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Co-designing for Sustainability: Strategizing Community Carbon Emission Reduction Through Socio-ecological Innovation
Abstract
Designing for sustainability requires us to intentionally and creatively explore and implement radical changes in social as well as environmental arenas. This paper reflects on an interdisciplinary, action research project in which we applied principles and tools of co-creation to facilitate knowledge mobilization between three diverse stakeholder groups: community groups, local authorities (LAs) and academics from diverse disciplines. Our goal was the development of a Community Engagement Strategy for Carbon Emission Reduction for a Scottish Local Authority. Our methodological approach included ethnographic and participatory methods; seminars; strategy prototyping; and shared governance processes. It was concluded that our project provoked ‘social innovation’ by catalysing a value shift in the organizations involved, but that the concept of ‘socio-ecological innovation’ would be more useful in designing for sustainability. This project demonstrates the strategic role designers can play in transcending the constraints of the current consumerist paradigm to co-create a better future.
... A further aspect of technology innovation in environmental areas is the need to address complex socio-ecological challenges and not only single issue problems. We may not need the type of closed Systems Readiness Level scheme suggested by Sauser et al (2006), but the framing offered by the MLP (see Yakamura et al. 2013) enables a deeper analysis of our research results within the context of socio-ecological technological innovation (White and van Koten 2016;Marzano et al. 2018). Hence, we can view individual technologies as progressing through TRLs and receiving sufficient investment when the niche innovation (for the particular technology) is active and the socio-technical landscape is permissive. ...
... Hence, we need to be cognisant of the wider socio-ecological technical system (Marzano et al 2018). There is no spacecraft in which we can escape the effects of tree pests, but the use of the TRL framework within a socio-ecological technical innovation context (White and van Koten 2016) can support development of individual tools and integrated suites of technologies to enhance stakeholder engagement and better protect our trees, forests and woodlands. It can also encourage us to consider wider societal and political questions such as who is responsible for environmental integrity, and how we invest public and private resources to ensure a sustainable future. ...
Innovation in environmental fields such as plant health is complex because of unbounded challenges and lack of certainty of commercial uptake. In this paper we present a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) framework, specifically to assist with assessment of technologies to support detection of tree pests and pathogens, but also for wider potential adaptation. Biosecurity can be enhanced by improved early detection of pests and pathogens, but development and deployment of new technologies requires robust scrutiny. We critically analyse the concept, practice and applicability of TRLs. Interviews revealed scientist perspectives during the development process of five novel early plant pest and pathogen detection technologies. A retrospective, collective narrative of one technology from concept to commercial deployment was undertaken. We then developed a calculator tool for assessment of biosecurity TRLs. Our findings illustrate the iterative process of technology development, the challenges in final TRLs of acquiring funding to move from proven success to viable product, inefficiencies created through the need for multiple projects for each technology and the imperative to consider the wider socio-ecological technical landscape, including policy context. End user engagement was particularly valuable at beginning and end of the TRL scale. We conclude that the TRL framework comprises a robust approach to assess technologies in that it facilitates progress tracking, evaluation of success likelihood and identification of opportunities for investment. However, its potential will only be realised for environmental management if it is integrated into the socio-ecological technical landscape and wider discussions regarding knowledge co-production and valuing nature.
Supplementary information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41348-022-00599-3.
... Empirical research shows that co-design methods are useful in promoting interactions between relevant stakeholders (White & van Koten, 2016) and significantly increasing idea generation in innovation processes (Mitchell et al., 2016). Hence, co-design can increase the quality of knowledge generation in real-world labs by, for instance, figuring out relevant research topics (Rhodius et al., 2016). ...
... Collaborative approaches are often used to tackle wicked problems (Roberts, 2000;Suoheimo, 2016Suoheimo, , 2019. In wicked problem projects, designers often serve as facilitators of a co-design, participatory process (Prendiville, 2018;Sepers, 2017;White & van Katen, 2016;Suoheimo et al., 2020). As White and Katen (2016, p. 41) noted: ...
I Wicked problems are present in societies from the Global North to the Global South such as displacement, dispossession and homelessness. These are indubitably key dimension of present time. The COVID-19 has deepened these problems. Such crisis requires us to consider challenges to scholars and professionals, regardless of knowledge area. Service design and design for social innovation are rooted in social issues and could be tools to address and mitigate these problems. Nonetheless, marginalised communities and dispossession remain at the margins in the service design and design for social innovation literature. From the analysis of two students' projects, we critically examine the significant contributions of service design and social innovation methods and tools in such contexts. The concept of alterity and arts-based methods emerged as a pathway for building a humble perspective for service designers working with wicked problems in the context of marginalisation. The SEEYouth research project will allow us to conduct an in-depth exploration of this perspective and its potential for addressing these problems.
... At the same time, processes driven by 'design activism' and co-design are assuming a crucial role in creating counternarratives in fashion towards sustainable solutions (Mazzarella et al., 2019) and exploring more open and democratic approaches to fashion manufacturing, such as 'social manufacturing' (Hirscher et al., 2018). Also, according to a socio-ecological perspective (White & van Koten, 2016), co-creation and co-design can help find a better sustainable future by disrupting current fashion consumption patterns and addressing environmental and social sustainability concerns. It means understanding how to provoke sustainable fashion innovation through co-design by also adopting new instruments such as the Sustainable Fashion Bridges (Hur & Beverley, 2023) toolkit to support ideation processes (Hur et al., 2013). ...
