Prevention of non-communicable diseases through, among other factors, increasing vegetables and fruit (V&F) intake is a cost-effective strategy for risk reduction but requires behavioral change. Such changes in adolescents benefit from their active involvement. The Food Boost Challenge (FBC) was developed using a participatory action research approach to enhance healthy eating behaviors, namely V&F products among adolescents. The FBC is an innovation process, involving adolescents, (peer) researchers, and food system partners, like non-governmental and commercial organizations. In 2021–2022, 34 partners provided both cash and in-kind contributions to join the FBC community. Phase 1 involved 200 students identifying barriers and drivers for consumption of F&V products among 1000 pre-vocational adolescents, aged 12–20 years. In phase 2, student teams submitted innovative ideas, resulting in 25 concepts fitting into ≥1 of 4 routes: (I) innovative technology for a healthy diet, (II) new food products/concepts for adolescents, (III) hotspots improving the F&V product experience, and (IV) new routes to market. In phase 3, consortia of adolescents, students, and partners were formed to develop 10 selected concepts into prototypes, and phase 4 offered teams a national platform. Results show that the FBC resonates with all stakeholders, generating valuable insights to increase F&V intake. Prototypes in all four routes have been developed. Additionally, other regions in the Netherlands have adopted the FBC approach. Overall, the FBC is an approach that transforms ideas into actionable measures and shows potential to be adapted to promote various healthy eating behaviors among school students.
Our current smart society, where problems and frictions are smoothed out with smart, often invisible technology like AI and smart sensors, calls for designers who unravel and open the smart fabric. Societies are not malleable, and moreover, a smooth society without rough edges is neither desirable nor livable. In this paper we argue for designing friction to enhance a more nuanced debate of smart cities in which conflicting values are better expressed. Based on our experiences with the Moral Design Game, an adversarial design activity, we came to understand the value of creating tangible vessels to highlight conflict and dipartite feelings surrounding smart cities.
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In a rapidly evolving world, the need for innovative approaches to societal challenges is more critical than ever. As partners of the Network Applied Design Research (NADR), we believe that applied design research can be a promising approach for addressing complex issues in many domains, such as health-care, digital media, and urban sustainability. But what makes applied design research such a power-ful force for societal change? And how can designers move beyond mere problem-solving to create lasting impact? To discuss this, NADR applies an annual knowledge cycle where researchers submit contributions that are mutually reflected upon. The contributions you can read in these preceedings are the result of such a knowledge-sharing process. The twenty-one contributions are divided into four themes, each addressing a different dimension of the issue at hand. Contributions in part 1 – Connecting System Levels - emphasise the relationship between small-scale interventions and large-scale change. Contributions in part 2 - Theory of Change - examine how change processes actually take place. Contributions in part 3 - Balancing Different Worldviews - address the unique perspective that each stakeholder involved contributes. And contributions in part 4 - Beyond Solutionism - discuss whether it is at all possible to develop ready-made ‘solutions’ to the complex challenges we are facing.
