In the face of increasingly complex societal challenges, the field of social design is being called upon to deepen its ability to create long-term, systemic impact. This project, conducted with five experienced social designers and one workshop in our ESConference in 2025, explored how systems thinking, …

Social design is a growing practice field and expected to create impact on socio-technical systems and society at large. It positions designers to commit themselves to long-term visions and coordinate social change accordingly (Tromp & Vial, 2023). This requires designers to have a good understanding …

Background Promoting physical activity and motor development in early childhood is important for physical and mental health outcomes later in life. However, knowledge on how to influence physical activity and motor development in early life focusing on families and their context in daily life is currently …

"The global energy transition demands a new generation of engineers equipped with not only deep technical knowledge but also a broad, systemic understanding of complex, interconnected challenges. This paper presents the "Rotterdam Energy Transition"" program, an innovative educational framework developed …

The transition to an inclusive society through design Inclusive design can play a critical role in shaping a more equitable society. When products and services are intentionally created to be inclusive, they become more accessible to a wide audience, including people who might otherwise struggle to engage …

This book offers a comprehensive, practice-based exploration of Systemic Co-Design (SCD) as it is applied to society’s most complex and urgent transitions. Drawing on collaborative projects from the Expertisenetwork Systemic Co-Design (ESC), it portrays Systemic Co-Design not as a fixed framework but …

This paper explores the construction of self-narratives through a synthesis of two frameworks: Designing Your Life (DYL) and Theory U. Using close reading methodology, it analyzes how these approaches inform personal and professional development. The study highlights three key dimensions: doing (prototyping …

Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and augmented/virtual reality come with many ethical and societal questions. In order to develop applications based on these technologies responsibly, businesses, governments and knowledge institutions are increasingly working together, and sometimes …

Reflections: Systemic (Co) Design is still relatively unknow to practitioners As well as to academics in the economic domain Dialogue requires active involvement and experiencing diverse perspectives through a variety of methods/tools Artifacts contribute to the continuity of the dialogues Gathering …

In a rapidly evolving world, the need for innovative approaches to societal challenges is more critical than ever. As partners of the Network Applied Design Research (NADR), we believe that applied design research can be a promising approach for addressing complex issues in many domains, such as health-care, …