The potential role of co-design in the fashion industry and system toward a more sustainable future and as a critical action for social change can be addressed through the role design assumes in an organisation. This article describes a strategy to develop a sustainable consumption culture through participatory design activities. It does so by reconstructing the collaboration between a company and a local third-sector entity promoting co-design for social innovation. The methods used to drive this collaboration included ideation techniques and intensive co-design workshops aimed at developing a recognisable sustainable brand and understanding sustainability-related topics for the company’s customers. Strategies, design probes and replicable design tools emerging from the workshop were applied as innovative actions. This collaboration provided several experiences that, on the one hand, allowed the identification of new company strategies for supporting sustainability in the fashion industry and, on the other hand, created the condition to systematically adopt co-design instruments for providing social change through company actions.
... Additionally, EI also strengthens the delivery system that bound adverse environmental impact of services and goods. These consequences are aligned with White and van Koten (2016) and Chien et al. (2021); however, these results contradict the investigation done by Chu (2022). Financial innovations negatively impact GHGs, implying that the emergence of technologies in the financial sector strengthens environmental excellence. ...
Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the rapid development of modern technologies has brought unprecedented social prosperity to mankind as technologies penetrate every sector of the economy. These technologies have given a new dimension to the energy sector. The key purpose of this study is to investigate the crucial impact of technological revolutions, namely, smart grids, smart devices, financial innovations, and environmental innovations, on greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). To this end, the study utilized data from European, Asian, Middle Eastern, and African countries and employed first- and second-generation methods, such as DOLS, FMOLS, and CS-ARDL models. The research shows that smart grids are the only factor in reducing GHGs, regardless of geographic division. Hence, linking smart grid resources to climate change goals requires short-term deployment strategies with a clear long-term vision and the fundamental goal of transforming the power structure into a net zero-emission system. The study also demonstrates that the emergence of ICT in electricity consumption has not yet reached a level that can promote environmental excellence. The study documented the critical role of financial innovation and environmental innovation in addressing environmental degradation.
... There is a ladder of formats ranging from tokenism, to communication, to empowerment (Arnstein, 1969;Pimbert & Pretty, 1995;White et al., 2018). More empowering forms of participation include collaboration (Davies & White, 2012), codesign (White & van Koten, 2016), and partnership (Leach, 2002). The greater potential benefits of empowering forms of participation are offset by human, institutional, financial, and time resources required to achieve them (Kapur, 2001), and a pragmatic strategy for participatory activities may be required . ...
Conservation biology is a mission‐driven discipline that must navigate a new relationship between conservation and science. Because conservation is a social and political as well as an ecological project, conservation biologists must practice interdisciplinarity and collaboration. In a comparative study of 7 cases (Jaguars in the Chaco, Grevy's zebra in Kenya, Beekeeping in Tanzania, Andean cats in Argentina, Jaguars in Mexico, Lobster fishing, and Black bears in Mexico), we examined motivations for collaboration in conservation, who can collaborate in conservation, and how conservation professionals can work well together. In 5 case studies, successful conservation outcomes were prioritized over livelihood benefits. In the other 2 cases, livelihoods were prioritized. All case studies employed participatory approaches. There were multiple external actors, including local and Indigenous communities, nongovernmental organizations, agencies, regional and national governments, and international organizations, which enhanced conservation and wider sustainability outcomes. Key collaboration aspects considered across the case studies were time (mismatch between relationship building and project schedules), trust required for meaningful partnerships, tools employed, and transformative potential for people, nature, and the discipline of conservation biology. We developed guidelines for successful collaboration, including long‐term commitment, knowledge integration, multiscalar and plural approaches, cultivation of trust, appropriate engagement, evaluation, supporting students, and efforts for transformation.
... 'Responsiveness' would enable timely and creative seizing of new opportunities and synergies, such as the Nature Based Solutions and agroecological approaches described above. Finally, 'strategic support' would ensure that processes and contracts are suitable for different scales and allow for more fluid, nimble local organizational structures (White and van Koten, 2016). ...
... Through literature review, we observed how various capabilities have been articulated in discussing socioecological innovation and nature-inclusive PD, for example through co-creation methods facilitating knowledge mobilisation between actor groups [19], that support bio-inclusive decision-making by acknowledging more-than-human actors [31], and that enable making assumptions about socio-ecological actors more visible in design processes [32]. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly clear that PD capabilities are not merely about facilitating processes with particular sensitivities and ethics, but also require "skills to translate among strategic, mundane, method and design domains, and being aware of how they qualify and permeate each other in order to achieve results." ...
... Through the appropriate use of adjustment strategies (integration, divergence, and neutrality), an "intergenerational dialogue" is formed, which is not limited to conventional verbal communication but includes non-verbal methods such as thematic seminars (workshops), I-G collaborative activities, and other forms of interaction (Bentzen, 2020). Effective dialogue facilitates I-Cs and generates new understandings that can then be transformed into intergenerational friendships and identities (Rehema et al., 2016). In this process, collaborative interactions are gradually created and re-translated and encoded into new perspectives, which facilitates the reshaping of intergroup relations and ultimately leads to intergenerational consensus and the formation of social communities (Piredda et al., 2017). ...
In this study, we develop an intervention to promote communities’ social innovation activities. We apply the methodology and theory of co-creation and take an intergenerational perspective. Our aim is to promote communication, encourage role switching, build trusting relationships, and change the inherited perceptions of elderly groups and other generations. The ultimate goal is intergenerational integration (I-I), and we offer suggestions on how the challenges of ageing populations can be addressed and how “all-age communities” can be developed in the future. The model developed in this study using the co-creation design methodology, including the stages of concept development, evaluation, prototype iteration, and practice implementation, can promote I-I in communities and the innovation activities of intergenerational groups.
... 'Responsiveness' would enable timely and creative seizing of new opportunities and synergies, such as the Nature Based Solutions and agroecological approaches described above. Finally, 'strategic support' would ensure that processes and contracts are suitable for different scales and allow for more fluid, nimble local organizational structures (White and van Koten, 2016). ...
