Design Innovation project awarded EPG funding
Academics within the Institute for Design Innovation have been awarded Loughborough University’s Enterprise Projects Group (EPG) funding to develop a Design for Policy Toolkit for Social Innovators.
Public policymaking often results in inadequate services to citizens due to a lack of diverse participation and voice, dominant top-down views, and poor consensus. The Design for Policy (DfP) Toolkit supports social innovators in influencing current policymaking practice to deliver improved services to citizens (e.g., fair energy, digital health) aiming for wellbeing in society. The proposed Creative Commons web-based Toolkit will include structured workshop formats, manuals, methods, and knowledge resources built on citizen-centred design practices. With facilitation, these enable social innovators to deliver participatory, citizen-centred, awareness-raising events, training, and co-creation sessions that generate impact through influencing policies that enable improved services.
The project team, led by Professor Mikko Koria working with Dr Federico Vaz and Dr Sharon Prendeville, has been awarded almost £50k by Loughborough University's Enterprise Projects Group (EPG) to develop the Toolkit.
To guarantee the applicability of this toolkit, the Institute for Design Innovation has partnered with CitizensUK. This collaboration is crucial in ensuring the DfP Toolkit responds to social innovation teams' actual needs in developing citizen-centred public policy.
EPG funding is available to support academic staff, research staff, and research students in creating impact from their work, and it aims to accelerate the creation of social, cultural, and economic impact through research-informed knowledge exchange. This has allowed the appointment of a postdoctoral researcher and the onboarding of a top-level external advisor.
More information is available on the project's website: policyinnovation.design.
To find out more about Loughborough University's Enterprise Projects Group (EPG) funding opportunities, please see their website.
Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2020 QS World University Rankings and top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey.
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Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
Specialising exclusively in postgraduate-level study, Loughborough University London is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers cutting-edge master’s and PhD degrees, as well as business collaboration, research and enterprise opportunities.
The seven specialist institutes at Loughborough University London include: Design Innovation, Digital Technologies, Diplomacy and International Governance, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, International Management, Media and Creative Industries, and Sport Business. Close industry partnerships with a wealth of leading businesses and creative organisations means teaching and learning is informed by real-life challenges and driven by true industry pressures.