Arif Yusop
Service Design Capabilities towards the Regenerative Futures
Summary
Service design has gained increasing recognition as a crucial field for enhancing sustainable and regenerative systems. Service Design, as a maturing discipline, has grown the capability of facing complex interdependent problems by offering tools and methods for dealing with the complexity of converging crises. However, the specific design capabilities that contribute to a future beyond sustainability are not well understood. This research aims to address this gap by exploring the current state of sustainability transition and service design in the context of the future beyond sustainability.
The findings of this research will also inform the development of a conceptual theoretical framework of Service Design Regenerative Capability based on the existing service design core capabilities. This research seeks to explore the key service design capabilities that are necessary for achieving a regenerative future. The findings of this study will provide valuable insights for service designers, service providers, policymakers, and other stakeholders, and inform the development of a framework for service design towards the regenerative futures.
Keywords: Regenerative, Futures, Sustainability, Service Design, Transdisciplinary
Additional info
Based on the Three-Gaps Theory proposed by Gebeshuber, Gruber, and Drack (Gebeshuber et al., 2009), I have developed a three-gap theory of the research to identify the fundamental gap in my research. The first gap is centred around the concept of regenerative futures, specifically exploring the reasons why a shift towards a future beyond sustainability is necessary. As suggested by Gaziulusoy and Öztekin, Design for Sustainability Transition should also start focusing on exploring the what and the how of the contributions that design can make in post-transition contexts. (Gaziulusoy and Öztekin, 2019) I plan to investigate this gap through a comprehensive literature review. The second gap concerns the relevance of service design and regenerative design moving towards a future beyond sustainability. To investigate this gap, I will examine and compare the thinking behind the regenerative design, service design and design for sustainability, and existing case studies of service design or design for social innovation projects ranging in scale from neighbourhood to city. The third gap represents the second research question and serves as the foundation for the semi-structured interviews. These gaps have evolved into these research questions:
RQ 1: How relevant are the thinking behind service design and regenerative design in the quest for a more sustainable future?
RQ2: What capabilities need to be developed in the thinking to contribute to this future?
Regenerative Socio-technical Imagination