Conflicts between agriculture and biodiversity conservation in Europe are increasing, due to multiple demands from agricultural ecosystems, including a growing need for high quality and good-value agricultural products, as well as the provision of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Currents trends such as globalization, European policies, and global change, such as climate change and nitrogen atmospheric deposition are potentially driving the emergence or evolution of biodiversity conflicts in Europe. These trends are interwoven with continuing debates around land-sparing and land-sharing, that often lead to conflicting perspectives and social dynamics that influence how local actors interact with each other over agriculture. Whilst some strategies have been put in place to address the potential competition between agriculture and biodiversity, such as reglementary and market-based mechanisms, and non-monetary voluntary approaches, these need to be reflected upon and improved for a future agriculture where the negative impacts of conflicts are minimized. This paper provides a comprehensive update on the current and future trends and evaluates current strategies, to highlight the importance of addressing conflict not only through technical fixes but by developing approaches that involve profound changes in agricultural systems and a shift in how people collaborate, perceive conflict and address it. We propose three emerging pathways—agroecology, a shift to partnerships, and conflict transformation—that would support a positive change for the future of biodiversity conflicts in agriculture.
... This claim is also justified by earlier studies like Töbelmann and Wendler (2020), who indicated that ecological innovations play their role in lowering carbon dioxide emissions, specifically for the European economies. White and van Koten (2016) have also provided justification for socio-ecological innovation in reducing carbon emissions. Furthermore, the findings under long-run estimation also confirm a significant and negative role of ERT in reducing carbon emissions. ...
Environmental degradation is significantly studied both in the past and the current literature; however, steps towards reducing the environmental pollution in carbon emission and haze pollution like PM2.5 are not under rational attention. This study tries to cover this gap while considering the carbon emission and PM2.5 through observing the role of renewable energy, non-renewable energy, environmental taxes, and ecological innovation for the top Asian economies from 1990 to 2017. For analysis purposes, this research considers cross-sectional dependence analysis, unit root test with and without structural break (Pesaran, 2007), slope heterogeneity analysis, Westerlund and Edgerton (2008) panel cointegration analysis, Banerjee and Carrion-i-Silvestre (2017) cointegration analysis, long-short run CS-ARDL results, as well as AMG and CCEMG for robustness check. The empirical evidence in both the short-and long-run has confirmed the negative and significant effect of renewable energy sources, ecological innovation, and environmental taxes on carbon emissions and PM2.5. Whereas, non-renewable energy sources are causing environmental degradation in the targeted economies. Finally, various policy implications related to carbon emission and haze pollution like PM2.5 are also provided to control their harmful effect on the natural environment.
... Social: e.g., Irwin et al. 2015;Penin et al. 2016;White and van Koten 2016 Political: e.g., Bofylatos and Spyrou 2016;Penin et al. 2016 Management: e.g., Tonkinwise 2015 ...
The main aim of this thesis is to examine wicked problems (WPs) as service design challenges. There is an ongoing debate in the field about designers’ tendency to oversimplify WPs or complexities. Along with this is another question about the tools, methods and strategies for dealing with these problems as design tools and methods were created for relatively simple problems. According to some authors, WPs should be tamed with the tools designed for them, otherwise the process can be painful. Parallel to this, there seems to be lack of knowledge about WP theory within the design field.
Three sub-studies will answer different questions raised by the research gaps and problematisation exposed in the service design and design fields. Sub- study I seeks to fill the research gap of WPs in the service design field through a systematic literature review and by exploring how the two areas relate and what the role of service design in WPs is. Through a desktop literature review, sub-study II investigates the existing tools and strategies to deal with such problems and how service design can benefit from these tools and strategies. Sub-study III applies one of the selected tools (Mess MapTM) in a participatory action research case study by investigating the tool’s advantages and disadvantages in the service design context.
The three sub-studies further clarify the relationship to and role of service design in WPs. The sub-studies point to the research gaps and aim to fill them by providing not only theory, but also practice. The main contribution is the “Iceberg Model of Design Problems” from sub-study I, which was created to aid service designers and those from other design fields related to WPs, such as Transition Design, social design and design for sustainability, in comprehending different levels of complexities. The study also recognises how the borders between disciplines are becoming blurred. This model will aid in approaching each problem level with tools designed for them and help designers embrace the correct mindset or approach. The studies indicate that a collaborative strategy is a key element in dealing with WPs. This thesis argues that moving towards a worldview of complexities within an interpretive (constructivist) paradigm can be essential in dealing with wicked and more complex problems.
The thesis aims to stimulate change in how WPs are approached in the service design field in order to better embrace WPs. It also questions the current funding instruments for research because WPs require more extensive development, possibly lasting for decades, and thus can be difficult to handle simply as research projects. WP development in service design also needs long- term policy-making and collaborative strategies. Finally, the study continues the current academic conversation about how we need to give new students the capacities needed to tackle WPs in the design field.
... In the wicked problem setting, the designer or service designer has the role of a facilitator in an often complex stakeholder management context with collaborative approaches (e.g. Sepers, 2017;Prendiville, 2018;White and Koten, 2016). It is essential to bring holistic views to treat the issue from different perspectives (Sepers, 2017). ...
There is a challenge in identifying problems in common to tackle them creatively and jointly in Mobility as a Service (MaaS) development. This all requires collaboration and commitment, which is a wicked problem and a novel perspective in transportation and MaaS development. Mess Map™ is a tool to aid in creating shared understanding in cross-border mobility in the Barents region. Mess Map™ is a giant map that aims to map the whole complexity through a dialogue among the relevant stakeholders involved. In this case study, there were five transportation and MaaS projects besides other relevant stakeholders involved. The meetings were facilitated and run from a service design perspective that has a co-creational and holistic aim. The objective was to understand how the tool can be used in a service design process and how it can help the stakeholders to engage and find common goals.
