Call for Papers/Special Issue: 'Design contributions for the COVID-19 global emergency'

The 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic disease (COVID-19), appeared for the first time in Wuhan (Hubei Province, China) in late 2019 and rapidly spread in the rest of the world since the early months of 2020, has produced a significant and sadly dramatic impact in the life of all people. To date (April 22th, 2020), over 2.550.000 people have shown symptoms and over 175.000 died for health and respiratory problems. While the entire humanity feels dangerously powerless at the same time an unprecedented amount of initiatives across the world have shown human creativity and resilience. The entire scientific community is cohesive in facing this emergency and the severe health-related issues that have arisen in the last months. In this unparalleled scenario, the global Design community is called to act. And it is doing it! The new instances pointed out by the global emergencies allow reflecting to the ways the Design discipline can answer to unprecedented phenomena, with the will to foresee likely solutions in the long run from the lesson that we can learn in these months. At the same time, it is possible to immediately underline all bottom-up and top-down reactions that formally and informally are arising as conscious designed actions to solve the COVID-19 both at the small scales and at the large ones. There is a widespread perception that this worldwide crisis will change all aspects of our way of living and relating to each other. Governments, companies, NGOs, communities and individuals are already dedicating their time to reflect the future scenarios, devising solutions that can enable a transition to the new world that might come after the pandemic. Whilst contributing to the on-going challenges of the pandemic, the Design community can also contribute through its abductive reasoning, with propositions for new scenarios on the post-pandemic aftermath. The aim of this Special Issue of the Strategic Design Research Journal is to enrich the cultural and scientific debate by gathering and mapping all progresses produced in the COVID-19 emergency scenario and, then, to understand the role of the Design discipline in facing the complex global emergencies

The role of public policy in stimulating radical environmental impact reduction in the automotive sector: The need to focus on product-service system innovation

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 InderscienceProduct-service system (PSS) innovation is a promising approach to address sustainability challenges in the automotive industry. Starting form this assumption, this paper presents and discusses the potential contribution that policy measures can have in fostering the automotive sector in innovating on a PSS level. A set of policy instruments (general instruments and specific PSS-targeted ones) are presented and classified, underlining the effects they could produce at the company and environmental levels. In order to effectively support sustainable PSS diffusion in the automotive industry, the paper suggests the integration of general policy measures (such as internalisation of external costs, extended producer responsibility programmes and informative policies), with the PSS-targeted ones (such as Green Public Procurement focused on sustainable PSS, support of companies in acquiring information related to PSS, support of demonstrative pilot projects). In addition, the paper suggests the necessity to involve actively universities and research centres

System Design For Sustainable Energy For All. A new knowledge base and know-how developed within the LeNSes European and African project

This paper presents the results of the Learning Network on Sustainable Energy Systems (LeNSes) an African-European multi-polar network for curriculum development on Design for Sustainability (DfS) focused on Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) and Sustainable Product-Service Systems (S.PSS), i.e. System Design for Sustainable Energy for All (SD4SEA). The project has been funded by the European Union (EU) 2013-2016, Edulink Programme and involves four African and three European universities offering design-specific programmes of study. The results are articulated in knowledge-base and know-how outcomes. Regarding knowledge level the paper highlights the design role within the framework of the S.PSS applied to DRE and how they can be used to develop and implement sustainable energy solutions for all in the African, or more in general low and middle-income context. The discussion is supported by the presentation of projects shaped in the courses regarding sustainable energy product service systems involving for example cooking, mobility, lighting, and healthcare. The United Nations’ Global Action Agenda [1] highlights indeed action areas for the achievement of long-term sustainable development as Modern Cooking Appliances & Fuels, Distributed Electricity Solutions, Grid Infrastructure & Supply Efficiency, Large Scale Renewable Power, Industrial & Agricultural Processes, Transportation, Buildings & Appliances. From the know-how (design methods and support tools) point of view they consist in a new modular and adaptable package of learning resources focused on System Design for Sustainable Energy for All (SD4SEA); in pilot courses at African Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) targeted at undergraduate and graduate students, practitioners and companies; and in an open web platform for distributed production and transfer of learning resources (lectures, tools, case studies, student projects…) in this area

Design Contributions for the COVID-19 Global Emergency (Part 2): Methodological Reflections and Future Visions

This is a landmark publication for the field of design. It was catalysed by unprecedented circumstances, as designers around the world had to rapidly deploy their competencies in strategic problem-solving to help humanity in the fight against an invisible enemy during a global pandemic. In alliance with other disciplines, from medicine to mechanical engineering, from computing to anthropology, designers everywhere have addressed the challenges and produced remarkable results through a diversity of initiatives. This Special Issue presents a peer-reviewed sample of these initiatives

Product-Service System applied to Distributed Renewable Energy. A classification system, 15 archetypal models and a strategic design tool

Access to modern energy services represents a great challenge for about 1.4 billion people living in low-income and developing countries. In this paper we discuss the combination of Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) with Product-Service Systems (PSS), a particular type of value proposition that shifts the business focus from selling products to delivering performances. The application of PSS models to DRE is considered a promising approach to deliver sustainable energy solutions in low-income and developing countries. This research aims at filling the knowledge gap regarding the combination of these two models and in particular at proposing a new classification system for PSSs applied to DRE. In this paper we present the development of a comprehensive classification able to encompass all the most important dimensions characterising PSS applied to DRE and we identify 15 archetypal models of PSS applied to DRE. This new classification system and the related archetypal models have been tested and evaluated with companies and experts from Botswana and South Africa, showing their potential to support innovation in this field.The research that led to this paper is framed within the LeNSes project (Learning Network on Sustainable energy systems) funded by the European Commission (2013-2016, Edulink Programme)

New design challenges to widely implement 'Sustainable Product-Service Systems'

Sustainable Product-Service Systems (S.PSS) carry great potential to deliver social well-being and economic prosperity while operating within the limits of our planet. They can however be complex to design, test, implement and bring to the mainstream. To increase our understanding of the potential benefits, drivers and barriers in S.PSS design, the research community has been inspired to collect and analyse an extensive number of cases in diverse sectors and to develop and test several design methods and tools. This Special Volume on "New Design Challenges to Widely Implement 'Sustainable Product-Service Systems'" presents results of key studies in the following areas: user satisfaction and acceptance of S.PSS solutions, how industrial partnerships and stakeholder interactions can be designed for environmental and socio-ethical benefits, how knowledge of socio-technical change and transition management feeds S.PSS design processes, and the role of policy instruments to foster their implementation and scale-up. This Introduction reviews the current state of research and summarises the articles presented. The articles demonstrate increasing confidence in integrating approaches and theoretical frameworks from other arenas. These approaches include sociological practice theory, to shed new light on consumer practices in S.PSS configurations, and strategic niche management, to foster a suitable design and experimentation milieu. Experimentation, iteration and cyclical design processes were also seen by many authors as crucial to implementing and stabilising S.PSS solutions, but also their continuous sustainability evaluation. Several articles highlight the importance of local authorities, in developing S.PSS-enabling policies as well as supporting novel networks of stakeholders in the co-production of value. Finally this Introduction highlights key issues for a design research agenda, including but not limited to the development of new knowledge to support S.PSS designers (such as S.PSS design in low and middle-income contexts) and the role of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in the diffusion of knowledge and know-how to companies. Together, the papers in this special volume provide insight into the promise of the S.PSS concept for understanding, advancing and accelerating sustainability