Global Health SIG

DRS SIGs have been busy planning and hosting events, despite this unusual and rather chaotic academic year. There are lots of ways to engage with Global Health SIG (GHSIG), Pluriversal Design SIG (PluriSIG) and Design Pedagogy SIG (PedSIG) and participate in design research activities.

GHSIG has been developing a crowdsourced repository of COVID-19 Public Health messages and information set by official national, regional and international bodies. This will be a source of information that researchers, public health authorities and policy makers can access and forward to communities around the world. The team is also analysing the data for a multinational and multicultural visual and language communication analysis of COVID-19 public health messages. They've started the analysis and expect to develop guidelines and a white paper on best practices. You can view the repository here.

GHSIG also has a call for abstracts for a Little book on Global Health: Special Edition on COVID-19. They’re looking for proposals for short case studies on health and wellbeing—the deadline is coming soon on 15th October. The book will be published in 2021 and will also include outcomes from the GHSIG Conversation at  DRS2020.

As for PluriSIG, they’ve been running a bimonthly book club that reviewed and discussed Escobar’s Designs for the Pluriverse: Radical Interdependence, Autonomy and the Making of Worlds and Santos’ Epistemologies of the South: Justice Against Epistemicide in September. The selections for October are Pluriverse: A Post-development Dictionary (16 Oct) and Pedagogy of the Oppressed (30 Oct). Visit Eventbrite to view the schedule or register.

Finally, PedSIG has been buzzing with activities including bimonthly Distance Design Education Meetups and a discussion on the Futures of Design Education planned for 29 October. PedSIG is also organising their next biennial conference Learn X Design 2021, which will be hosted by Shandong University of Art & Design in September 2021. Full paper, workshop and case study submissions are due in March.

Check out the DRS Events Calendar for a list of more design research events and add your event by contacting editor@designresearchsociety.org 

The DRS is also looking to expand the SIG program. Contact admin@designresearchsociety.org to learn more.

Design Research and the COVID-19 Response (Updated)

The DRS has received questions about how design researchers can get involved in the COVID-19 response. Here’s a list of initiatives associated with the DRS and some compelling projects in the broader design research community.

PedSIG is doing great work with their Distance Design Education platform. They've been sharing articles and recipes for distance learning in design and have hosted 4 meetups on special topics. PedSIG is looking for new content, meetup hosts and ideas. You can contact PedSIG Convenor Derek Jones derek.jones@open.ac.uk to get involved. 

InclusiveSIG Convenor Hua Dong shared a link to a COVID-19 resource matching platform where she is a volunteer. The platform includes links to PPE 3D printing groups and calls for donations at hospitals across the UK.

The Global Health SIG has shared a list of public health bodies and their websites. The list includes official organisations at international, national, and regional levels. It’s available as a Google Document and the SIG is encouraging visitors to add to the list.

Beyond the DRS, the Strategic Design Research Journal is planning a special issue on design contributions for the COVID-19 global emergency. The issue will gather and map COVID-19 responses and build an understanding of the role of design during global emergencies. Full paper submissions are due 15^th July on the journal website.

The Design for Emergency platform is a great initiative organised by Sara Colombo and Paolo Ciuccarelli. These Northeastern University researchers are conducting surveys about COVID-19 experiences and have prepared data visualisations with the initial results. The platform is also hosting an open design challenge in response to survey results.

New addition: The Emergency Design Collective brings together doctors, designers and design researchers and has partners including IDEO, Frog and Stanford d.school. The group offers design suggestions for healthcare and life at home during COVID-19. They're looking for volunteers, partners and donations to support their work.

Contact the DRS Online Editor Isabel Prochner editor@designresearchsociety.org to share your COVID-19 project with Society members.

We hope you’re staying safe during these difficult times! 

This Much I Know (About Design Research): Emmanuel Tsekleves

This Much I Know (About Design Research) is an interview series that profiles members of the DRS. In this edition, we spoke with Emmanuel Tsekleves about his design research and current projects. Emmanuel is senior lecturer in design at Lancaster University, associate director for international research at ImaginationLancaster, DRS Interim Advisory Council member and co-convenor of the DRS Global Health SIG. He is recognized for his work on community health and the strong international focus in his research.

What projects are you currently working on?

My collaborators and I just finished a project on inclusive policy for seniors in Malaysia in collaboration with the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development. We explored how design research methods can help governments anticipate change and engage the community.

Can you give an example?

Sure—we focused on training civil servants and community champions in the use of speculative design. These partners ran speculative design workshops with senior citizens to imagine new approaches to public transport for seniors.

What’s next for you?

I’m still involved in 5 other research projects! And I’m busy with a new book Design for Global Challenges. It’ll be part of the Design for Social Responsibility series at Routledge.

What drives your research?

Face-to-face meetings and connections with people—being able to work with my research partners in communities all around the world. Sadly that’s gotten a lot harder lately.

Who are your research partners?

We’re a multidisciplinary and international group with design researchers and folks with expertise in health, epidemiology, developmental sciences and social science. We've been working with local partners and communities in Ghana, Angola, Cameroon and Malaysia to tackle sustainable development challenges related to health. Another important partner is the Women Economic Imperative—we've worked together on a project looking at gender health and women’s health as an economic value.  

Do you have advice for other researchers?

I once asked a research participant what he needed from a project and he said: “for you to come back.” Think long term in your research and make sure it can have a lasting impact for your participants.

You’re also heavily involved with the DRS!

Yes—it’s an important community and a way to collaborate for the common good. Expanding the Society's international agenda and engaging health and design researchers beyond the Global North to the Global South are the main reasons I joined the DRS community and created the Global Health SIG.

Any parting words to share with our members?

We need to push ourselves to innovate, find new ways of doing things, and find new ways to make an impact. I strongly believe that’s our responsibility as designers and as researchers.   

Find out more about Emmanuel and his work at http://imagination.lancaster.ac.uk/person/emmanuel-tsekleves/

Interested in getting involved in this interview series? Tell us about your work or nominate another researcher. Contact Isabel at editor@designresearchsociety.org.