Nicola Morelli | Aalborg University (original) (raw)

Papers by Nicola Morelli

Springer eBooks, Aug 28, 2020

Every action is framed in a broader landscape dominated by a system of values, rules, and cultura... more Every action is framed in a broader landscape dominated by a system of values, rules, and cultural, social and political premises. In this landscape, change is slow, evolutionary, and lies outside the control of a designer. Nevertheless, designers can play a role in triggering change and possibly steer it in preferred directions. This chapter illustrates the design capabilities that are most relevant for design action at this level. Every action that produces change occurs in an institutional landscape. By 'institutional landscape', we mean the system of values, rules, and social, cultural, economic and political premises that frame the change and facilitate the changes that are consistent with this framework, while hindering those that are not (Koskela-Huotari and Vargo 2016; Vargo and Lusch 2015). It is easy to imagine that, like natural landscapes, the institutional landscape may seem static or changing very slowly. Change and innovation at this level happens by slow and evolutionary movements influenced by several factors, including, but not limited to, human action. For instance, the institutional landscape is influenced by changes in institutional settings, such as cultural, scientific and technical knowledge, politics and social trends. Human action, and consequently design action, is therefore unlikely to produce direct and controllable institutional changes. Nevertheless, human action can still influence such changes, as shown by several examples of purposeful social constructions aimed at influencing this level. This is the case, for example, of healthcare reforms such as the welfare state reform in UK 1 or Obamacare in United States, 2 the Australia tax reform (Terrey 2012), the construction of the American electricity system (Bijker 1995), or the psychiatric reform in Italy (Manzini 2015). It is worth noticing that, besides the Australian Tax Reform,

This paper discusses how the introduction of a service design approach inside public administrati... more This paper discusses how the introduction of a service design approach inside public administration offices can help public servants to be more citizen-centred. In particular, the stakeholder map, a well-known tool in the service design community, has been investigated as a means to trigger conversation about roles and power distribution at key moments of a project while also paving the way for public institutions to adopt a people-centred approach. The argument draws on a case study in Geneva where a public institution dealing with migrants employed a design team in order to improve their service offering.

Nordic Design Research Conference, May 27, 2007

This is a design theoretical paper and a mapping and explanations of different types of conceptua... more This is a design theoretical paper and a mapping and explanations of different types of conceptualisations within the field of design. The aim Is to clarify the aim and position of design theory, In relation to design and design research. The paper distinguishes six different types of conceptualisations and ends with some questions regarding how design theory and research quality can be promoted.

A large quantity of open data is now available to institutions, business and citizens. The potent... more A large quantity of open data is now available to institutions, business and citizens. The potential of such new resource, though, has not been explored yet, also because of a lack of perspectives and scenarios on how open data can be used. The workshop aims at broadening the perspectives on the use of open data by investigating new scenarios for a wide use of open data, where citizens without any IT skills can be involved in a co-design session with the relevant stakeholders.

Design Journal, Jul 28, 2017

This paper is looking at two parallel transformations-in the methodological approach to service d... more This paper is looking at two parallel transformations-in the methodological approach to service design and in the way new social initiatives are designing new solutions-to suggest a framework to re-organise service design education. The paradigmatic framework for the service design discipline is shifting from a methodological approach that qualified services as "what is not a product" to a new approach that moves the control over the value creation process from designers and producers to the interaction among a constellation of stakeholders. Together with this shift, a parallel transformation can be observed in society, with the emergence of new organisational forms, based on collaboration, P2P and sharing concepts, which have a disruptive power over the existing social and economic system. The new initiatives, are often promoted and controlled by citizens, users or constellation of stakeholders and are framed in production/business models that do not refer to the value-chain model that inspired the industrial paradigm. Both those transformations are challenging the discipline of service design and in particular service design education, because it calls for a perspective shift, from a normative perspective, in which the designer (and consequently the service provider) was deciding modes and characteristics of value creation, to a perspective in which the designer/service provider is simply mediating the process of cocreation by generating means that support social transformation. This paper will propose a framework of new competences and tools that are being developed in design education and research, in order to address the different levels of this structure.

