Fabrizio Ceschin | Brunel University (original) (raw)

Books by Fabrizio Ceschin

The Product-Service System (PSS) concept represents, theoretically and practically, a promising m... more The Product-Service System (PSS) concept represents, theoretically and practically, a promising model to steer our production and consumption systems towards sustainability. PSSs are business models based on selling performance (i.e. results) rather than products. They can provide a range of economic and competitive advantages and, if properly designed, can support the dematerialisation of economy and hence provide environmental benefits.
However, it must be stressed that the uptake of this business concept by companies is still very limited. The key problem is that sustainable PSSs can be considered radical innovations. They may require a profound redefinition of the production and consumption modalities and hence their implementation may cope with the current and dominant socio-technical systems. In other words they may challenge existing customer habits, organisational structures and regulative frameworks. For this reason the introduction and scaling-up of such innovations are not completely under the control of a company (or a small network of actors), because changes in the factors that form the boundary conditions (i.e. existing organisations, institutions and networks that share dominant practices, rules and interests), are also required.
Although the concept of sustainable PSS has been discussed in the literature for over a decade, not much attention has been devoted to understand how the process of introduction and scaling-up takes place and how it can be managed and oriented. There is therefore a knowledge gap regarding the mechanism and factors driving the implementation and diffusion of this kind of innovations and, consequently, there is a lack of strategies, approaches and tools to enable project managers, management consultants and strategic designers in designing and managing this process. The research presented in this book aims at tackling these issues and in particular at answering the following questions: How sustainable Product-Service System can be introduced and scaled-up? How this transition process can be designed, managed and oriented?
The book seeks to answer these challenges by integrating concepts and insights from two research streams: one on Product-Service System (PSS) design and the other on transition studies. In particular the book, through industrial case studies and an action research project, explores and delineates the role of strategic design in supporting the introduction and scaling-up of sustainable PSS innovations.
A new strategic design role thus emerges, a role in which the ideation and development of sustainable PSS concepts is coupled with the designing of appropriate transition paths to gradually incubate, introduce and diffuse these innovations. A key role in these transition paths is given to the implementation of socio-technical experiments: protected spaces where radical innovations can be tested, become more mature, and potentially challenge and change dominant socio-technical practices, habits and institutions. The book contributes to clarify how these socio-technical experiments can act as incubators where PSS innovation can start, proliferate and develop. In particular the book focuses on the role of experiments as Labs (to test, learn and improve the PSS innovation on multiple dimensions and involving a multiplicity of actors), Windows (to raise interest on the innovation project and the related actors, disseminate results, build-up synergies with existing similar projects/initiatives, and attract and enrol new actors), and Agents of change (to influence contextual conditions in order to favour and hasten the societal embedding process).

The research intends to explore and delineate the role of strategic design in supporting the intr... more The research intends to explore and delineate the role of strategic design in supporting the introduction and scaling up of sustainable Product-Service Systems (PSS). Sustainable PSS innovations represent a promising approach to steer our production and consumption systems towards sustainability. However the adoption of these business models is still limited because they often require substantial changes in existing customer habits, organizational structures and regulative frameworks. Therefore the challenge is to understand how to manage, support and orient the introduction and diffusion of these concepts. There is in fact a knowledge gap regarding the dynamics, mechanism and factors driving the implementation and diffusion of this kind of innovations and, consequently, there is a lack of strategies, approaches and tools to enable strategic designers, project managers and management consultants in designing, managing and orienting this process. This study focused on this unexplored research area. The research hypothesis is that the combining strategic design for sustainability and transition studies (in particular the Strategic Niche Management and Transition Management approaches) may create a valuable combination of knowledge and know-how to address this research challenge. In the I research stage, the combination of a literature review (on transition studies) and a case studies research (focused on the innovation journeys made by 6 companies in introducing their sustainable PSS concepts on the market) was used to develop a conceptual framework to describe and explain how sustainable PSS innovations take place (dynamics and influencing factors). The research also contributed to clarify the key role of socio-technical experiments in triggering the process of introduction and diffusion of sustainable PSSs, and conceptualised the functions that socio-technical experiments can play in transition processes: experiments as Labs (to test, learn and improve the PSS innovation on multiple dimensions), Windows (to raise interest on the innovation project and the related actors, disseminate results, build-up synergies with existing similar projects/initiatives, and attract and enrol new actors) and Agents of change (to influence contextual conditions in order to favour and speed-up the societal embedding process). The II research stage aimed at understanding the potential role of strategic design in these transition processes. It can be concluded that: 1] A new role can be played by strategic design for sustainability: not only in generating sustainable PSS concepts, but also in designing and facilitating transition strategies to support and speed up their introduction and scaling up. 2] On the basis of this new role, the research contributed to clarify the new design attitude and capabilities needed by PSS designers to operate at such strategic level, and identified the design knowledge base that strategic designers need to be equipped with. 3] On a more operational point of view, the research developed a practical design process, and associated guidelines and tools. The whole process consists of 3 phases (incubation; socio-technical experimentation; and scaling up.) and 5 activity clusters (vision building and expectation shaping; action plan development; actors network establishment & development; action plan implementation; monitoring, evaluation and learning). 4] Finally the research translated all these results in a tentative handbook that seeks to provide the necessary theoretical knowledge and the practical how-to-do-it competence to support practitioners in introducing and scaling-up sustainable PSS concepts.

