DESIS UK: Case studies

Present your project in the following slides using this template. Follow the instructions on each slide: -Insert images minimum 1024x756 pix. - Fill in the text box respecting type, size and maximum length. (you can take a look at the samples in the same attachment)

Green CamdenCo Designing Shared Assets & Public and Collaborative Services to Reduce Carbon Emissions in London Borough of Camden

more on: http://desisgreencamden.jimdo.com

HEI: Central Saint Martins College of Arts and DesignCourse(s)/Research body: Socially Responsive Design and Innovation Research Hub; MA Applied ImaginationMain Partners: Camden Council; Green Camden Network, Transition Dartmouth ParkFunders: Courses and Research HubPlace: London borough of Camden

Keywords: Urban Green, Neighbourhoods, Carbon reduction

The context (situation/ problem):

In January 2012, Camden Council approached our research team to explore the possibility of a practice based research project focusing on assisting the Council’s Green Camden initiative in changing the behaviors of those who live and work within London Borough of Camden so as to reduce carbon emissions.The project has 5 overarching aims: reduce residents carbon emissions; adapt to a changing climate; reduce, reuse and recycle perhaps linked to collaborative consumption/shared assets; improve air quality; improve biodiversity in the Camden locality.

Click on the icon below to insert one or

more images showing the project…(of people, objects and places)

Add text below to summarise the starting concept and strategy, how did the

project develop? what were some of the key outputs and outcomes?

The Project Response:

The project aimed to engage students and Camden residents in the co-creation of new product service systems that could be implemented by residents and other social actors to facilitate and promote sustainable behaviours. Also, to engage students in co-design activity with residents to improve services that were already being implemented by residents to facilitate and promote sustainable behaviours.Staff and students developed relationships with Camden residents and worked with them to collaboratively apply service design methods to identify opportunities for design interventions. They then worked together to co-create product service propositions aimed at reducing carbon emission.A series of prototype objects and service blueprints were delivered and made available to the Camden residents for implementation.

Actor Profile: Transition Dartmouth Park: Highgate Newtown community centre

Motivations for involvement (agendas): Shared aim of promoting more sustainable ways of living in the Dartmouth Park area of Camden. Specifically interested in local food growing. Wanted increased use of community garden; increased community engagement within the garden and community centre and spread of local food growing to other locations.

Contribution to the project (assets): Place, time, people, knowledge, skills and some tools. Site for design intervention; participation in co- design processes; knowledge of the local context, experience and expertise of using the site and promoting its use to others, insight into perceived barriers to current use of the community garden, knowledge of local networks and actors

The project outcomes for this actor: A more effective means of communication between local actors including the community centre and gardens users. Increased community interaction.

Actor profile: Camden Council Sustainability Team

Motivations for involvement: HE staff and students represent resource to help deliver ‘Green Camden’ a Council initiative to engage residents in behaviour change to reduced carbon emissions. Access to design skills. Additional community engagement at no extra cost.

Contributions to the project: Introductions to community groups participating in the council scheme. Briefing students on sustainable behaviours. Sharing knowledge of what works and what doesn’t. introduction to network of actors who may be of use to the project.

Project outcomes for this actor: Public and collaborative service blueprints (services to help promote sustainable behaviours delivered by communities for communities), Publicity through exhibition and showcase of the student/ participants response.

Actor profile: MA Applied Imagination CSM

Motivations for involvement: Fulfil course requirements. Exposure to and experience of co-design processes.

Contributions to the project: Co-ordinated the design process and co-delivered responses

Project outcomes for this actor: Design work, exhibition, experience of participatory design process, collaborative engagement and consultation. Experience and learning relating to participatory design and service design approaches to design led social innovation for sustainability.

The process was collaborative and iterative involving students and residents in the co-definition of design briefs and the co-development of design outputs – products prototypes and service blueprints

Methods used:

A co-design approach was used in the research and development stages; methods included stakeholder mapping; asset mapping; agenda mapping; journey mapping. data visualisation was used in the research/scoping stages of the project to help communication with diverse actors. paper prototyping and desktop walkthroughs were used to understand how services would work see: servicedesigntools.com

Design(ers) role:

In the process of co-design designers acted as ‘facilitators’ using their design skills to help other actors to articulate and share their experiences and identify their assets and needs particularly in the research stages of their projects. On other occasions designers (and designs) acted as ‘triggers’ by making prototypes or propositions that challenged actors to do things differently and opened up new possibilities for action by actors. Visualisation and realisation of high quality designs that added value to the process of co-design for other actors and made their objectives easier to communicate, often buy responding to the designed iterations. Co-design of collaborative products and services.

Project output and impact: Key outputs of the project: A range of product prototypes, service blueprints and co-design tools that facilitate community engagement in the Green Camden agenda. e.g. facilitating reuse of plastic bags in local retail contexts, facilitating food growing from food packaging, facilitating collaborative visioning using newly designed narrative tools.

See: http://desisgreencamden.jimdo.com/responses/vimeo-student-responses-to-residents/

The impact of collaborative efforts of the 10 design projects that were undertaken within the Green Camden project is difficult to evaluate. However, the most notable feedback collected indicates that it is the social capital and innovative capacity that has been established by going through the co-design process that is most significant. We call this ‘slow prototyping and infrastructuring’.

Learning Outcomes:

Students: Received exposure to and experience of participatory design and service design methodologies beyond provision offered by their courses.

Courses: Attention was drawn to the difficulties in assessing design led social innovation responses (collaborative) within the existing curriculum and required deliverables (3d product orientated).

Successes and Shortcomings/ Barriers and Enablers The successes of the project: A collection of appropriate design responses. Community engagement and cohesion facilitated by the designers and design processes. A positive response from the council leading to a number of dissemination events about the project and the Green Camden initiative and future collaborative opportunities.

The key shortcomings of the project: Unrealistic expectation management, community participants felt that service blueprints and product prototypes should be taken forward beyond the scope of the student project.

Confused engagement in the project set up: The number of partners with a broad range of agendas meant that the project took longer to get off the ground than anticipated.

Perception of expertise: Community understanding of the capacity of designers. Work was needed to explain the designers role beyond the design and production of objects.

Appendix