Policy Design and Practice

Interaction Design and Architecture(s), 2019

This paper investigates the opportunities of leveraging a hackathon format to empower citizens’ a... more This paper investigates the opportunities of leveraging a hackathon format to empower citizens’ abilities of using open data to improve their neighbourhoods and communities. The presented discussion is grounded in five civic hackathon case studies organised in five european cities. The research revealed specialised learning and collaborative alignment as two mutually complementing aspects of the involved learning processes, which were achieved with the help of high-fidelity and low-fidelity prototypes, respectively. Consequently, the paper identifies and discusses three main factors required to sustain social learning ecosystems beyond hackathon events, and with the purpose of democratisation of smart city services. These factors include a) supporting individuals in obtaining specific expert knowledge and skills, b) nurturing data-literate activist communities of practice made up of citizens with complementary expert skillsets, and c) enabling members of these communities to generat...

2017 Conference for E-Democracy and Open Government (CeDEM), 2017

This paper explores the implications, with regard to service design education, of a project in th... more This paper explores the implications, with regard to service design education, of a project in the second semester of the Service Systems Design Master’s program at Aalborg University. The learning objective of this project is to develop student capabilities in the design and deployment of service concepts within a systemic environment. Topics introduced as part of the program’s curriculum in this semester that contribute to engaging students in this type of thinking include both technical (production systems, IT systems) and social (user participation and social innovation) aspects. As the case study is discussed, note will be taken of the influence of this educational approach in the design team’s choices throughout the project process. Through this exploration, a discussion can be held on the opportunities and challenges presented to students as they attempt to combine the various aspects of a design education focused on systemic thinking.

Open Data are increasingly seen as a new and very relevant resource, that can dramatically change... more Open Data are increasingly seen as a new and very relevant resource, that can dramatically change the landscape of the services and infrastructure in urban environments. This opportunity is often conceptualized by defining open data as a new common. Open data however, are not necessarily a commons, at least in the sense defined by Bollier [1], they are rather a shareable resource, which will only be accessed and used if a community exists around them and a set of practices and rules are defined to manage them. This paper is focusing on those two aspects: the creation of a community of users and a set of practices that regulate and facilitate the use of open data. Communities and practices, the two elements that would turn open data into a common, are not emerging spontaneously; their emergence needs to be appropriately designed.

Conference Proceedings of the Academy for Design Innovation Management, 2019

In today’s world of global wicked problems, constraints and imperatives imposed by an external an... more In today’s world of global wicked problems, constraints and imperatives imposed by an external and uncertain environment render strategic action a quite complex endeavour. Since the 1990s, within community initiatives and philanthropic projects, the construct of Theory of Change has been used to address such complexity. Theory of Change can be defined as the systematic and cumulative study of the links between the activities, outcomes, and context of an intervention. The area of focus for this paper is to explore whether Theory of Change can support more strategic approaches in design. In particular, the paper examines how Theory of Change was applied to DESIGNSCAPES - a project oriented, among other things, toward offering a supporting service for all those city actors interested in using design to develop urban innovation initiatives that tackle complex issues of broad concern.

The Design Journal, 2017

This paper focuses on Service Design as the theoretical and operative framework for activities in... more This paper focuses on Service Design as the theoretical and operative framework for activities in very diversified contexts. Within this framework, the paper analyses the design of services and service systems as a form of mediation, integration and diffusion of new operational practices that are gradually modifying the current socioeconomic paradigm in the western countries. Service Design proposes new forms of value creation that cannot always be measured according to the current economic criteria. They are rather introducing new economic factors that contribute to the value creation process, such as experience, time, knowledge, new roles in working and consuming. The actions triggered by service design move the center of value production from material goods to immaterial actions and performances. Services also propose new dynamics of relational mediation among stakeholders in social and economic systems. New categories of needs are introduced, while the old categories are reviewed.

Strategic Design Research Journal, 2021

Since the 1990s, the framework of Theory of Change has been used to address complex contexts of i... more Since the 1990s, the framework of Theory of Change has been used to address complex contexts of intervention especially in relation to planning and evaluating social practice. Theory of Change can be defined as the systematic and cumulative study of the links between the activities, outcomes, and context of an intervention. The aim of this paper is to explore through a case study whether Theory of Change can support more strategic approaches in design. In particular, the paper examines how Theory of Change was applied to DESIGNSCAPES-a project oriented, among other things, toward offering a supporting service for all those city actors interested in using design to develop urban innovation initiatives that tackle complex issues of broad concern.

