scalable solutions that could better set expectations, reduce member stress, and strengthen participation within RFCN's capacity.
Improving the Member Experience
Based on the opportunity areas, we engaged RFCN to validate early service concepts with storyboards through a feedback session to assess feasibility. This allowed us to create a shared foundation for potential implementation.
Creating a more welcoming and emotionally supportive space
Proposed improvement
Low-effort environmental changes, such as displaying photos from past gatherings and updating the member contribution wall.
Rationale
The RFCN Centre was a key physical touchpoint in the member journey, but the space lacked emotional connection and cues of inclusion.
Expected outcome
Members feel more emotionally supported.
Stronger sense of belonging.
Increased likelihood of continued participation.
Intended impact
Improve member engagement.
Stronger community ownership.
Greater sustainability of RFCN’s peer-led model.
Creating a clearer and more supportive onboarding experience
Proposed improvement
Introduce lightweight tools like a welcome card, an orientation poster, and a peer-facilitated welcome moment.
Rationale
Onboarding, as the first interaction with RFCN, shapes expectations and long-term engagement (Primacy Effect).
Expected outcome
New members feel more informed and supported from the start.
Expectations are better aligned early on.
Intended impact
Improve member engagement.
Support RFCN’s sustainable peer-led model.
Creating a low-pressure path to leading activities
Proposed improvement
Introduce lighter ways for members to contribute, such as a buddy system, activity toolkits for planning and facilitation, and a ritual of recognition after each activity.
Rationale
Members felt tremendous stress leading activities, leading to disengagement.
Expected outcome
Members feel more supported and confident.
Staff spend less time preparing and facilitating every session themselves.
Intended impact
Improve member engagement.
Develop a stronger culture of mutual support and shared responsibility.
Strengthen RFCN’s sustainable peer-led model.
Across all the 3 key improvements, we focused on small, low-effort changes that are expected to improve member confidence, emotional connection, and engagement, while staying realistic for RFCN to maintain. In the longer term, they are expected to support RFCN’s goals of community integration and readiness for NGO certification.
Next Steps
Supporting RFCN to test with members
The next step would be test the co-created improvements with members to understand how they respond in real contexts and identify areas for refinement.
To help RFCN run the pilot within their limited capacity, we would provide a support toolkit, including an observation checklist, simple prompts for member feedback, and a flexible testing timeline.
This approach helped keep testing manageable while enabling real-world insights and iteration. It would also build staff's confidence to lead future improvements independently.
Learnings
Be water in constraints
Working with limited member access, low tech literacy, and minimal resources pushed me to adapt and stay flexible. These challenges helped me design with focus and purpose, a mindset I’ll carry into future projects with similar limitations.
Be mindful of ethical concerns in healthcare contexts
Working with vulnerable members reminded me that protecting boundaries is just as important as uncovering insights. This strengthened my ethical awareness, something I’ll carry into future projects involving trust and sensitivity.
This project taught me that small, thoughtful changes can plant the seed for lasting impact. In 2023, RFCN became a certified NGO, a milestone I’m proud to have contributed to.
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Thanks for making it this far. Since this project, I’ve developed a growing interest in designing for social impact. It reminded me that good design doesn’t just solve problems: it brings a human touch, strengthens trust, and makes everyday systems feel more supportive and inclusive.
If this resonates with you, I’d love to connect and keep the conversation going.