Oggi è in continua crescita la domanda di designer che sappiano progettare prodotti a basso impat... more Oggi è in continua crescita la domanda di designer che sappiano progettare prodotti a basso impatto ambientale. Vuoi passare dalla teoria alla pratica? In questo libro trovi una risposta efficace su quali metodi applicare e dove trovare gli strumenti indispensabili. Questo manuale è una riposta alla domanda sempre crescente di un saper fare progettuale che contempli anche la riduzione dell'impatto ambientale. È dunque indirizzato a studenti di design e a progettisti che svolgono la propria attività all'interno di uno studio o di un'impresa. Una prima parte introduce allo sviluppo sostenibile e al design per la sostenibilità ambientale, in particolare all'approccio progettuale di Life Cycle Design di cui sono illustrate sinteticamente le strategie. Sono quindi descritti il metodo e gli strumenti impiegati in una quindicennale attività di consulenza alle imprese per la progettazione di prodotti a basso impatto ambientale. Il nucleo centrale del testo è infatti un metodo operativo e testato insieme ai relativi strumenti per l'integrazione dei requisiti ambientali nel processo progettuale. Un metodo strutturalmente modulare che i designer e le imprese possono concretamente adottare in diverse condizioni di progetto. Il testo fornisce indicazioni su dove reperire gli strumenti, molti dei quali ad accesso gratuito nel sito della rete LeNS (www.lens.polimi.it).

Papers by Fabrizio Ceschin

International Journal of Knowledge and Systems Science, 2015

The paper explores the evolution of Design for Sustainability (DfS). Following a quasi-chronologi... more The paper explores the evolution of Design for Sustainability (DfS). Following a quasi-chronological pattern, our exploration provides an overview of the DfS field, categorising the design approaches developed in the past decades under four innovation levels: Product, Product-Service System, Spatio-Social and Socio-Technical System. As a result, we propose an evolutionary framework and map the reviewed DfS approaches onto this framework. The proposed framework synthesizes the evolution of the DfS field, showing how it has progressively expanded from a technical and product-centric focus towards large scale system level changes in which sustainability is understood as a socio-technical challenge. The framework also shows how the various DfS approaches contribute to particular sustainability aspects and visualises linkages, overlaps and complementarities between these approaches.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the contribution of work placement in enhancing the acade... more The aim of this paper is to investigate the contribution of work placement in enhancing the academic performance of undergraduate design students. A statistical analysis was carried out on a population sample which comprised design students who had graduated at Brunel University London in four different academic years. All the required (anonymous) data were obtained from the university electronic records system. The dataset comprises a total of 411 students, of which 323 were placement students and 88 non-placement students. Students were also classified as higher achievers (students whose second year average mark was 60% or above) and lower achievers. The results seem to suggest that for both higher and lower achievers the placement experience enables students to achieve on average a greater final year mark and a greater improvement from the second to the final year. The study also established that these grade gains were of a similar magnitude irrespective of the students overall academic standing. Finally, the results of this study seem to suggest that the work placement experience give students a particular advantage in the final year project and in the modules characterized by design-focused assessment components.

