The role of design in complex social and environmental challenges

Back in 2017 the Point People (Jennie & I) met with the Design Council to talk about co-hosting some events that linked together systems change practice with design practice. Two years later, and with the arrival of their new Chief Design Officer, Cat Drew (and fellow point person), they’re happening.

The purpose of these events is to raise the profile and understanding of what design can bring to the complex and systemic nature of society’s biggest challenges. These challenges — the climate crisis, the power of big tech, ageing populations, in-work poverty, and the polarisation of society — are not ones that anyone can tackle alone, and not ones that all the current answers aligned together would successfully address. We need to design for whole new approaches, for transitions from old frames into new, and to take a more systemic approach.

The community of people working more systemically has grown over the last decade, often drawing on design practice as part of this work. And there are more designers looking to bring a systemic approach to their design practice. We’re a group of designers who were early to bring a more systemic approach to our work, recognising the limits of service design back in 2010 when we set up the Point People, and we’re now keen to do several things -

1. Further explore and articulate the particular role design can play in transitions and systems change work, revisiting, revising and evolving some of the tools and practices we’ve created over the last decade.
2. Support more designers to adopt and evolve the practices, and show designers the unique role they can play in addressing complex social challenges.
3. And make the case to commissioners and funders to adopt systemic, transitional and design-led approaches.

This first workshop will focus on the particular role design can play, and we aim to leave the session with a set of principles or standards that describe this.

We’ll also be running workshops and events for designers new to working in this field, funders, and commissioners.

If you’re a designer, and want to get involved, please get in touch.