This is a CTP of initiative: DESIS - ID+ DESIS Lab, Aveiro (Portugal)
An important member of the management body at the university recognized the value of design to promote social innovation.
This was considered an important CTP:
“there was a moment, and this was another critical turning point, when a pro-rector that was charged with promoting connections between social demands and the university, recognized that the project 'Action for age' (a previous project related to aging issues) was a valuable project and therefore introduced us to new partners, recognizing our value and fostering the development of new projects. The pro-rector began to say ‘design is very important here’ and ‘is also very important there’. This pro-rector was important as they created connections for new projects”.
Among these new projects, two were particularly key and were developed by Master’s students from the ID+ DESIS Lab in collaboration with a local institution called Fundação Edite Costa Matos, Mão Amiga. The pro-rector introduced the work of ID+ DESIS Lab to this institution which gave support for the development of these projects by paying the university fees for the two master’s students involved.
The two projects were developed in the territory of Sever do Vouga. The initial objective was to develop solutions and strategies to revert the trend of young people's migration from the Municipality to other cities, regions or countries. Based on the analysis of the territorial resources, a product-service system was developed in the first project. It was designed to support local tourism and local crafts. The process included a collaborative workshop with artisans to develop new products.
The second project was developed in the same territory, Sever do Vouga, and aimed to create awareness of the cultural values of this territory and to foster a “sense of belonging” in its young population. It used photography, sound and video, to promote new ways of seeing and interpreting the territory which were subsequently exhibited to the local community.
The methodology of the two Masters dissertations was action-research. They used a set of methodologies which pursued action,( in this case the two projects developed in Sever do Vouga) and research outcomes at the same time.
The importance of design activities to promote social innovation was recognized by an important member of the management body in the university of Aveiro. This pro-rector observed the work developed by the ID+ DESIS Lab in the project “Action for Age”.
This project was developed “to raise awareness amongst young Portuguese designers about the social transformations brought about by population ageing and to explore the contribution of the Design discipline in this framework”. “This pro-rector was related to gerontology, so the benefits and potential impacts of the project ‘Action for Age’ were fully understood (…) The pro-rector introduced us to the Fundação Edite Costa Matos, Mão Amiga which enabled the development of two Masters dissertations and related projects” .
The development of the two masters dissertations was possible due to the local involvementof the Sever do Vouga schools (that developed multimedia materials with students aged from 10 to 18) as well as the “Casa do Artesão” (House of the Artisan), a physical space in the Municipality that aims to foster the promotion and sale of craft products and the dissemination of popular knowledge.
2010 – Launch of the Action for Age competition . It is a national ideas based competition in which 22 Portuguese high schools and universities from across the country participated. This competition motivated the development of the project with design students from the university of Aveiro. The process ran from October 2010 – November 2011.
2011 – Exhibition of the “Action for Age” projects. There was national and international recognition of the ID+ activities on Design for Social Innovation following the institute’s participation in the “Action for Age” exhibition at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. The projects developed by students from the University of Aveiro were also included in the EXD'11 Biennale program, an international event dedicated to design. A documentary about the process was produced and exhibited at the events.
2013 – Conclusion of two Masters dissertations and related projects in the Municipality of Sever do Vouga. These dissertations and related projects were enabled by the contact established by the pro-rector of the University of Aveiro with the Fundação Edite Costa Matos, Mão Amiga. This institution gave support to the development of the one of the projects by paying the student’s university fees, which allowed him to develop the project.
There was no contestation from the university for the development of the project, and the Fundação Edite Costa Matos financed the students.
Regarding the first project (the development of the product-service system to promote tourism and crafts in Sever do Vouga): “Only the first part of the project was developed. It was produced during the development of the masters dissertation. After I finished the dissertation in 2013 nothing more was done”.
The project was considered successful however it was not developed any further. Priority was given to other projects. A probable cause was a controversy involving one of the products developed in the workshop with the artisans and local actors. A clear copyright agreement between the parties involved was not set up properly, which could have led to the dispute. The second project which aimed to rediscover the value of the territory through the use of photography, sound and video, was also developed during the masters dissertation which was concluded in 2013. It included the organization of the final event where the results were presented to the local community. There were promising ongoing conversations about the organization of a second version of the project in 2016.
The projects greatly contributed to the advance of design for social innovation practices. The pro-rector’s acknowledgement of the projects was understood as a critical turning point because it was the beginning of the design practices being recognized by other actors in the university who were also from different disciplinary backgrounds.
They recognised the benefits that fostering social innovation and being involved in social issues could bring: “One of the university's founding principles is its cooperation with society. The professors should work in teaching, research and outreach projects. The department (in which the design course is based) used to work in a traditional way, in relation with companies that apply design expertise to produce chairs and furniture, for example”.
However, based on the recognition of a new design approach in the “Action for Age” project “the pro-rector started to consider the possibilities for the design discipline to solve problems in social areas”.
ID+ DESIS Lab develop their projects with students, as many other DESIS Labs do.
Therefore, there is a challenge in terms of the continuity of the projects, when developed by students: “It is too early for undergraduate students to develop these projects (on design for social innovation). They don’t want to continue and undertake their projects (as was the case with the “Action for Age” project that was developed with undergraduate students)”. “We have other courses, focusing on the development of new enterprises, but it is rare for students to continue”.
The two projects described in this CTP involved Master`s students and both gave clear signs that they would like to continue and develop the projects further. One of them continued his work in the ID+ DESIS Lab as a volunteer: “we are still in initial phases, but the involvement of Master’s students seems promising”.
The two projects also confirmed that “design can get closer to the problems experienced locally”. It was also learned that the adopted approach which used design to face local problems, could be replicated:
“it is be possible to replicate these initiatives in other regions”.
The Master’s and related projects were developed using ethnographic inspired techniques, and a method of interviews in visual sociology called Photo-elicitation. During the next phases participatory design methodologies were used.
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