PhD journey personal view_conversation in architecture faculty_lisbon

PhD JourneyThe oficial version

Doctoral investigation between :Cranfield University UK&Loughborough University UK

Margarida Monteiro de BarrosCurrently @ CEG-IST

Personal view

FACULDADE DE ARQUITECTURA DE LISBOA October, 2014

and this is where everything started

an EPSRC founded project

Design Dialogues 2005-2008

exploring interventionsthat demonstrates different uses of natural & human capital to allow different life-styles

transitions in thinkingfocuses on the ‘softer side’ - perception - to understand how a change towards sustainability thinking can happen

creating sustainabilitynot reducing unsustainability

aim Provoke a radical transition in thinking toward global levels of sustainability

Setting the context

Foundations

Approach to researchResearch view

ExpertsOrganisations

dialogues

Innovation

Data approach

Outcome: SuCoPosition

Emerging questions

Scales of actionEvaluation and Validation

Elements

Journey of this presentation

PhD Journey: personal perspective

Setting the context

While a product unit’s environment attributes may increase, with a growing global consumption rate of products, business and design activity still results in a net increase in resource use.

(Roy, 2000)

Thefore, individual actions have, in fact, minor impacts on the overall impact of a product or service (e.g. electricity); changes need to happen at the level of redesign the systems in which we operate and live in as well as our pattern of choice as society

Margarida Monteiro de Barros Faculdade de Arquitectura de Lisboa October 2014


Today’s view of sustainability

making what we do today less bad (Ehrenfeld, 2004: 2)

meet peoples’ real needs (Papanek1971); which require a rethink of natural and human capital use.



Foundations

Some key points which build the research journey

Changing perceptions are needed to a system thinking approach to be engage that incorporates new values capable of apprehending:the whole as dependent and related to all its parts (Capra, F. 1997:4;5;).

Sustainability and unsustainability are not just two sides of the same coin. Unsustainability is measurable; it can be managed and incrementally reduced. Creating sustainability is not the same as reducing unsustainability." (Ehrenfeld 2004:2).

A more comprehensive approach to sustainability is limited by our understanding of, and relationship to, nature (Orr, 1994).

It is imperative to change the strategic framework of organisations in order to be able to strongly challenge the “business-as-usual” pattern in a radical way, not extreme (Ehrenfeld 2004).

The incremental approach, which operates inside of the same system, looking for efficiency; and, the radical approach, which tries to establish new visions, parameters and lenses for a new system or mind set (Manzini 2005).



Foundations

Some key points which build the research journey

Changing perceptions are needed to a system thinking approach to be engage that incorporates new values capable of apprehending:the whole as dependent and related to all its parts (Capra, F. 1997:4;5;).

A more comprehensive approach to sustainability is limited by our understanding of, and relationship to, nature (Orr, 1994).

It is imperative to change the strategic framework of organisations in order to be able to strongly challenge the “business-as-usual” pattern in a radical way, not extreme (Ehrenfeld 2004).

The incremental approach, which operates inside of the same system, looking for efficiency; and, the radical approach, which tries to establish new visions, parameters and lenses for a new system or mind set (Manzini 2005).

Sustainability and unsustainability are not just two sides of the same coin. Unsustainability is measurable; it can be managed and incrementally reduced. Creating sustainability is not the same as reducing unsustainability." (Ehrenfeld 2004:2).



Research view

Change the level of perception through interventions that introduce a new paradigm

Understanding the Natural Capital as the limit of action

Act within the INPUTS of a system rather then uniquely on its OUTPUTS

Intervene at more effective scales to create sustainability

Key points

Margarida Monteiro de Barros SENSU conversations


Research view

THOUGHTS & IDEAS

LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION & ACTIVITIES

THOUGHTS & IDEAS

LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION & ACTIVITIES

INTERVENTIONS

CREATING SUSTAINABILITY

Based on David Bohm’s essays On Creativity, 2000

Provoke a rapid transformation in the familiar pattern of doing things Paradigm Change (Bohm D. (ed: Nichol L., 2000)

CHANGE LEVEL OF PERCEPTION



Research view

Market SystemOrganisational System

ProductsServices

Products & Services Systems

Outputs

Economic SystemSocial SystemPolitical System

Human System (Ethos + values system)

Natural system

Organisational System

Products

Human System

The proposal is to:

focus also on the INPUTSNeeds a shift in perspective to be EVOLUTIONARY rather than revolutionary



Research view

Where to intervene?