Access to modern energy services represents a great challenge for about 1.4 billion people living... more Access to modern energy services represents a great challenge for about 1.4 billion people living in low and middle income contexts. This paper discusses the combination of Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) with Product Service Systems (PSS) business models, an approach that is considered promising to deliver sustainable energy solutions in these contexts. This paper aims at filling the knowledge gap regarding the combination of these two models. In particular it puts forward a comprehensive classification able to encompass all the most important dimensions characterising PSS applied to DRE, and identifies 15 archetypal models of PSS applied to DRE. This new classification system and the related archetypal models have been tested and evaluated with companies and experts from Botswana and South Africa, showing their potential to be used as a strategic design tool to support innovation in this field.

Journal of Cleaner Production, Jun 15, 2015

Sustainable Product-Service Systems (S.PSS) carry great potential to deliver social well-being an... more Sustainable Product-Service Systems (S.PSS) carry great potential to deliver social well-being and economic prosperity while operating within the limits of our planet. They can however be complex to design, test, implement and bring to the mainstream. To increase our understanding of the potential beneﬁts, drivers and barriers in S.PSS design, the research community has been inspired to collect and analyse an extensive number of cases in diverse sectors and to develop and test several design methods and tools. This Special Volume on “New Design Challenges to Widely Implement ‘Sustainable Product-Service Systems’” presents results of key studies in the following areas: user satisfaction and acceptance of S.PSS solutions, how industrial partnerships and stakeholder interactions can be designed for environmental and socio-ethical benefits, how knowledge of socio-technical change and transition management feeds S.PSS design processes, and the role of policy instruments to foster their implementation and scale-up. This Introduction reviews the current state of research and summarises the articles presented. The articles demonstrate increasing confidence in integrating approaches and theoretical frameworks from other arenas. These approaches include sociological practice theory, to shed new light on consumer practices in S.PSS configurations, and strategic niche management, to foster a suitable design and experimentation milieu. Experimentation, iteration and cyclical design processes were also seen by many authors as crucial to implementing and stabilising S.PSS solutions, but also their continuous sustainability evaluation. Several articles highlight the importance of local authorities, in developing S.PSS-enabling policies as well as supporting novel networks of stakeholders in the co-production of value. Finally this Introduction highlights key issues for a design research agenda, including but not limited to the development of new knowledge to support S.PSS designers (such as S.PSS design in low and middle-income contexts) and the role of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in the diffusion of knowledge and know-how to companies. Together, the papers in this special volume provide insight into the promise of the S.PSS concept for understanding, advancing and accelerating sustainability.

Energy is a fundamental imperative to the quest for sustainable development. The current challeng... more Energy is a fundamental imperative to the quest for sustainable development. The current challenge is to provide sustainable energy solutions for all, while concomitantly increasing the access to energy and improving usage efficiency. Within this perspective, education in design in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) must increasingly equip design students with a broad knowledge base, as well as effective methods and tools so that new generations of designers (and design educators) can play more effective roles in the development and diffusion of sustainable energy systems. This is the ambition of the Learning Network on Sustainable Energy Systems (LeNSes) project – an African-European multi-polar network for curricula development on SustainableProduct-Service System (S.PSS) design applied to Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE). The research hypothesis of the LeNSes project is that S.PSS can be effectively applied to DRE, representing a promising opportunity to obtain synergies among the economic, environmental, and socio-ethical dimensions.

International Journal of Design, Dec 31, 2014

Sustainability requires radical innovations, but their introduction and diffusion usually encount... more Sustainability requires radical innovations, but their introduction and diffusion usually encounter the opposition of existing socio-technical regimes. An important challenge is, therefore, to understand how to catalyse and support the process of transitioning towards these innovations. Building upon insights from transition studies (in particular the concepts of Strategic Niche Management and Transition Management), and through an action research project (aimed at designing, introducing and diffusing a sustainable mobility system in the suburban areas of Cape Town), the paper investigates the role of design in triggering and orienting societal transformations. A key role is given to the implementation of socio-technical experiments. A new socio-technical system design role emerges: a role in which the ideation and development of sustainable innovation concepts is coupled with the designing of appropriate transition paths to gradually incubate, introduce and diffuse these concepts.

