Special Issue of Strategic Design Research J: Relating Systems Thinking and Design / Systemic Design and co-creation processes for territorial enhancement (Sep 2019)

Website: SDRJ
Deadline for submissions: 2 September 2019

Guest editors: Silvia Barbero, Amina Pereno
Vol. 13, n. 2 (May-August 2020)

Information for Contributors

The world we live in is hectic and multifaceted, characterized by continuous changes that are more frequent, radical and dramatic than ever before. Their dimension rapidly shifts from local to global and viceversa, due to the increased interconnected nature of relations, affecting society at many different levels. This results in a rising complexity that requires new creative solutions with a high degree of adaptability to be properly addressed. It is in this scenario that Systemic Design can effectively integrate systems thinking and its methods with design to address this multi-stakeholder complexity, by creating new resilient systems moving towards sustainability at environmental, social and economic level. Systemic Design adapts from known design competencies to frame, understand, explore, propose and design complex services and systems, acting in the context of the indeterminacy of wicked problems.

The systemic approach enables to address all aspects of designing sustainable sociotechnical systems, thus promoting social innovation to improve the quality of life and economic wellbeing of people, evaluating engagements with people to develop local economies and acting in full respect for the environment and natural resources. The challenge of territorial enhancement has close links with the broader concept of Sustainable Development, since it deals with complex issues concerning the manner, the scale, and the time of the design intervention in order to achieve environmental, social and economic sustainability. To that end, Systemic Design considers the need to design locally supportive structures for economic and social flourishing, organically co-created and co-produced within the regions themselves. The concept of co-creation is crucial for the long-term sustainability of the territorial systems; it includes a wide range of participatory practices for design and decision making aiming at facilitate user participation and multi-stakeholder engagement. The process of local participation in the design and implementation phase of territorial systems, requires the adoption of cultural, environmental, and community values. Regional development processes are strongly dependent on people’s ability to develop sustainable structures that, on the one hand, facilitate all forms of innovation, creativity, new ideas, and visions in acting and, on the other hand, maintain the essential stability of the system.

We welcome contributions addressing collaborative research domains in which design is boosting innovation and sustainability. Authors are invited to provide their view on how systems thinking in design disciplines can help our territorial and socio-technical systems to face the complex challenge of sustainability.

We especially invite authors to opening up the discussion about the following research topics:

• Co-creation approaches in Strategic Design and Systemic Design; 
• Participatory practices for design and decision making with stakeholders and users in complex systems; 
• Strategic tools for enhancing local participation in territorial systems; 
• Systemic Design for social, economic and environmental sustainability;
• Implementation of innovative territorial systems.

Other research topics concerning Systems and Design Thinking are welcomed.

Schedule

Launch of the call for papers: June 18th, 2019.
Full paper due: September 2nd, 2019
Notification of Review results: November 4th, 2019
Deadline for submission of the final version: December 16th, 2019
Final acceptance: January 31st, 2020
Publication: May 1st, 2020

For further details, see the website.

If you have questions regarding the submission process, contact the journal at periodicos@unisinos.br.