... Sustainability science acknowledges the interconnectivity between humans, their resources and the planet, making it therefore a particularly suitable domain in which to undertake action research. [7][8][9] Action research is based on the 'realist tradition' , adopting the view that people are agents 'acting intentionally in accordance with socially grounded rules and conventions to realise projects' . 10 This philosophical framework places the participants at the centre of decision-making. ...
Introduction
For dental practices to become more environmentally sustainable, the full co-operation of all practice staff can lead to greater engagement with proposed initiatives. Action research is a participatory approach to change that involves participants in the decisions that affect them.
Aim
The aim of this study was to collaboratively develop interventions to improve environmental sustainability at one dental practice.
Methods
This was a mixed methods study following an action research process for intervention design. The study was set in a mixed NHS/private dental practice in England, UK.
Results
Participants engaged in the process and were able to choose the measures they wished to implement. Feedback showed that whilst some measures had been discarded, others had led to changes both in professional and personal behaviour.
Conclusion
Action research offers an innovative and constructive method of engaging participants in developing their own sustainability strategies and can encourage positive change.
... An additional novel contribution of our study to innovation studies is the focus on an environmental issue: tree health. We therefore have to consider not only the social and cultural context but also ecological complexity (White & van Koten 2016). ...
Technological innovations demand interactions across academics, end-users and commercial stakeholders if they are to be ‘fit for purpose’. Stakeholder engagement can enhance the efficacy of new biosecurity technologies, increase buy-in as well as uptake and build relationships to increase ‘preparedness’. We explore the role of stakeholder engagement and social learning through a research project developing five novel detection technologies. Our aims were to underpin the technological development, facilitate stakeholder engagement and investigate the role of engagement in enabling socio-technological innovation. Targeted, time-sensitive stakeholder engagement is preferred, and this will vary depending on the TRL, whilst the more diffuse benefits of broader social learning remain difficult to defend. However, it was concluded that collaborative approaches are still critical in stimulating effective technology development.
... Public participation is still understood to span different forms of participation from communication with stakeholders (including general communication with the wider public or specific sectors of the public) to meaningful input by stakeholders (often specific groups) (Rowe and Frewer, 2000). More recently, we have seen diverse forms of empowering participation promoted, such as collaboration (Davies and White, 2012), co-design (White and van Koten, 2016) and partnership (Leach et al., 2002). Broadly, whilst more intense forms of participation may deliver greater empowerment and benefits (Reed, 2008), they are also resource intensive in terms of time and resources (human, institutional and financial) (Kapoor, 2001), both by facilitators and participants. ...
Tree health is a major concern for forest managers as well as others who enjoy the benefits of trees, woods and forests. We know that stakeholder engagement can help define what people find important about forests and woodlands, assist in the development of better management approaches, enhance buy-in of strategies proposed and create a stronger democratic dialogue. However, tree health offers particular challenges for stakeholder engagement because of the wide range of stakeholders potentially involved and budget tightening under economic austerity. Stakeholders are present at different spatial scales (local, place specific; regional; national and international) and need to be engaged cyclically and over different temporal scales, sometimes in immediate decision making but also in planning over longer timescales, for which decisions have implications for woodlands in the long term future. Hence, we need to know not only with whom we could engage, but also with whom we must engage. Our research questions are: with whom, why and how should we engage across spatial, temporal and governance scales and with limited resources to achieve philosophical and practical goals regarding tree health? How do we prioritise engagement efforts to obtain 'best value'? We undertook two tree health projects, both using and investigating the concept of 'stakeholder engagement' in the UK: (1) exploring the concept of resilience with tree health stakeholders; (2) exploring how stakeholder engagement could enhance technology development for the early detection of tree pests and pathogens. We carried out interviews and experiential interactive activities and ran workshops and collaborative field trips with a range of stakeholders. We found that mapping stakeholders identified a complex network of hybrid individuals and roles overlaid on a projectscape that spanned multiple research and practice initiatives. It was clear that as well as undertaking discrete engagement activities, it was important to develop ongoing collaborative conversations, facilitated through networks and alliances. Stakeholder engagement was more effective when interactive, innovative or experiential means were employed. There was a tension between recognition of the value of communication and the time and resources required for engagement. Whilst the state is attempting to devolve responsibility, structural constraints, resource restrictions and knowledge gaps are limiting the capacity of others to fulfil these expectations. It was concluded that, despite economic austerity, investment is required to support relationships and networks, promoting normative and substantive forms of engagement and countering the audit culture, rather than focusing merely on instrumental, easily measurable, short term gains.
Science is essential for cities to understand and intervene on the increasing global risks. However, challenges in effectively utilizing scientific knowledge in decision-making processes limit cities' abilities to address these risks. This scoping review examines the development of science for urban policy, exploring the contextual factors, organizational structures, and mechanisms that facilitate or hinder the integration of science and policy. It investigates the challenges faced and the outcomes achieved. The findings reveal that science has gained influence in United Nations (UN) policy discourses related to sustainable development, and climate change and different disciplines have developed research on science for urban policy, leading to the expansion of international, regional, and national networks connecting science and policy. Boundary-spanning organizations and collaborative research initiatives with stakeholders have emerged, creating platforms for dialogue, knowledge sharing, and experimentation. However, cultural differences between the science and policy realms and power imbalances in research processes impede the effective utilization of scientific knowledge in decision-making. While efforts are being made to develop methods and tools for knowledge co-production, translation, and mobilization, more attention is needed to establish systemic science-for-policy organizational structures and address power imbalances in research processes that give rise to ethical challenges.
