DRS election

Design Research Society International Advisory Council Elections 2024

We are pleased to announce that nominations to stand for election to the International Advisory Council of the DRS, are now open.

The DRS seeks an additional ten design researchers to join the current DRS International Advisory Council and actively contribute to taking forward the mission of the Society in progressing the field of design research.

The benefits of serving on the International Advisory Council include:

• Influencing the field of Design Research;
• Being part of a leading network of design researchers;
• Access to financial support to progress initiatives;
• Eligibility to stand for a role on the Executive Board;
• Career development that enhances your CV;
• DRS Conference fee waiver.

We encourage DRS Members from all parts of the world to consider standing for election, particularly those with a vision about how design research should develop, and awareness of the Society’s ambitions.

We particularly welcome nominees from areas of the world which are underrepresented on the current International Advisory Council, including the UK, Asia and the US.

Standing for Election

To be eligible for election you must: 

• Be a full member of the DRS; 
• Be nominated by one other full member;
• Have institutional support.

To complete your nomination, you should submit a candidate statement (200 words), along with statements of institutional and DRS member support, that:

• Outlines your vision for the Society;
• Provides an overview of your design research experience;
• Explains how you would contribute to the DRS;
• Confirms your commitment to creating diverse, equitable and inclusive practices in design research.

Nominations must be sent to the DRS Administrator, Justin Sacks (admin@designresearchsociety.org) by 5pm (anywhere in the world) on Thursday 16th May 2024.

Voting will take place with registered members between 25th May to 8th June 2024. 
Election results will be announced early in June and confirmed at the Biennial General Meeting at the DRS2022 conference in Boston (24th June – 28rd June 2024). 

For more information about the IAC and how to apply, please visit this page.

Reference Documents

Rules of the Society and Transition Plan 2020-2028
Role of EB and IAC Chair IAC Member Role Description 
EB Member Role Description
Nomination Form

Goodbye and Hello: Thank You to the DRS Interim Council

The 2017 election process was organised online for the first time, leading to a threefold increase in the number of members taking part.

The new DRS council for 2017-2018 now looks like this:

Council

OTHER ELECTED MEMBERS:      

Dr Stella Boess (2017) TU Delft, the Netherlands

Prof Hua Dong (2017) Tongji University, China

Prof David Durling (2017) Coventry University, UK

Prof Martyn Evans (2017) Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

Dr Robert Harland (2017) Loughborough University

Dr Keelin Leahy (2016) Limerick University, Ireland

Dr Vicky Lofthouse (2017) Loughborough University, UK

Prof Nithikul Nimkulrat (2016) Estonian Academy of the Arts, Estonia

Prof Robin Roy (2016) The Open University, UK

Prof Michael Tovey (2016) Coventry University, UK

Dr Arno Verhoeven (2016) Edinburgh University, UK

Co-opted member:

Dr Rhoda Trimingham (2017) Loughborough University, UK

The Design Research Society is delighted to announce that Professor Rachel Cooper OBE has been named as its new President. Rachel is the Distinguished Professor of Design Management and Policy at Lancaster University. Professor Cooper’s research interests cover: design thinking; design management; design policy; and across all sectors of industry, a specific interest in design for wellbeing and socially responsible design. She has published extensively on these topics, including books 'Designing Sustainable Cities' and 'The Handbook of Wellbeing and the Environment'. She is also series editor of the Routledge series Design for Social Responsibility covering topics such as designing for sustainability, inclusivity, service design, sport, health, transport and policy. She was founding editor of The Design Journal and also founding President of the European Academy of Design.

On being appointed, Rachel said;

“I am extremely honoured to be the new DRS president. As the longest established learned society for the design research, DRS have been a constant force throughout my career, enabling me access to contemporary theory and practice in design research and  to work with colleagues across the world. As DRS enters into its next 50 years I look forward to supporting and promoting the purpose of DRS and design research in a global context that offer so many opportunities for this discipline to make a difference to our lives and our planet.”
 
Outgoing President Professor Nigel Cross commented;

“I have been a member of the Design Research Society for 50 years - from soon after its founding in 1966 - and I have been its President for the last 11 years. The society has never been in a stronger position than it is today, and on a truly international scale. I am delighted to have been associated with this growing success, which is due to the efforts of many people, but especially the active members of its Council in recent years. I have been honoured to be President, and I am very pleased to be handing over to Rachel Cooper as the new President. I wish the Society continued success."

The DRS is holding its annual elections for council members and council officers. 

Council members

The council is the main vehicle for running and developing the DRS.  Council members are experts in their area of research and they also undertake a variety of work for the DRS, for example in forming groups to steer the development of new activities.

Each year half of the members of the DRS council are elected to serve for two years and this year we have to elect 8 members.

We welcome people who have something to contribute across the whole remit of the Society’s activities, and this year we are also particularly interested in people joining us to take on an active role in the following areas:

\ Helping with our new online presence and communications strategy.

\ Representing the design research PhD community.

Council officers

These people take the main responsibility for running the DRS and in addition to the Secretary and the Treasurer, are responsible for membership, communications, events, SIGs and internationalisation. These roles are elected annually.

To stand for election you must be a paying member of DRS and you must be nominated by another member.  You will also need to provide a statement about yourself in the following format:

1\ Outline your experience in design research (max 250 words)

2\ Explain how you will actively contribute to the society (max 250 words).

The nomination form can be downloaded below.

Nominations must be sent by email to the Hon Secretary, Rebecca Cain at R.Cain.1@warwick.ac.uk  by 12 noon BST on Tuesday 2^nd May 2017. 

The election will then take place and the results announced at the DRS Annual General Meeting at Nottingham Trent University on 26^th May 2017.

If you are interested in becoming an elected council member and would like to know more, please contact the Chair of the DRS Council, Prof Tracy Bhamra at admin@designresearchsociety.org