Eco-efficient Product-Service System (PSS) innovations represent a promising approach to sustaina... more Eco-efficient Product-Service System (PSS) innovations represent a promising approach to sustainability. However the adoption of such business strategies is still very limited because it often involves significant corporate, cultural and regulatory barriers. An important challenge is not only to conceive eco-efficient PSS concepts, but also to understand the contextual conditions that facilitate their societal embedding, and which strategies and development pathways are the most appropriate.
The combination of theoretical insights from innovation studies (in particular Strategic Niche Management and Transition Management) and a case studies research (exploring the innovation journeys made by six companies in introducing their eco-efficient PSS innovations in the market) is used to investigate the factors that influence the implementation and diffusion of this kind of innovations. The article provides a structured overview of these factors, grouping them in four clusters: implementation of socio-technical experiments; establishment of a broad network of actors; building up of a shared project vision; creation of room for broad and reflexive learning processes.
Based on these results it is argued that a broader and more strategic system approach should be adopted by companies. Companies should focus not only on the PSS solution and its value chain, but also on the contextual conditions that may favour or hinder the societal embedding of the PSS itself. The article concludes by outlining a key area for future research.

In this special issue the editorial team has the aim to analyse and better understand the dynamic... more In this special issue the editorial team has the aim to analyse and better understand the dynamics, mechanisms and factors impeding/driving the implementation of sustainable PSSs, and of the strategies, approaches and tools that can be adopted, at different levels, to design, manage, stimulate and monitor the widespread adoption of PSS concepts. At the same time we seek to increase our understanding of the way in which interwoven and convergent approaches, such as social innovations, distributed economies, sufficiency, cradle-to-cradle, etc., can be synergetic with the PSS concepts and approaches.

This paper presents the intermediate results of the Learning Network on Sustainability (LeNS) pro... more This paper presents the intermediate results of the Learning Network on Sustainability (LeNS) project, Asian-European multi-polar network for curricula development on Design for Sustainability. LeNS is a mechanism to develop and diffuse system design for sustainability in design schools with a
transcultural perspective. The main output of the project is the Open Learning E-Package (OLEP), an open web-platform that allows a decentralised and collaborative production and fruition of knowledge. Apart from the contents, the same LeNS web-platform is realised in an open-source and copy left ethos, allowing its download and reconfiguration in relation to specific needs, interests and geographical representation.

Product-service system (PSS) innovation is a promising approach to address sustainability challen... more Product-service system (PSS) innovation is a promising approach to address sustainability challenges in the automotive industry. Starting form this assumption, this paper presents and discusses the potential contribution that policy measures can have in fostering the automotive sector in innovating on a PSS level. A set of policy instruments (general instruments and specific PSS-targeted ones) are presented and classified, underlining the effects they could produce at the company and environmental levels. In order to effectively support sustainable PSS diffusion in the automotive industry, the paper suggests the integration of general policy measures (such as internalisation of external costs, extended producer responsibility programmes and informative policies), with the PSS-targeted ones (such as Green Public Procurement focused on sustainable PSS, support of companies in acquiring information related to PSS, support of demonstrative pilot projects). In addition, the paper suggests the necessity to involve actively universities and research centres.

Book Chapters by Fabrizio Ceschin

Eco-efficient Product-Service System (PSS) innovations represent a promising approach to sustaina... more Eco-efficient Product-Service System (PSS) innovations represent a promising approach to sustainability. However the application of this concept is still very limited because eco-efficient PSS are intrinsically radical innovations, that challenge existing customers’ habits (cultural barriers), companies’ organizations (corporate barriers) and regulative framework (regulative barriers). Because of these multi-dimensional changes, eco-efficient PSS can be considered complex and highly uncertain innovations, and therefore difficult to be predicted, planned and managed. Therefore the challenge is not only to conceive eco-efficient PSS concepts, but also to understand which are the most effective strategies to introduce and diffuse these concepts in the market.
Bringing together insights from innovation sciences (in particular transition management, strategic niche management and radical innovation studies), the paper puts forward an approach through which effectively manage the implementation and diffusion of eco-efficient PSS innovations.
Starting from these results the paper outlines the implications on the design level. A new different role for design emerges. A role that may potentially opens new fields of activity alongside the consolidated ones. A role in which design is not only aimed at defining sustainable PSS concept but it is also aimed at promoting, facilitating and setting- up the conditions for implementing and diffusing this kind of innovations.