9. Numbers (subsidies, taxes, standards)

8. Material stocks and flows

7. Regulating negative feedback loops

6. Driving positive feedback loops

5. Information flows

4. The rules of the system (incentives, punishment, constraints)

3. The power of self-organization

2. The goals of the system

1. The mindset or paradigm

Creating sustainability

Donella H. Meadows - Places to Intervene in a System, Whole Earth Magazine: Winter 1997

Only then we have an effective intervention towards sustainability



Margarida Monteiro de Barros FAUTL conversation February 2012

HOW THE RESEARCH WAS DEVELOPED?


Approach to research

How Design Thinking can be used to incorporate and implement interventions that enable transformations from unsustainable practice to practices to create sustainability?




“Often thought of in terms of design deliverables such as sketches and prototypes, design thinking*** is perhaps more readily identified with the thought process associated with the creation of such things than with the deliverables themselves.”

(Wylant, 2009:4).

Make sense of things in a context is the main cognitive device portrayed by the term design thinking .The challenge for design towards sustainability lies in doing this before anything actually exists:“Requires an understanding of how design decisions, and thus design manifestations, will fit within larger streams of consideration”

(Wylant, 2009:5).

Research Question: approach Design Thinking

February 2012Margarida Monteiro de Barros Faculdade de Arquitectura de Lisboa October 2014

***Often mistaken with Deep Dives Techniques (following the Horwath, R., 2009 book)



Design Thinking explained

Design 1.0 Artefacts Communication & Attributes

Design 2.0 Products & Services

Design 3.0 Organizational transformation - bounded by the organisation and business strategy

Design 4.0 Social Transformation

- Complex, Not bounded

Van Patter, G. K. 2009, Novembro

Design = Problem solver

Processes, skills

and competencies

related to tangible

results

Processes, skills

and competencies

related to non-

tangible results





“…challenges that organizations have to face,

communities have to face can not be solved by

creating more products, services, experiences even

from a human-centric approach. Creating products is

usually the solution to solve problems that humans

in the XXI century don´t have”

VanPatter, G.K., 2009, March – free translation


Margarida Monteiro de Barros FAUTL conversation February 2012

output

REDUCING UN-SUSTAINABILITY

CREATING SUSTAINABILIDADE

Visions of societies we want to haveValues-systems we want to sustain

Different outputs = different systems to sustain different life-styles

input

Sustainability general focus

Challenge to this research: HELP ON INTERVENE, IMPLEMENT OR RE-DIRECT THE VALUES-SYSTEMCalls for DESIGN THINKING characteristics



constructivist grounded theory approach (Charmaz, 2003)

qualitative research context that aims to evolve an understanding of how people see, perceive, describe their wellbeing, welfare, and ideas of desirable futures (Denzin and Lincoln, 2003)

Understand the Hows Tos of sustainability

data collection utilised a multi-method approach (Robson 2002:270) using storytelling, games and other techniques




Grounded Theory also use as a methodology: represents the possibility of looking at data with no objective, and construct the research path along the research journey.

The objective: not to formulate a theory neither arriving to a framework, but to understand sustainability form others peoples´ eyes




Maps re-present the world by providing versions of truth for human minds to apprehend. In turn, minds represent the world too, internally as cognitive maps.” (Montello, D. R., 2002:283)

“The recognition that map design is about the design of human cognition might be termed intuitive map psychology.”

(Montello, D. R., 2002:283) This research, does not have the intention of portraying the cognitive connections, it aims to express deep thoughts, ideas, values and motivations of people

Cognition includes perception, learning, memory, thinking, reasoning and problem-solving, and communication

(Montello, D. R., 2002).



