Conference Agenda

This paper explores the mid-term impacts and outcomes of an innovation readiness programme using rapid design-led interventions, which has been deployed in 50 micro-SMEs in the North East of England. It builds on previous work by the lead author and his research group who developed and deployed this programme, which uses design facilitation, and who have reported on its evolution in the ADMC journal in 2018 and 2022.

This latest study develops an understanding of the specific impacts and outcomes of the programme on participants and their organisations after a period of between 2 and 5 years. It compares initial findings, reported in the authors’ previous studies which were based on data collected immediately after the programme interventions, with new findings based on data gathered 2-5 years later. Further, it considers how these impacts and outcomes may be sustained within these organisations.

The research has been conducted using a mixed methods approach employing thematic analysis of data gathered through co-reflection, surveys and semi-structured interviews. Findings suggest that there is a maturing of the observations regarding initial impacts and outcomes reported immediately following the programme and those reported after 2-5 years.

This study makes a contribution to the field of design facilitation by considering the scope of application of the practice beyond focusing on developing new products, services and systems where deep design process knowledge is deemed to be critical.This study highlights design facilitation, focused on organisational change, which is shown to rely upon the creativity and expertise of design facilitators to lead design dialogues.

This study will be of interest to those researching and/or practising design facilitation and those who are seeking to develop design innovation support programmes, particularly for micro-SMEs, where lasting impacts are required.

Surprises in design activities are inevitable and significantly impact the design process and outcomes. Despite their importance, existing literature predominantly focuses on cognitive responses to surprises, with limited attention to categorizing these events and identifying effective management strategies. This study addresses this gap by investigating the types of unexpected events that occur during the design process and the specific strategies tool-based product designers use to manage them. Through thematic analysis of interviews with designers from two companies, the study identifies six key categories of surprises: design blockages, unexpected events, unexpected phenomena, unexpected information, emotional responses, and potential value. A practical framework is developed, integrating these categories with effective management strategies such as interdisciplinary collaboration, technological innovation, and proactive exploration. This framework provides actionable insights for design practitioners, fostering a resilient design environment that emphasizes reflective practices, continuous improvement, open communication, and cross-functional cooperation. The study’s theoretical contributions enrich existing literature by offering a detailed categorization of surprises and a structured framework that views surprises as opportunities for innovation and value creation, ultimately enhancing design outcomes.

Leaders today need to be creative in order to be prepared for high levels of uncertainty and complexity. Innovative solutions can build the starting point for long-lasting meaningful change and can form a response to those systematic challenges. The rise of design leadership positions across industries and organizations is an indication for the growing demand of creative thinking at the managerial level. Creativity, often attributed to designers, is seen as highly valuable in leaders and prepares them for the variety of challenges they face.This raises the question which specific qualities design professionals can bring to the leadership domain, especially in relation to innovation and creating positive systemic change?

Decades of leadership studies led to a classification into various leadership styles which are defined by specific mindsets and behaviors. The data shows, that in the context of innovation many authors do not refer to a certain leadership style but talk about leadership in a more generic way. For this reason, the review investigates the leadership behaviors required to be an impactful leader in the innovation domain and discusses the future role design can play in leading for innovation.