The current research investigates the role of public-private partnership investment (PPPI) and ecological innovation (ECO) along with economic growth on the environmental abatement (i.e., carbon dioxide emission, particulate matters 2.5) in the USA. Quantile autoregressive lagged (QARDL) method was employed during the study period of 1990–2015. The study findings confirm that under long-run estimation, GDP and PPPI are causing more environmental abatement in the form of CO2 emission and haze pollution like PM2.5. The factors like ecological innovation and GDP2 are playing their role towards lowering the CO2 emission and PM2.5 under different quantiles. Furthermore, it is observed that under short-run estimation, past values of the carbon emissions and PM2.5 have their significant and positive relationship with their current values. Besides, the findings through Wald test estimation confirm that parameter constancy of the speed of adjustment parameter is rejected at 1% significance level for the CO2 emission and haze pollution like PM2.5 in USA. Besides, present study also provides some policy implications.
In this chapter, the authors, dealing with an uncertain and complex context, defend that socio-ecological literacy is crucial for societal evolution since it contributes to changes in attitudes and behaviors, and, as a consequence, it promotes society transformation. This can be accomplished through Social Labs (SL), carefully designed and professionally facilitated, promoting genuine dialogue. These SL end up operating as privileged learning spaces contributing to socio-ecological literacy citizenship. Through evaluative interviews of the stakeholders involved in the SL created within the MARGov Project, the authors show how the SL created were able to bring to the table angry stakeholders and turn a negative discourse into a positive one, engaging the community in search of joint solutions. As reported by the participants, knowledge was expanded and new knowledge was built during the sessions showing that the multiplicity of learnings does contribute to the promotion of a more resilient and sustainable community, while increasing the socio-ecological literacy of the ones engaged.
This article reports on applied research and the aspiration to find ways to increase sustainable behavior through the application of game mechanics and playful solutions. One of the main questions investigated through the research activities was what would motivate people to adopt more sustainable behavior and sustainable consumption. To create a better understanding of the problem, researchers and students looked into the awareness and different perceptions of sustainability in a variety of cultural settings, with special focus on waste separation, energy, and water consumption. In addition to documenting the details about current sustainable behavior, additional questions included how and where people find out about sustainability concepts, and how these concepts are currently being taught.
This article examines and discusses the connection and the role of service design in the wicked problem
field. Many management theorists divide problems into three
categories, simple, complex and wicked. The latter is the
most difficult and requires specific methods and tools.
Systematic literature review was performed to see what the
relation and role of service design are in wicked problems. A
summarized list of the findings was made to uncover it. In
conclusion, the paper presents an ‘Iceberg Model of Design
Problems’ so that service designers can use proper tools
designed for each category and so as not to treat wicked
problems too simplistically.
It is the generally acknowledged by academics, business experts, and policy leaders that innovation is an essential driver of sustainability. This can be attributed to the urgent need for effective intervention and reforms by the government, business, and humanity as a whole toward sustainable development. This chapter conceptualizes the ongoing innovation literature in both the academic field and practitioners’ cases with the aim of providing a concise framework of four current innovation forms, namely, the traditional innovation, eco-innovation, social innovation, and the emerging sustainable innovation. This chapter offers a review of relevant literature and real examples focused on the core innovation-related topics and a range of suggestions for the potential advancement of sustainable innovation.
The attention for applying design-oriented approaches in public administration has increased significantly. Applying design is seen as a promising way to deal with wicked problems and create more responsive policies and services. We aim to contribute to the debate on the value of design for public administration and the development of the latter into a design science by conducting a systematic literature review into the empirical applications of design. We analyse the goals, processes and outcomes of 92 empirical studies. Based upon this we distil six design approaches,varying from traditional scientific and informational approaches to innovative, user-driven and thus more ‘inspirational’ approaches. The more traditional (science driven) approaches still dominate the field. The impact of these types of studies is correspondingly low. We argue that further developing and refining the whole range of design approaches can foster both the scientific rigour and the societal relevance of a design-oriented public administration.
This review discusses co-design as a type of collaborative research. It aims to explain the meaning, core concepts and historical roots that shape the landscape of co-design and its connections to knowledge development and research.
Abstract Only critical distancing let Godard value the premonitory potential of film, and at the same time, point out the incapacity to register the realness that it generated. The filmmaker has always believed that “film is prophetic, it predicts and announces things”, and that this condition corresponds to its essence as a record. Rancière in a lucid reading of Film History says that for Godard: “film is responsible for not filming fields in their time; great for filming them before their time and guilty for not knowing how to recognize them”. This article begins with these clear political propositions, as well as proposing some variations.
Members of the editorial board of Action Research responded to the question, `Why action research?' Based on their responses and the authors' own experiences as action researchers, this article examines common themes and commitments among action researchers as well as exploring areas of disagreement and important avenues for future exploration. We also use this opportunity to welcome readers of this new journal and to introduce them to members of the editorial board.
The paper explores the evolution of design thinking, emphasizing a shift from designing "things" (objects) to designing "Things" (socio-material assemblies). Rooted in Participatory Design, the paper outlines a collaborative design process involving diverse stakeholders to address societal issues. It examines challenges in extending design beyond specific projects, advocating for "infrastructuring"—a framework supporting continuous stakeholder engagement and adaptive design.
The authors draw on their experiences with Malmö Living Labs to demonstrate how open-ended, collaborative design can lead to socially innovative solutions. They argue for a democratic, inclusive design approach that accommodates diverse perspectives, especially in complex social contexts where there is no consensus or shared vision. The paper concludes that future-oriented design requires sustained engagement in "agonistic" public spaces, where conflicting interests can constructively coexist, offering a model for socially impactful design.
This article was submitted without an abstract, please refer to the full-text PDF file.
