Participatory Speculative Design

A method designed to support collective investigation, in hybrid online-offline locations, of the futures through a combination of non-verbal experiential knowing and storytelling - of neither a utopia nor a dystopia. 

This process has been applied at Design Council (2020) on post-covid futures and at the Festival of Emergence (2021) on the imperfect futures of wellbeing and ecology. 

The collective imagination framework is a framework to guide the design of collective imagination, as a means to conduct productive futures studies in the face of unknowns with non-experts.  Published in a paper called "New spaces for healthcare futures studies: Connecting existing theory to deeper participatory practice" in Elsevier Futures journal. 

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Abstract

Long-term thinking is full of challenges and is also necessary, especially on topics related to systems that take time to change, such as society, cultural values and policies. The further we look into the horizon, the more unknown-unknowns we encounter and the harder it is to rely on existing knowledge, trends and extrapolation for envisioning the future. Expertise is limited when applied to long-term futures. An 18-month design research project has been conducted to develop a methodology for participatory future studies with non-experts, given a complex and challenging context. A context of extreme unknowns: healthcare for future space missions. What does it mean to efficiently conduct productive futures studies in the face of unknowns with non-experts? The study does not reject expertise per se, however it does explore how to conduct futures studies with non-experts. Whilst the extreme context takes us out of the Earth, our methodology is discussed and evaluated in relation to existing futures thinking practices in healthcare settings. Our conclusions reflect on the findings from the project and contribute to improving non-expert participation in futures research through a platform embodying the Collective Imagination Framework for imagining new futures for healthcare in 2040 and beyond.

Online workshops, visually facilitated conversations and design games for serious and important issues broadly linked to health and wellbeing, for 3-70 people.  Most of these works result in internal coordination and strategic decisions.

For an example of the kind of output these types of workshops can lead to, check out "Belonging, Care, and Repair" with Careful Industries.

A stage, a design game, an installation designed for non-experts to explore imagination beyond the narratives of dominant futures of health and wellbeing in an extreme environment - space. 

A 4-hours workshop designed to speculate two future tales on Mars, in relation to health and wellbeing, through physical improvisation, at EMF Camp 2018, UK. 

A full-day workshop to speculate two future tales on Mars, in relation to health and wellbeing, as part of Living off Earth Lab II at Border Sessions 2018,  Netherlands. 

A wearables catwalk show created for GIANT Health conference 2017, at Truman's Brewery London, UK.