‘Sustainable Transitions through Democratic Design’ (CoDesign4Transitions) is a four-year doctoral network (2024-28) that brings together eight universities in seven countries (Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain, UK) who will recruit and supervise a cohort of 13 transdisciplinary Doctoral Candidates (DCs). Also part of the project are 15 partners in business, government, and civil society organisations (CSOs) and one US university. The DCs carry out original research in relation to three research objectives, at the intersection of co-design, design for sustainability, service and systems design, democratic innovation and climate transitions. All DCs have two secondments in at least one host organisation, at least one of which is international. DCs are employed and trained for three years (36 months) within the four years. Training, supervision, and support for the DCs to deliver the research are delivered collaboratively across the network.
UAL hosts 2 DC projects:
Materialising policy options in spaces for experimentation and learning for climate transition (DC12)– This doctoral research aims 1) to integrate current theories and frameworks in studies of co-design, transitions design, political science and design for policy; 2) to produce, test and critically assess design artefacts, media and workshops to understand the potential for their deployment and use in local government-citizen engagements in the context of experimentation and learning towards climate transitions (practice research) and 3) to produce a conceptual framework to inform future use of creative design approaches in local government-citizen engagements for experimentation and learning towards climate transitions. The research expected results include 1) validated creative approaches in the context of climate transitions; 2) framework summarising capabilities for materialising policy options towards experimentation for climate solutions for local government.
Identifying leverage points and facilitating multi-level design experiments that enable just ecological transition (DC11): The doctoral research project aims to study and integrate particular approaches and practices from ‘transition studies’ and ‘design for sustainability’ best suited to enable a just ecological transition. An important outcome will be a conceptual framework that articulates set of key approaches, theories and tools relevant to ‘transition design’, evidenced through concrete cases. Analyzed case studies will be a basis for evidencing relevant approaches within actual transition processes as well as for identifying gaps and future opportunities. In addition, particular transition design methods and tools will be developed and advanced. Thus, cumulatively, the purpose of this research is to provide a set of conceptual and practical ‘heuristics’ that advance knowledge across multiple academic disciplines and that is relevant to practitioners in consultancies, governmental and third sector organizations. This DC will, together with several other DCs, contribute to a higher-level objective of understanding the application and adoption of design, transition and public participation practices that facilitate organisational change at different scales.
Date:
2022
Funder:
European Union
Project Leads:
Prof Marzia Mortati (POLIMI)
Prof Lucy Kimbell (UAL)
Team:
Prof Ramia Mazé
Dr Lara Salinas
Prof Adam Thorpe
Dr Niki Wallace
Tessa Laven (DC11)
Shilpi Rath (DC12)
Partners:
Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI), Italy
Aalborg Universitet (AAU), Denmark
SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities (SWPS), Poland
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium
Syddansk Universitet (SDU), Denmark
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Spain sl (RMIT-EU), Spain
Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (MOME), Hungary
Erasmus University (DRIFT), Netherlands
Climate-KIC Holding B.V. (Climate-KIC), Netherlands
Stiftlisen Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Sweden
Democratic Society Asbl (DemSoc), Belgium
Lisbon Council Asbl (LC), Belgium
Stichting Chora Foundation (CHORA), Netherlands
London Borough of Camden (LBC), United Kingdom
London Borough of Southwark (LBS), United Kingdom
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), United States
The Council of the City of Warsaw (CCW), Poland
Fundacio Privada Elisava Escola Universitaria (ELISAVA), Spain
Holon sccl (HOLON), Spain
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT-UNI), Australia
Dansk Design Centre (DDC), Denmark
Ernst&Young Seren (EY Seren), London
Acknowledgements
The network includes six leading universities who will together employ 10 doctoral candidates funded by the EC (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions) and 3 doctoral candidates funded by national governments (including those funded by UKRI at UAL).
About the network: https://codesign4transitions.eu/
Service Futures Lab 