Dialogues

The use of Dialogues is of central importance to approach, collect and analyse data within this research

REALITY = A COLLECTION OF CONCEPTS, MEMORIES AND

REFLEXES COLORED BY OUR PERSONAL NEEDS, FEARS, AND

DESIRES

OUR INTERPRETATIONS ARE LIMITED AND DISTORTED BY THE

BOUNDARIES OF LANGUAGE AND THE HABITS OF OUR HISTORY,

SEX AND CULTURE

Bohm et al. 1991



Dialogues

Dialogues are ideal for sensitive issues; such as when personal,thoughts and ideas are asked to be shared 21)(from Gordon, 1999:21)

Dialogues essence is learning, being learning an unfolding process of creative participation between peers

“It is not a technique for problem solving or conflict resolution(…) it is, as (we have) emphasized, primarily a means of exploring the field of thought.”

(Bohm, et al., 1991)



Dialogues across research

the concept of dialogue was central to all stages of the researchthrough a variety of usages of dialogues

dialogue as a philosophy –Bohm (2000) main ideas;

dialogue as a method - capturing personal visions and knowledge: conversations, narratives and storytelling to ‘extract’ meaning (Yiannis, 2000:4);

dialogue as a process – a collection of personal journeys and experiences on the practical side of sustainability to transfer knowledge (Denning, S., 2006) and helped to understand and explain complexity (Brown, J.S., 2006);

dialogue as a concept - the construction of a framework that provides cultural change (Yiannis 2000) and transformational change (Denning, S., 2006);

dialogue as a guide for different decisions - promoting strategic organisational reorientation/radical change by facilitating frame-breaking (Greenwood and Hinings, 1993)



Dialogues

Stories are an “institutional memory system of organizations” (from Yiannis 2000:19)



Dialogues & Games

Experts (10) were asked to participate in a game that helped lead them to conversations describing what they really felt toward sustainability



Results

Experts’ dialogues

What was found was a surprising level of agreement on:• what comprised core sustainability values and

motivations, both for self and for the organisation.

• two key points emerged from these early conversations:

1. the importance of individuals to drive sustainability and the subsequent need for empowerment and accountability;

2. the value-system of individuals - their beliefs and motivations - as a key issue in effectively incorporating ecological thinking in daily life and work



Experts’

Organisations’

Underlines the importance of collecting ways by which such values are placed in action



Organisations’ dialogues

Six organisations represented a range of company size and industrial sectors: food, architecture, leisure and tourism, cosmetics and financial services

Develop dialogues about the foundation business’ values and how these are translated in their strategies, structures, systems (e.g. communication systems), processes and outputs



DialoguesStories were collect from a range of Organisations (6) done through face-to-face conversations following a „guide“

Organisations arquitype elements – Greenwood and Hinings, 1993


the map of collecting data & analyse it



the map of collecting data & analyse it


Organisations’ dialogues

What emerged from the analysis of data provided:

• an understanding of how organisations expressed their values [also emphasized by the experts as a key point]

• and how these values framed their outputs across the whole organisation as well as across the business cycle.

• This provided a picture of how to create interventions to achieve radically different [away from ‘business as usual’] outputs.

Underline the main key aspects of INNOVATION under a different PARADIGM



InnovationInnovation, as suggested by De Bono (1995) should challenge what people know and should explore the different dimensions of performance at the organisational level (Drucker, P., 1988).

and this is what these organisations where doing - challenging the current

business VALUE-SYSTEM and the

PLACE of PEOPLE

Beyond market demands

…as if the market demands governs activity, the potential to create sustainability will be limited to what people know today (Inspiered by De Bono, 72)



Innovation

Looking at innovation to provoke learning loop in response to competition and market needs[Inspired by design management methodology used by the Spanish innovation consultancy CN, Barcelona]

Traditional innovation: operates under the same cultural paradigm

Innovation suggested by data analise: create an evolutionary fractal leap

Brea

king

par

adig

m

Creating evolutionary LEAP of behavioural

This is the view of innovation for Sustainability from this research perspective: To provokes a paradigm change, embedding a sustainability culture that can frame potential futures

Evolutionary Fractal Leaps: defies the view of chronological events and are provoked by turbulence (Nottale, L., 2007:206).



Emerging questions

what are the set of basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes?

OUTCOME requires to characterise the paradigm of Sustainability in practice

how the different dimensions of sustainability are seen in practice?

what are the different type of relationships existing internally and externally?