[Please email me - dan@danlockton.co.uk - for a PDF, until the open access embargo has expired]
Products and services explicitly intended to influence users' behaviour are increasingly being proposed to reduce environmental impact and for other areas of social benefit. Designing such interventions often involves adopting and adapting principles from other contexts where behaviour change has been studied. The 'design pattern' form, used in software engineering and HCI, and originally developed in architecture, offers benefits for this transposition process.
This article introduces the Design with Intent toolkit, an idea generation method using a design pattern form to help designers address sustainable behaviour problems. The article also reports on exploratory workshops in which participants used the toolkit to generate concepts for redesigning everyday products – kettles, curtains, printers and bathroom sinks/taps – to reduce the environmental impact of use. The concepts are discussed, along with observations of how the toolkit was used by participants, suggesting usability improvements to incorporate in future versions.
Designers have been moving increasingly closer to the future users of what they design and the next new thing in the changing landscape of design research has become co-designing with your users. But co-designing is actually not new at all, having taken distinctly different paths in the US and in Europe. The evolution in design research from a user-centred approach to co-designing is changing the roles of the designer, the researcher and the person formerly known as the ‘user’. The implications of this shift for the education of designers and researchers are enormous. The evolution in design research from a user-centred approach to co-designing is changing the landscape of design practice as well, creating new domains of collective creativity. It is hoped that this evolution will support a transformation toward more sustainable ways of living in the future.
Sustainable design takes into account environmental, economic and social impacts enacted throughout the product lifecycle. Design for Sustainable Behaviour (DfSB) is an emerging activity under the banner of sustainable design which aims to reduce products' environmental and social impact by moderating how users interact with them. This paper presents the results of research investigating the application of Design for Sustainable Behaviour in two product case studies, one examining social impacts of mobile phones and the other environmental impacts of household refrigerators. It analyses selected behaviour models from social-psychological theories and highlights the barriers to sustainable consumption. A model is developed to illustrate the factors stimulating changes in behaviour, and design intervention strategies are highlighted and their application within Design for Sustainable Behaviour discussed. The two case studies are used to illustrate how Design for Sustainable Behaviour could be applied to enable users to adopt more sustainable patterns of use. Conclusions are drawn as to the potential for designers to change use behaviour; the appropriateness and acceptability of the strategies presented; and the ethical considerations related to their selection.
This paper explores the adoption of a whole system approach to a more sustainable and innovative design. A case study methodology was utilised to gain improved understanding of whole system design and those factors that substantially influence its success. The paper presents a framework of those factors including the requirement for trans-disciplinary skills, the dynamics of a flattened hierarchy and the need to identify relationships between parts of the system to ultimately optimise the whole. Knowing the factors that influence the process of whole system design provides designers with the knowledge necessary to more effectively work within, manage and facilitate that process. This paper uses anecdotes taken from operational cases, across design contexts, to demonstrate those factors.Research highlights► Designers demonstrate less design fixation when they work with physical materials. ► Designers create better functioning designs when they work with physical materials. ► Groups design better than individuals, but only when physical materials are absent.
This paper introduces a Special Topic on social innovation in the governance of urban communities. It also seeks to widen the debate on the meaning of social innovation both in social science theory and as a tool for empirical research on socioeconomic development and governance at the local level. This debate is organised around ALMOLIN—i.e. alternative models for local innovation as utilised in the SINGOCOM (social innovation in governance in (local) communities) research. The first section explains the role of social innovation in neighbourhood development and how it is best addressed from theoretical, historical and experience-oriented viewpoints. The second section provides a survey of the definitions of social innovation in a variety of social science fields, while the third section mobilises various strands of literature that will be of use for the analytical refinement of ALMOLIN. Section four illustrates how ALMOLIN is used as an analytical tool for empirical research. The final section shows some avenues for future research on social innovation.
The term ‘social innovation’ has come into common parlance in recent years. Some analysts consider social innovation no more than a buzz word or passing fad that is too vague to be usefully applied to academic scholarship. Some social scientists, however, see significant value in the concept of social innovation because it identifies a critical type of innovation. In this paper, we suggest one possible definition of social innovation and show that when its empirical meaning is distilled, the term is of great importance. We distinguish social innovation from business innovation, and identify a subset of social innovations that requires government support.
In a world of continued and expanding empire, does sociocultural anthropology in itself offer grounds for moral and social criticism? One line in anthropological thought leads to cultural relativism and an awareness that a cloud of alternative possibilites surrounds any moral code. However, a second line, based in reflection on fieldwork and on the professional ethics arising with it, does suggest some basic moral aesthetic standards, including trust, mutual forbearance, and acceptance of others' worth. Moreover, a third line, that investigating the sources of social change and cultural metamorphosis, suggests that moral agency-cum-patiencydoing-and-being-done-to in the web of social relationsis a basic category of human thought and existence and that moral rhetorical persuasion of agents-cum-patients is likewise a constituent of all cultural arrangements. These reflections give sociocultural anthropologists support, based in the moral logic of the discipline itself and in its understanding of the complexity of possibilities surrounding any moral judgment, for sceptical and therapeutic criticism of rhetoric exercised in pursuit of empire. This argument is illustrated through an analysis of American political rhetoric supporting the invasion of Iraq.
Sustainable development is notoriously difficult to grasp for students and professionals. Multidimensional, encompassing social, ecological and economic theories, policies and practice, it can be a maze of complexity and contradiction.This powerful new textbook, by a topic instructor in the field, is the first to unravel sustainable development and provide readers with the deep understanding so often missing in other texts. The book adopts a multi-perspective approach designed specifically to allow access to the topic from a wide range of educational and professional backgrounds and to develop understanding of a diversity of approaches and traditions at different levels. It features multiple entry points, explains jargon and explores controversies. Also offering boxed examples from the local to the global, Understanding Sustainable Development is the most complete guide to the subject for course leaders, students and self-learners.
