Academic design research often fails to contribute to design practice. This dissertation explores how design research collaborations can provide knowledge that design professionals will use in practice. The research shows that design professionals are not addressed as an important audience between the many audiences of collaborative research projects. The research provides insight in the learning process by design professionals in design research collaborations and it identifies opportunities for even more learning. It shows that design professionals can learn about more than designing, but also about application domains or project organization.
DOCUMENT
Collaborative research methods such as action research and engaged scholarship are seen as one way for research to impact practice. Scholars engaged in such research face several opportunities and challenges that often do not make into academic publications, and yet hold valuable insights. In this symposium, we will unpack the research journeys of academics who have been involved in projects with practitioners as knowledge partners. This symposium's objectives are twofold. First, we will showcase the diversity in research design across our panelists and discuss potential traps as researchers balance rigour with relevance. Second, we will discuss specific research strategies such as relational reflexivity and researcher vulnerability (Bjørkeng, Carlsen, & Rhodes, 2014) that push the frontiers of research methodologies.
DOCUMENT
Designers move more and more in the direction of Service Design, in which frequently a participatory or co-design approach is used to involve service providers in the design process. The designerprovider relationship in such Service Design processes differs in four aspects from traditional client-relationships: The relationship is 1) more dynamic and interactive, 2) based on collaboratively evolving ideas and ambitions, 3) focusing on the process of innovation, rather than on the outcome, and 4) frequently based on extrinsic motivation for innovation or on fuzzy starting points. Designers experience difficulties in persuading service providers of the importance of such a collaborative approach, while providers are not familiar with this kind of approach and their organizations are not ready for such a kind of collaboration. This paper positions designer-provider relationship in Service Design processes in literature and describes a research proposal for the development of an efficient and effective participatory design intervention that stimulates collaboration between designers and service providers.
DOCUMENT
Students in Higher Music Education (HME) are not facilitated to develop both their artistic and academic musical competences. Conservatoires (professional education, or ‘HBO’) traditionally foster the development of musical craftsmanship, while university musicology departments (academic education, or ‘WO’) promote broader perspectives on music’s place in society. All the while, music professionals are increasingly required to combine musical and scholarly knowledge. Indeed, musicianship is more than performance, and musicology more than reflection—a robust musical practice requires people who are versed in both domains. It’s time our education mirrors this blended profession. This proposal entails collaborative projects between a conservatory and a university in two cities where musical performance and musicology equally thrive: Amsterdam (Conservatory and University of Amsterdam) and Utrecht (HKU Utrechts Conservatorium and Utrecht University). Each project will pilot a joint program of study, combining existing modules with newly developed ones. The feasibility of joint degrees will be explored: a combined bachelor’s degree in Amsterdam; and a combined master’s degree in Utrecht. The full innovation process will be translated to a transferable infrastructural model. For 125 students it will fuse praxis-based musical knowledge and skills, practice-led research and academic training. Beyond this, the partners will also use the Comenius funds as a springboard for collaboration between the two cities to enrich their respective BA and MA programs. In the end, the programme will diversify the educational possibilities for students of music in the Netherlands, and thereby increase their professional opportunities in today’s job market.
Het Nederlands Openluchtmuseum (NOM) wil actief bijdragen aan een duurzame samenleving met zijn kennis van materialen, producten, diensten en culturele tradities die eeuwenlang functioneerden binnen circulaire gemeenschappen. Ondanks technologische vernieuwing en globalisering heeft het NOM de overtuiging dat deze historische kennis kan bijdragen aan duurzame producten voor de toekomst. Het NOM wil een structurele samenwerking met de creatieve sector om meetbare impact te realiseren binnen en buiten het museum voor de transitie naar een circulaire samenleving. Daarvoor wil het graag zijn collectie en kennis toegankelijk maken voor ontwerpers. Belangrijke praktijkvragen daarbij zijn: Welke rol kan het museum spelen i.s.m. ontwerpers? Hoe kan relevante kennis van het NOM toegankelijk en toepasbaar worden gemaakt voor ontwerpers? Hoe creëer je samen met ontwerpers de gewenste impact in de samenleving? Op basis hiervan is de onderzoeksvraag geformuleerd: Hoe kunnen maatschappelijke organisaties zoals het NOM relevante kennis en artefacten toegankelijk en toepasbaar maken voor ontwerpers t.b.v. meetbare impact voor een circulaire samenleving? Deze onderzoeksvraag is vertaald naar enkele sub-vragen over definities van duurzaamheid en circulariteit, de verwachte rollen van museum en ontwerpers, de gewenste structuur van samenwerking en over de rol van prototypen om de gewenste impact te realiseren. Naast het NOM als MKB, participeren in dit project twee creatieve ondernemers (1 MKB, 1 ZZP-er) die zijn geselecteerd op basis van hun specifieke ontwerpkwaliteiten, hun ervaringen in samenwerken met partners en hun kennis van circulair ontwerp. Samen met docent-onderzoekers en ontwerpstudenten van ArtEZ onderzoeken zij deze vragen. De belangrijkste projectresultaten zijn: prototypen, getest op gewenste maatschappelijke impact; een rapport dat beschrijft hoe het NOM kan samenwerken met de creatieve sector om bij te dragen aan ‘Nederland circulair’; en presentatie- en netwerkbijeenkomsten om kennis te delen en te bouwen aan het netwerk van stakeholders om beoogde impact te realiseren.
The Dutch Environmental Vision and Mobility Vision 2050 promote climate-neutral urban growth around public transport stations, envisioning them as vibrant hubs for mobility, community, and economy. However, redevelopment often increases construction, a major CO₂ contributor. Dutch practice-led projects like 'Carbon Based Urbanism', 'MooiNL - Practical guide to urban node development', and 'Paris Proof Stations' explore integrating spatial and environmental requirements through design. Design Professionals seek collaborative methods and tools to better understand how can carbon knowledge and skills be effectively integrated into station area development projects, in architecture and urban design approaches. Redeveloping mobility hubs requires multi-stakeholder negotiations involving city planners, developers, and railway managers. Designers act as facilitators of the process, enabling urban and decarbonization transitions. CARB-HUB explores how co-creation methods can help spatial design processes balance mobility, attractiveness, and carbon neutrality across multiple stakeholders. The key outputs are: 1- Serious Game for Co-Creation, which introduces an assessment method for evaluating the potential of station locations, referred to as the 4P value framework. 2-Design Toolkit for Decarbonization, featuring a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to guide sustainable development. 3- Research Bid for the DUT–Driving Urban Transitions Program, focusing on the 15-minute City Transition Pathway. 4- Collaborative Network dedicated to promoting a low-carbon design approach. The 4P value framework offers a comprehensive method for assessing the redevelopment potential of station areas, focusing on four key dimensions: People, which considers user experience and accessibility; Position, which examines the station's role within the broader transport network; Place-making, which looks at how well the station integrates into its surrounding urban environment; and Planet, which addresses decarbonization and climate adaptation. CARB-HUB uses real cases of Dutch stations in transition as testbeds. By translating abstract environmental goals into tangible spatial solutions, CARB-HUB enables scenario-based planning, engaging designers, policymakers, infrastructure managers, and environmental advocates.