Conference Papers by Fabrizio Ceschin

It is a shared opinion that the transition towards sustainability will be a continuous and articu... more It is a shared opinion that the transition towards sustainability will be a continuous and articulated learning process, which will require radical changes on multiple levels (social, cultural, institutional and technological). It is also shared that, given the nature and the dimension of those changes, a system discontinuity is needed, and that therefore it is necessary to act on a system innovation level. The challenge now is to understand how it is possible to facilitate and support the introduction and diffusion of such innovations.
Bringing together insights from both Design for sustainability and Transition management literatures, the paper puts forward a model, called Transition model of evolutionary co-design for sustainable (product-service) system innovations, aimed at facilitating and speed-up the process of designing, experimentation, niche introduction and branching of sustainable such innovations.

International Journal of Knowledge and Systems Science, 2015

Journal of Cleaner Production, Jun 15, 2015

International Journal of Design, Dec 31, 2014

Eco-efficient Product-Service System (PSS) innovations represent a promising approach to sustaina... more Eco-efficient Product-Service System (PSS) innovations represent a promising approach to sustainability. However the application of this concept is still very limited because eco-efficient PSS are intrinsically radical innovations, that challenge existing customers’ habits (cultural barriers), companies’ organizations (corporate barriers) and regulative framework (regulative barriers). Because of these multi-dimensional changes, eco-efficient PSS can be considered complex and highly uncertain innovations, and therefore difficult to be predicted, planned and managed. Therefore the challenge is not only to conceive eco-efficient PSS concepts, but also to understand which are the most effective strategies to introduce and diffuse these concepts in the market.
Bringing together insights from innovation sciences (in particular transition management, strategic niche management and radical innovation studies), the paper puts forward an approach through which effectively manage the implementation and diffusion of eco-efficient PSS innovations.
Starting from these results the paper outlines the implications on the design level. A new different role for design emerges. A role that may potentially opens new fields of activity alongside the consolidated ones. A role in which design is not only aimed at defining sustainable PSS concept but it is also aimed at promoting, facilitating and setting- up the conditions for implementing and diffusing this kind of innovations.

The paper presents the intermediate results of an on-going research project called Vehicle Design... more The paper presents the intermediate results of an on-going research project called Vehicle Design Summit (VDS), run by an international Consortium of Universities coordinated by the MIT of Boston. The project aims at designing and prototyping an
eco-efficient vehicle as well as defining an innovative and sustainable business model to introduce and diffuse it into the mobility sector. In this framework the paper explores the potential contribution that PSSs can have in moving beyond incremental technological improvements towards system innovation in the automotive industry.
This is outlined presenting and discussing an alternative business model, characterized by: an approach to mobility as the scope of design; an innovative stakeholders network; a shift from selling products to selling results; a change in product ownership; and a consequent change in vehicle design.