This paper presents a study on sustainable product relationships with an eye on textiles and clothing. A framework is constructed which integrates sustainable product relationships and the field and role of design. As a result, it studies how an empathic design approach could improve
a sustainable design process. In order to promote sustainability, designers need to aim at enhancing long-term product relationships. By studying the user's relationships with and attachments to products, designers have the opportunity to create deeper product satisfaction and thereby long-term
product relationships. This paper concludes by evaluating how an empathic approach can be of primary importance in promoting sustainable product relationships by deepening current methods of understanding consumers' needs, values and emotions.
This is a discussion paper on design and sustainability. It does this by presenting empirical, though entirely personal experiences of sustainable design. The intention is not to present a definitive theory or model of sustainable design but instead to stimulate discussion among its community – which in turn may inform its theory and with luck the resultant methods too. Much has been written about the theoretical fields of ecodesign and sustainable design and myriad methods, tools and approaches have emerged for its practice. Throughout this time the author, and perhaps many other designers, have been left with an uneasy feeling that something is not quite right. Somehow theory and practice of this eco- and sustainable design have largely missed what we know, feel and do as designers. Readers may find themselves asking where is the ‘design’ in eco- or sustainable design? Some of these questions, issues and dilemmas will be discussed in this paper from a designer’s personal perspective. It looks at some of the unique characteristics of this ‘designed sustainability’, paying particular attention to how current sustainable design theory reflects its practice in companies. In doing so it will explore and question some of the myths and realities of the subject. Readers are invited to feedback and comment on the thesis presented – as well as on similar or different experiences.
Major business trends such as deregulation, globalization, technological convergence, and the rapid evolution of the Internet have transformed the roles that companies play in their dealings with other companies. Business practitioners and scholars talk about alliances, networks, and collaboration among companies. But managers and researchers have largely ignored the agent that is most dramatically transforming the industrial system as we know it: the consumer. In a market in which technology enabled consumers can now engage themselves in an active dialogue with manufacturers-a dialogue that customers can control - companies have to recognize that the customer is becoming a partner in creating value. In this article, authors C.K. Prahalad and Venkatram Ramaswamy demonstrate how the shifting role of the consumer affects the notion of it company's core competencies. Where previously, businesses learned to draw on the competencies and resources of their business partners and suppliers to compete effectively, they must now include consumers as part of the extended enterprise, the authors say. Harnessing those customer competencies won't be easy. At a minimum, managers must come to grips with four fundamental realities in co-opting customer competence: they have to engage their customers in an active, explicit, and ongoing dialogue; mobilize communities of customers; manage customer diversity; and engage customers in cocreating personalized experiences. Companies will also need to revise some of the traditional mechanisms of the marketplace - pricing and billing systems, for instance-to account for their customers' new role.
Over the past hundred years, even when driven by the most positive intentions, designers have been active promoters of the
ideas of wellbeing and ways of living that we have recently and dramatically discovered to be unsustainable. That is, designers
have mainly been part of the (social and economical) problem that we now have to face. Moving from here to become part of
the solution, to become active agents in the transition towards sustainable ways of living, designers must make a profound
change in their culture and praxis. New conceptual and methodological tools need to be developed. New ideas, solutions and
general visions need to be conceived. And an effort must be made to play a positive role in the social discourse on how to
imagine and build a sustainable future.
Is more economic growth the solution? Will it deliver prosperity and well-being for a global population projected to reach nine billion? In this explosive book, Tim Jackson a top sustainability adviser to the UK government makes a compelling case against continued economic growth in developed nations. No one denies that development is essential for poorer nations. But in the advanced economies there is mounting evidence that ever-increasing consumption adds little to human happiness and may even impede it. More urgently, it is now clear that the ecosystems that sustain our economies are collapsing under the impacts of rising consumption. Unless we can radically lower the environmental impact of economic activity and there is no evidence to suggest that we can we will have to devise a path to prosperity that does not rely on continued growth. Economic heresy? Or an opportunity to improve the sources of well-being, creativity and lasting prosperity that lie outside the realm of the market? Tim Jackson provides a credible vision of how human society can flourish within the ecological limits of a finite planet. Fulfilling this vision is simply the most urgent task of our times. This book is a substantially revised and updated version of Jackson's controversial study for the Sustainable Development Commission, an advisory body to the UK Government. The study rapidly became the most downloaded report in the Commission's nine year history when it was launched earlier this year. In 2017, PWG was published in a second, substantially revised and re-written edition that updates the arguments and considerably expands upon them. https://www.cusp.ac.uk/pwg/
In the last few years, “Design Thinking” has gained popularity – it is now seen as an exciting new paradigm for dealing with problems in sectors as far a field as IT, Business, Education and Medicine. This potential success challenges the design research community to provide unambiguous answers to two key questions: “What is the core of Design Thinking?” and “What could it bring to practitioners and organisations in other fields?”. We sketch a partial answer by considering the fundamental reasoning pattern behind design, and then looking at the core design practices of framing and frame creation. The paper ends with an exploration of the way in which these core design practices can be adopted for organisational problem solving and innovation.Highlights► Analysing design reasoning in terms of abduction. ► Presenting a framework for the description of design practices. ► Investigating the creation of new frames as a key design practice. ► Describing the different levels on which design (framing) practices can impact organisations.
The search for scientific bases for confronting problems of social policy is bound to fail, becuase of the nature of these problems. They are wicked problems, whereas science has developed to deal with tame problems. Policy problems cannot be definitively described. Moreover, in a pluralistic society there is nothing like the undisputable public good; there is no objective definition of equity; policies that respond to social problems cannot be meaningfully correct or false; and it makes no sense to talk about optimal solutions to social problems unless severe qualifications are imposed first. Even worse, there are no solutions in the sense of definitive and objective answers.