OUTCOME needs to enable to think differently about synergies among the different dimensions.

OUTCOME should have a framework to think beyond traditional outputs (i.e. beyond end products and services)



Data approach

Organisations are living systems (Ricard et al, 2004; Swanson, G. A., 1995:57)

Data the approach was informed by living systems theory that recognizes both abstract systems (e.g. behaviour) and concrete systems (e.g. physical or geographic) (Bailey, 1995:85-86)



what are the set of basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes?

how the different dimensions of sustainability are seen in practice?

what are the different type of relationships existing?

Sustainability dimensions in literature:Elkington’s triple bottom line (1997): Society, Economics and

Environment Ehrenfeld (2004) suggested: Ethics, Human, Nature Fuad-luke (interviewed on 2005): Societal; Economics; Environmental,

Human

Data approach

The multi-method of conceptualise and cognitive mapping (Brightman and Banxia 2003)

To understand the different scales of action:eight sub-systems representing The hierarchy that is involved in a system: level of Cell, Organ, Organism, Group, Organisation, Community, Society, Supranational (Miller et al, 1995:12-15).



Margarida Monteiro de Barros & Dr Emma L. Dewberry GECAMB conference 16 & 17 of October 2008

Data approach


SuCo ©

Sustainable Cultures and Operations© (i.e. SuCo©: methodology for innovation for sustainability).

• 2 main approach of SuCo©• Operational part – Agreeculture© • Cultural part – Seeds of Change

• Integral part of SuCo© as a holistic methodology for innovation for Sustainability

• Can be used individually.

• Each one is composed by three key components: 1. a philosophical approach or mindset; 2. a framework; 3. a conceptual approach - process

This enables to establish steps towards a way of viewing/thinking; approaching; and acting



SuCo ©

Short term – On / Off Long term - Continuo

Outp

uts

Inpu

ts

Agreeculture ©

Seeds of Change

cultural transformation towards a different output(apply attitude)

Operational Re-direction towards a

different input(think according to

action)



SuCo © elements

Seeds of Change

Cultural part

philosophical approach - Germination

9 principles to:• re-think values and • how to re-directed future

strategies and actions

Framework:

creates different:a) ways of perceive; b) establish new connections; c) and modes of actions.

Conceptual Process:1. diagnose of current set of values 2. analise key elements that frames

reality and assumptions 3. uncover new principles4. creating interventions to generate

actions and strategies for sustainability



• Explore different scales of relationships between elements of a system by understand its “relational power“ for potential interventions – OvOlution

• Understands the system of intra and inter-relations in the business cycle – over time

philosophical approach:

SuCo © elements

AgreeCulture©

Operational part:

Framework:

Conceptual Process:

• presents the key parameters in each of sustainability’s dimension

• and how they interrelate to uncover opportunities for innovation

1. Data Collection: understanding the business chain of actors 2. Exploring Value-chains: deeply analysing values at different scales of operation 3. Creating scenarios of opportunity: exploring new actors; identifying needs; analysing contexts of use



Validation&Evaluation




Corus UK: a multi-national steel manufacture from group Tata international

Result: - Uncovering the real capacity for social adding value of Corus - Designing a sustainability strategies to implement activities to integrate social value- Create a framework with social assets at the core

Implement social assets at the core of the organisation

Speculate about the future of

EcoDesign Wales

EcoDesign Wales:a small Government funded ecodesign support agency in Wales

Result:- Uncovering internally opportunities developing and intersect interests and capacity- Create future strategic path for business development - Expose core principles responsible for organisational culture




Some results of SUCO



SuCo©: methodology for innovation for Sustainability

It requires a ‘buy-in’ from all business-cycle stakeholders

SuCo© is about building capacity to Create Sustainability

Is represents the ‘softer’ side of Factor10

Develops a concept linking appropriate values and actions that enables a shift in thinking towards Factor10 outcomes.

SuCo© is a useful beginning of an on-going, and much needed, dialogue.


Thank you

http://www.creatingsustainability.org.uk/

[email protected] Centro de Estudos de Gestão do Instituto Superior Técnico

PhD journey personal view_conversation in architecture faculty_lisbon

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