Do We Need a Social Innovation Taxonomy?
As social innovation grows in popularity the inevitable questions about what we mean when we use the term crop
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Design Space in Public Health
If design is everywhere humans are and shapes our interactions in the built environment, which dictates how we interact with
Read moreEvaluation and Design For Changing Conditions
If we are serious about addressing the social, political, health and environmental challenges posed to us in this age of global complexity we need to launch from these start points into something more sophisticated that brings these areas further together. The cross training of designers and evaluators and innovators of all stripes is a next step. So, too, is building the scholarship and research base for this emergent field of inquiry and practice. Better theories, evidence and examples will make it easier for all of us to lift the many boats needed to traverse these seas.
Read more43 Steps to a Well-Prepared Design Strategist (via the design strategist)
I stumbled upon this list of “to-dos” and related resources aimed at preparing someone to serve as a design strategist.
Read moreBuilding Empathy and Other Odd Concepts
Empathy and compassion involve using your heart. Critical inquiry about empathy means using your brain to see the concept more clearly in terms of its purpose. Having the courage to put these into practice in a professional realm and the optimistic hope that we can do this to make things better for everyone is not just a fantasy, but a possibility. In doing so, we can make these real, important concepts more meaningful in a real sense, not in some marketing, feel-good speak that we have now. By being much more authentic, we’ll also help build the credibility of these methods and ideas beyond design and beyond health.
Read moreDesign and Science: An Opportunity for Knowledge Translation and Exchange??
Knowledge translation models, such as the widely cited one conceived of by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, are both process and outcome oriented; ideal for designers. KT is a designed process and the more it is approached through the lens of design thinking, the greater likelihood we’ll get a system that reflects its intentions better than what we currently have.
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