This article elucidates the emerging principles required for the design of task-oriented mesocosms. Twelve key factors are discussed including mineral diversity, nutrient reservoirs, steep gradients, high exchange rates, periodic and random pulses, cellular design and mesocosm structure, subecosystems, microbial communities, photosynthetic bases, animal diversity, biological exchanges beyond the mesocosm, and mesocosm/macrocosm relationships. The fields of ecological design and engineering are developing efficient living technologies for environmental repair, waste treatment, food production and infra-structure integration.A living machine for the treatment of sewage and the production of fish and horticultural products, operational since 1989, produces high quality water irrespective of season or input variation. BOD5, COD, TSS, nitrification, phosphorus uptake, metals sequestering and coliform reduction data depict a robust, self-organizing technology capable of handling the mixed waste stream of a New England industrial city.
With radical and innovative design solutions, everyone could be living in buildings and settlements that are more like gardens than cargo containers, and that purify air and water, generate energy, treat sewage and produce food - at lower cost. Birkeland introduces systems design thinking that cuts across academic and professional boundaries and the divide between social and physical sciences to move towards a transdiciplinary approach to environmental and social problem-solving.;This sourcebook is useful for teaching, as each topic within the field of environmental management and social change has pairs of short readings providing diverse perspectives to compare, contrast and debate.
Contents:
Section 1 Designing Eco-solutions: 1.1 Education for Eco-innovation • 1.2 The Centrality of Design • 1.3 Green Philosophy • 1.4 Responsible Design Section 2 The Concepts of Growth and Waste: 2.1 Limits to Growth and Design of Settlements • 2.2 Redefining Progress • 2.3 Designing Waste • 2.4 Designing for Durability Section. Part 3 Industrial, Urban and Construction Ecology • 3.1 Industrial Ecology 3.2 Urban Ecology • 3.3 Construction Ecology • 3.4 Pollution Prevention by Design. Section 4 Design within Complex Social Systems: 4.1 Complexity and the Urban Environment • 4.2 Unified Human Community Ecology • 4.3 The Bionic Method in Industrial Design • 4.4 Green Theory in the Construction Fields. Section 5 Permaculture and Landscape Design: 5.1 Permaculture and Design Education • 5.2 The Sustainable Landscape • 5.3 Place, Community Values and Planning • 5.4 Playgardens and Community Development. Section 6 Values Embodied in and Reinforced by Design: 6.1 Urban Forms and the Dominant Paradigm • 6.2 Models of Ecological Housing • 6.3 Marketing-led Design • 6.4 Gender and Product Semantics. Section 7 Design for Community Building and Health: 7.1 ESD and 'Sense of Community' • 7.2 Sustainability and Aboriginal Housing • 7.3 Indoor Air Quality in Housing • 7.4 Beyond the Chemical Barrier. Section 8 Productivity, Land and Transport Efficiency: 8.1 Greening the Workplace • 8.2 Sustainable Personal Urban Transport • 8.3 From Sub-urbanism to Eco-cities • 8.4 Density, Environment and the City. Section 9 Design with Less Energy Materials and Waste: 9.1 Living Technologies • 9.2 Housing Wastewater Solutions • 9.3 Autonomous Servicing • 9.4 Timber Waste Minimisation by Design. Section 10 Low-impact Housing Design and Materials: 10.1 Earth Building • 10.2 Strawbale Construction • 10.3 Bamboo as a Building Resource • 10.4 Hemp Architecture. Section 11 Construction and Environmental Regulation • 11.1 Legislative Environmental Controls • 11.2 Economic Instruments • 11.3 Building Codes and Sustainability • 11.4 Assessing Building Materials. Section 12 Planning and Project Assessment: 12.1 Planning for Ecological Sustainability • 12.2 Bioregional Planning • 12.3 Environmental Management Tools • 12.4 Limits of Environmental Impact Assessment.
Using Evidence: How Research Can Inform the Public Sector
- S M Nutley
- I Walter
- H T O Davies
Social Innovation-What It Is, Why It Matters and How It Can Be Accelerated [internet] Oxford Said Business School Available at http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/ideas-impact/skoll/research/social-innovation-reports-resources/social-innovation-what-it-why-it-matters-how-it-can-be-accelerated
- G Mulgan
Design Thinking and Sustainability [internet]. Zumio Available at http://zumDesign-thinking-and-sustainability.pdf [accessed 10
- G Young
Social Learning” Buzz Masks Deeper Dimensions
- F Ganis
SMART Goals [Online]. Project Smart Available: http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/smart-goals.html
- D Haughey
‘Ready or not? Taking innovation in the public sector seriously.’ [internet]. Provocation 03. NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts)
- G Mulgan
‘Rediscovering social innovation.’ Stanford Social Innovation Review [internet], 7(Fall) Available at http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/rediscovering_social_innovation
- J A Phills
- K Deiglmeier
- D T Miller
Systems Thinking in the Public Sector: The Failure of the Reform Regime and a Manifesto for a Better Way
- J Seddon
- Nutley S. M.
‘Sustainability research: a novel mode of knowledge generation to explore alternative ways for people and planet The Sustainable University: Progress and prospects
- R M White
‘Participation The Development Dictionary: A Guide to Knowledge and Power
- M Rahnema
Report for work package R4 of the EU ALTERnet project
- R M White
- A Fischer
- H P Hansen
- R Varjoparu
- J Young
- M Adamescu
Provocation 03. NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts). Available at www.nesta.org.uk
- G Mulgan