It is a shared opinion that sustainable development requires a system discontinuity, meaning that... more It is a shared opinion that sustainable development requires a system discontinuity, meaning that radical changes in the way we produce and consume are needed. Within this framework there is an emerging understanding that an important contribution to this change can be directly linked to decisions taken in the design phase. For this reason design schools have therefore to be able to provide design students with a broad knowledge and effective Design for Sustainability tools, in order to enable a new generation of designers in playing an active role in re-orienting our consumption and production patterns.
Under this perspective, there is a pressing need of mechanisms that act at the education level, enabling design educators (and researchers) to share knowledge in this field. Along this direction this paper presents the intermediate results of the Learning Network on Sustainability (LeNS) project, an Asian-European multi-polar network for curricula development on Design for Sustainability focused on (Product-Service) System innovation, financed by the European Commission under the Asia-Links programme . LeNS is a mechanism to develop and diffuse system design for sustainability in design schools with a transcultural perspective. The main output of the project will be the Open Learning E-Package (OLEP), an open web platform that allows a decentralised and collaborative production and fruition of knowledge produced as learning subsidies. It can be described as a modular e-package of teaching materials (texts, slide shows, audio, video, etc) and tools for designers, that design educators (but also students and professionals as designers, entrepreneurs and interested persons/institutions) worldwide will be able to download (free of charge), modify, remix and reuse (copy left).
Apart from the contents, the same LeNS web platform is realised in an open-source and copy left ethos, allowing its download and reconfiguration in relation to specific needs, area of interest and interested partners. Within this perspective one of this hypothesis is about the setting up of an African Learning Network on Sustainability, which, taking in consideration the local needs, interests and opportunities, could represent a significant enabling platform capable to sensitise, support and empower a new generation of African design educators, designers and entrepreneurs to reach design practice throughout an open collaborative learning approach.

Finally, the time has arrived in which there is a shared opinion that sustainable development req... more Finally, the time has arrived in which there is a shared opinion that sustainable development requires a system discontinuity, meaning that radical changes in the way we produce, consume and socially interacts are needed. Finally, the time has arrived in which there is an emerging understanding that an important contribution to this change can be directly linked to the role of the design. However we have to admit that the designers are still more part of the problem, than part of the solution, i.e. proactive and diffused actors of the radical change requested by the transition towards a sustainable society. Within the so called learning society, new visions and tools are urgently requested for the design. A new political agenda is needed, looking at all of the of the design’s bodies (the designers, the design educators and the design researchers) as a learning community that urgently needs to accelerate the process of consolidation and diffusion of the new knowledge and know-how, for a new generation of designers. Under this perspective, a key role should be played by the design schools. The paper will explore this issue and in its framework presents the vision, the ambitions and the tools developed within the Learning Network on Sustainability (LeNS) project, an Asian-European multi-polar network for curricula development on Design for Sustainability, financed by the European Commission under the Asia-Links programme.

Eco-efficient PSS innovations represent a promising approach to sustainability. However the adopt... more Eco-efficient PSS innovations represent a promising approach to sustainability. However the adoption of such business strategies is still limited because often involves significant corporate, cultural and regulatory barriers. Changes in basic belief, values, and interpretative frames (in other words higher order learning) are required. One way to facilitate this type of learning is through socio-technical experiments. Starting from these considerations, and bringing together insights from innovation sciences, the paper investigates the potential contribution that a strategic design approach can have in designing small scale socio-technical experiments as a way to stimulate and favor the adoption and diffusion of eco-efficient PSS.

This paper presents the intermediate results of the Learning Network on Sustainable Energy System... more This paper presents the intermediate results of the Learning Network on Sustainable Energy Systems (LeNSes) an African-European multi-polar network for curriculum development on Design for Sustainability (DfS) focused on Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) and Sustainable Product-Service Systems (S.PSS). The paper discusses the convergence between the S.PSS and DRE models as promising approaches to provide sustainable energy solutions for all by increasing its access and improving efficiency in use. Currently, the project partners are collaboratively developing new curricula focused on these combined approaches. The paper examines the S.PSS and DRE models and how they can be used to develop and implement sustainable energy solutions for all within the African context. The research hypothesis is that S.PSS could be applied to DRE to offer a range of benefits such as: economic, environmental and socio-ethical. The paper describes some of the project activities that includes: development of a new modular and adaptable package of learning resources focused on DRE and S.PSS for the design discipline; implementation of pilot courses at African Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) targeted at undergraduate and graduate students, practitioners and companies; and development of an open web platform for distributed production and transfer of knowledge and know-how in this area.
The innovation of the project described in the paper is twofold, firstly by developing unique curricula based on design for sustainability focused on S.PSS and DRE applied to the African contexts, and secondly by delivering it through an open platform for free and in copy-left. This will equip design students in African universities with a broad knowledge base, as well as effective methods and tools with which to play an active role in the development and diffusion of sustainable energy systems.