Freshly graduated service designers are often struggling to align with the expectations that comp... more Freshly graduated service designers are often struggling to align with the expectations that companies have when they are looking for a service designer. The understanding of what service design is, which capabilities a service designer has and how these capabilities can create value for the company can be very different, making it difficult for the inexperienced job seeker to even find the right job offer. In this paper, we investigate if there is a more general misalignment between academia and the market in the definition of service design capabilities, by analysing a consistent pool of job offers in the area of service design.

Springer eBooks, Aug 28, 2020

Nordic Design Research Conference, May 27, 2007

Design Journal, Jul 28, 2017

Policy Design and Practice

Interaction Design and Architecture(s), 2019

2017 Conference for E-Democracy and Open Government (CeDEM), 2017

Conference Proceedings of the Academy for Design Innovation Management, 2019

The Design Journal, 2017

Strategic Design Research Journal, 2021

The evolution of technologies and rapid change of the industrial context requires manufacturing c... more The evolution of technologies and rapid change of the industrial context requires manufacturing companies to transform their design process; and shift from product-focused design to user-centred and service-focused design of solutions. Product-service systems (PSS) and service design (SD) have been identified has the two main approaches to design service. Current PSS methods and tools evolved from a Goods-logic to support manufacturers developing new services, but these latter are seen as units-of-outputs, aimed to optimize the efficiency of technological-systems and constrain the envisioning of alternative ways-of-doing. SD and Service-logic (S-logic) have been evolving and integrated to better support the design of solutions and cocreation of value. However, this approach has been scarcely used by manufacturers. This paper describes PSS, SD and S-logic main characteristics, such as the methods and tools; discusses how the concept of value-in-use, cocreation and actor/system' role are perceived in those fields; and, through an application case in the laboratory industry, attempts to further integrate PSS, SD methods and S-logic into a new product-service perspective able to be implemented in industry for designing cocreated solutions with different stakeholders.

A new generation of public services is emerging from the crisis of traditional welfare systems. T... more A new generation of public services is emerging from the crisis of traditional welfare systems. The new services are based on the activation of citizens and stimulate their participation in the definition of their needs and new solutions.

This statement is my reaction to the call to stand up for democracy, launched by my esteemed coll... more This statement is my reaction to the call to stand up for democracy, launched by my esteemed colleagues Ezio Manzini and Victor Margolin. My statement, as well as the statement of many other colleagues, will be published on http://www.democracy-design.org/. I would encourage my colleagues who believe that Design can contribute to defend democracy to upload their statement on the same website. Nicola Morelli 30.5.2017 Whether we want it or not, the act of designing is political. When we design we change something, whatever minimal this change can be. Any designer with a minimum of critical understanding of his action is also able to guess the direction of the change s/he is provoking. Even without scientific argumentations or assessment, a designer's intuition about this is part of his human nature. Therefore designing implies a choice, about which direction is preferred. We may decide to work for our ideal principles, or for the efficiency of a system, or for the economic benefit of a company or for improving the social well-being. This intuition suggests a continuous dialogue with our ethical principles. We may choose to ignore those principles or we may choose to enforce them. If there was a Hippocratic oath for designers, this would include the obligation for them to work for people and to improve their life condition. Designers' moral obligation is to work for increasing people's well-being, to give tools to people to reach out to new goals, to reduce inequalities and to avoid injustice. This is the direction designers are suggested by their ethical principles. We may choose to work in the opposite direction, but in any moment we know where we are going and where we should go. Democracy may not be the best form of government, but it is the best known way to organise society, in order to support ethical principles such as equality, fairness and freedom. For this reason, democracy is the ethical direction designers should be working for. Too often democracy has been put in the background in designers' work giving priority to other values, such as profit or business efficiency. In this historical moment however, the need to defend democracy is becoming even more urgent, as we are facing large systemic problems, which several political and economic forces are suggesting to solve with simplistic solutions. Such solutions are addressing the interests of few, leaving out a large part of society, but, most tragically, such solutions are undermining the democratic structure of our societies. This attach to democracy is undermining peace, ignoring the call of people in need, undermining the fundamental rights of people to decide for their own destiny or to choose the best destiny for the future generations. In this moment the moral imperative of designers can no longer be ignored. Designers who choose to work against their ethical imperative will work against themselves, their society, and the future of their kids. Designing for democracy means working with people-supporting their capabilities to identify their problems and find their solutions-or working for people-empowering them with the tools and infrastructure to improve their well-being-or even reflecting on possible/desirable future perspectives and making them visible and inspirational.

