This project is a collaboration with Jeccica Charleworth.

A campaign to promote design thinking with a social approach in design education.?What do these terms mean to us, Service design & Local intelligence??Service design is about questioning the question and looking for answers by designing the research. The people involved are the experts on what they do and why or what they would actually want. It is our job to reveal this information and build the services using what we have learnt.

Local intelligence is about collective knowledge of people and groups that have a practical understanding of the issue at hand. These experts are present at every level of the service, from service provider to service consumer. Combined this stands for service design with local intelligence creates a new methodology for designers to work together with experts, users and professionals, to improve the services within their locality.

Our aims?1. We want to set up a program of workshops, for design students to discover how they can use their creative skills in improving the services around them.?2. They will form a think tank and work closely together with local experts acting as resource in creating a blue print of the systems and services in their area.?3. The design outcomes generated by this think tank will highlight opportunities to improve existing and initiate new service ideas.

The project phases?
Phase 1?; Research and development. Finding partners, local and international?. This phase is about making connections and promoting the value of this methodology

Phase 2?; Facilitating the workshops?. The aim of the workshop is to create a think tank for real local issues?. Designers experienced in designing services will lead the workshop?. Workshop components consist of: observation, interviews, participation, co-creation, mapping and visualizing.

Phase 3; ?Feeding back the outcomes to the local stakeholders?. The results of the workshop will be a carefully edited document indicating directions and benefits to develop the addressed services?. The outcomes become an integral part of promoting social change by designing services using local intelligence.

What are the benefits?
- The Students?Opportunity to use design thinking to tackle social issues?Learning new research & mapping techniques?Experience working directly with real people for a real client.
- The Experts?Awareness of you & the people around you?Empowerment to make you feel useful?Belonging being a part of where and how you live.
- The Local Bodies?Awareness that a social approach brings economic advantage & design plays a key role in innovating local service infrastructure?Action a locally developed service opportunity map.

Where we want this to take place?We want the workshops to take place in design colleges in Europe with a focus on Eastern Europe?The design education in this area is reflecting the emerging economy and shows great opportunity to embed the principles of designing services using local intelligence.

In short?We want to provide a service to students, residents & local government that will activate future social & economical benefits. We ask you to support us in launching this campaign, to enable us to research, develop and implement a tool that will promote the value of social innovation using design thinking.