Societal problems concern the complexity of technical, organisational, social, and political issues. The enormous negative impacts of these problems and the inability of problem solvers to deal with high levels of complexity cannot be overcome without a paradigm shift in how we understand and engage with such issues. Two domains have been helpful in bringing about such a shift: Systems Thinking and Design. Although these domains express mutual interest in social–technical systems and complex problem solving, in the literature there are few attempts of bringing the compatibility between them to the attention of designers. This paper aims to contribute to this endeavour by uncovering the role of integrating systems thinking for design, and by providing an overview of the emerging field of systems-oriented design approaches. An extensive literature review outlines significant aspects underlying systems thinking to support its use and further development in design. This paper provides a conceptual framework structured in five clusters: mindset, methodology set, knowledge set, skill set and tool set. The framework is meant to assist designers in integrating systems thinking into design and thereby enable them to better handle complex societal problems.
Design education has devoted little attention to the topic of societal systems transformation in the context of sustainable development. This paper reports on a master's-level course that aims to build the capacity for design engineering students to adopt a Systems Design Approach comprised of the integration of Product-Service System (PSS) and Systems Thinking, in order to develop sustainable energy systems concepts. We identify key factors for skilful performance when designing solutions for complex societal problems. The findings suggest that design approaches grounded in systems thinking are promising for dealing with the increasing complexity of the societal problems which future generations of design professionals are expected to solve. An Open Learning E-Package (OLEP) was offered to support Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to introduce Product-Services Systems and Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) models into their design curricula. We argue that capacity building for a systems design approach to complex societal problems, such as those faced in low-income energy markets, can support future generations of design engineers to take an active role in the development and widespread implementation of sustainable energy systems.
This paper presents the results of a research project which have investigated the effectiveness of the contribution of Product-Service Systems (PSS) towards sustainability from a business perspective in an emerging context. The focus of this study is on the implications on the achievement of a "distributed economy". The authors have investigated the issue in three case studies, each representing one of the main typologies of PSS: result-oriented, product-oriented, and service-oriented. The companies that participated in these case studies were from three different business sectors: a packaging manufacturer for the automotive sector, an office space provider, and a major manufacturer of pipes and fittings. The results reported in this paper focus on the three initial phases of the data collection protocol developed in each case study: strategic analysis, exploration of opportunities, and development of the PSS concept. The data collection techniques included semi-structured interviews, system maps, Sustainability Design-Orienting Toolkit (SDO/MEPSS), direct observation, and photography and document analysis. The intracase study analysis was carried out through workshops with the partner companies, followed by cross-case study analysis, with the aim of identifying common patterns. The case studies show that PSS can contribute to expand the involvement of local stakeholders and to the achievement of a higher level of customization to local requirements. They also showed that it is not possible to state that a PSS can result in small, decentralized, and flexible production units. Also, although they expand the net of stakeholders, none of the case studies present an explicit intent to search for synergy with their counterparts in the same business sector, despite the benefit that such strategy could bring to scaling up the PSS concepts. Therefore, the authors conclude that, within a business perspective in an emerging context, there is no direct connection between PSS and the full extent of the "distributed economy" concept.
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