Sustainability, 2020

In the past decades, industrial design practice and research have focused extensively on how to o... more In the past decades, industrial design practice and research have focused extensively on how to optimize production and consumption, as a way to prevent negative environmental impacts, such as resource depletion, pollution, and excessive waste. Recently, the "circular economy" concept is increasingly used to achieve environmental benefits and economic growth simultaneously. Industrial design can contribute to a circular economy by fostering systems changes to achieve durability, optimal reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling of products and materials. Indeed, researchers have examined both the theoretical and practical aspects of how design knowledge can support the transition to a circular economy. However, this body of knowledge has not been systematically analyzed yet. To address this critical gap, this paper poses the following question: How has industrial design research so far contributed to advancing the circular economy knowledge? Accordingly, we survey relevant design literature focusing on the circular economy, through a review of contributions published in 42 scientific journals. Based on our results, we discuss how industrial design practices can potentially contribute to a circular economy across four thematic areas: (1) design for circular production processes, (2) design for circular consumption, (3) design to support policy towards the circular economy, and (4) design education for the circular economy.

Cumulus Conference, 2019

Themes such as economy of materials, environmental degradation or optimization of production and ... more Themes such as economy of materials, environmental degradation or optimization of production and consumption flows have long been discussed in design and design research. Lately, the concept of circular economy entered the stage as "an industrial economy that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design" (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2013). One of the reasons behind the current fascination toward circular economy is surely the (implicit or explicit) promise that circular economy yields the potential to foster environmental protection without limiting economic growth. As such, circular economy has been seen as a way to develop more sustainable business models and entrepreneurial processes but has also been criticized for its neoliberal foundation. Within design research, a good number of contributions looked into theoretical aspects or practical applications of circular economy. The aim of this paper is to survey the field by reviewing some 75 contributions ranging from books and book chapters, journal articles and conference papers. The paper presents a variety of views that not only show different ways in which design research approached circular economy, but also hint at possibilities for further investigation.

Strategic Thinking, Design and the Theory of Change, 2023

This book aims to assist all those people and organizations that invest time, energy, and passion... more This book aims to assist all those people and organizations that invest time, energy, and passion into designing social interventions that have the potential to be transformational and lead to a more sustainable, inclusive and equitable society. Whether working with innovative services, social projects or enterprises, community-driven initiatives or development programmes, scores of entrepreneurs, innovators and designers strive to bring their ideas to life in contexts and environments that can be volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (Bennet & Lemoine, 2014). It's no wonder that a good number of these projects fail. According to data collected by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the European Commission, the vast majority of companies close down or go bankrupt within ten years of their foundation. 1 Research carried out in 2017 shows that the situation for social enterprises is even harsher, with more than 80 per cent closing down operations within three years. 2 With the failure rate for the development of new products and services at around 40 per cent, it's challenging for companies and organizations to move towards innovation (Castellion & Markham, 2013). Within the specific domain of international development projects-typically run by government institutions and non-governmental organizations-the success of these projects is generally considered below acceptable levels despite important results in the health, rural development, and education sectors in recent decades (Ahsan & Gunawan, 2010; Diallo & Thuillier, 2004; Youker, 1999). These studies simply confirm the widespread belief that getting ideas off the ground by, for example, creating a successful social enterprise, managing a complex international aid project, or designing and implementing an innovative service is challenging. This is particularly unfortunate in times when many individuals and organizations are interested in designing social interventions that are not solely driven by profit-making logic but rather have changing

Service Design Capabilities, 2021

This open access book discusses service design capabilities in innovation processes, and provides... more This open access book discusses service design capabilities in innovation processes, and provides a framework that guides design students, practitioners and researchers towards a better understanding of operational aspects of service design processes. More specifically, it revisits service designers’ capabilities in light of the new roles that have opened up in innovation processes on different scales.

After years of being inadequately defined, the professional profile of service designers is now taking shape. Today private and public institutions recognize service designers as essential contributors to their innovation and development processes. What are the capabilities that characterize a service designer? These essential capabilities are what service designers should acquire in their education and can sell when looking for a job.

This book offers insights into how the Theory of Change framework can be effectively employed in ... more This book offers insights into how the Theory of Change framework can be effectively employed in a wide range of social interventions. Presenting its potential to support strategy and strategic thinking, this book offers an entry point to understanding how Theory of Change can be applied beyond the typical domain of aid projects.