How can technology lower friction?
Tools should make it easier to find context, coordinate a next step, or keep a promise—not add another maze.
Research / exploratory
Curiosity with a community brief.
Labs researches technology and solutions that align with IHARC’s homelessness and addictions mission. The focus is practical: understand a real need, test a useful idea, and be honest about what the evidence does—and does not—say.
Areas of attention
Questions we want to work on.
These questions shape where Labs looks next, from the first conversation through a useful next step.
What does dignity look like in a system?
Privacy, consent, accessibility, and plain language are design constraints from the beginning, not a final polish.
What can stay useful over time?
We are interested in maintainable, understandable approaches that fit real teams and real community conditions.
How do we learn without overclaiming?
A clear record of assumptions, limits, and open questions is part of the work.
An exploratory approach
Start close to the work. Share what we learn.
- 1
Listen for the actual problem
Begin with context and the people closest to the need.
- 2
Build the smallest useful test
Prefer a clear, reversible experiment over a large promise.
- 3
Check the edges
Look for accessibility, privacy, safety, and maintenance concerns early.
- 4
Publish the limits
Document what changed, what did not, and what should happen next.
Research is a conversation
Have a question that belongs in the room?
We welcome thoughtful context, lived experience, and practical questions.