WORKSHOP 10: Cross-sectoral Networks
Friday 8 June at 9.00-11.00
Chair: Leena Jokinen
Flowing Design: Departures and Landings.
The Role
of Collaborative Design Networks
Paula Bello
(University of Art and Design Helsinki, Finland)
"Architecture
and design are likely to be redefined in their form, function,
process and value in the coming years"
Manuel Castells*
The shift from an industrial society to a knowledge and informational society (Castells, 2000), and furthermore to a creative economy (Florida 2002) is reflected in major changes to the production systems of regions and nations: from tangible objects to services, complex systems, concepts, networks, and (virtual) realities.
The accelerated global processes (Friedman, 1994) driven by the opening of the markets (Stiglitz, 2001) and new technologies in transportation and communication (Apppadurai, 1996), also known as globalisation, brought two major trends to the product design practice. One on side, products designed and made by local producers are driven to expand into internationalisation as a mean to survive in the competed regional and national markets. On the other hand, products by international companies have to go through processes of localisation, in which the local culture and user appropriates or translates them to fit it into the context. Design is seen as a mean to assist in both these processes, and for that, it is required the construction of networks of cooperation in research, development, commercialisation and promotion.
This paper focuses on how the current global processes redefine the design practice in terms of milieus for interaction through networks of cooperation. For this paper, design is seen from the perspective of creative industries, and designers as creative individuals. It will first analyse how the global processes are driving the construction of design networks; secondly, it will situate design within the creative industries paradigm; and thirdly, it will review some of the implications for the design practice now and in the future.
* Castells, Manuel (2000) The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture. Volume 1, The Rise of the Network Society. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing. Pp. 448
Developing Fashion Forecasting in Design Education
Ana Nuutinen, Department of Home Economics and Craft Teaching,
Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland)
The paper will discuss about a five-year process (1999-2004) in developing a program of futures studies for textile and fashion design education at the University of Art and Design, Helsinki.
Methodologically the case follows an artistic creative process of ”jumping into emptiness”. The big picture was known: the old traditions of textile and fashion industry had faced great changes from the 1990 and there was a serious need to educate a new type of innovative specialists for textile and fashion field, for both local and global job market.
The ”jump into emptiness” was then ”experienced” semester by semester. Each step was documented. This paper bases on the documents collected by the author:
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Notes about the discussions of the needs for ”better” forecasting in textile and fashion design (with professionals of textile and fashion field)
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The annual documentations of the course descriptions, contents and evaluations (education, university)
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The futures visions of the design students collected into their course reports (artistic, designer)
The data will be analyzed with a ”Gadamerian Hermeneutic Circle” developed by the author.
Among the results there will be a description of the path from the original (1999) professional (field), artistic (designer) and educational (university) visions to the recent (2004) discussions of the research methods suitable for futures forecasting in the textile and fashion design.
Breakthrough Research? Funding of High-risk Research
at the Academy of Finland
Maunu Häyrynen
(Academy of Finland, Finland)
Breakthrough or high-risk research is transformative, ambitious and mould-breaking research. Its significance may be based on tackling exceptionally wide and complex research problems, on challenging established theories and scientific paradigms, on radically new ways of using methods as well as on unprejudiced interdisciplinary integration of different research perspectives. Breakthrough research is characterised by an exceptional risk of failure. There is a growing concern that present-day research funding mechanisms may discriminate against such research.
In the paper various views on breakthrough research as an element of scientific progress are studied. An overview of the means of its identifying, evaluating and funding by research funding organisations in different countries is presented.
In a round of discussions at the Academy, breakthrough research was held to merit more attention but also a sharper conceptual framework. According to a survey of the 2005 call for general research grants, the Academy appears to fund a sizeable portion of proposals containing significant risks, when deemed scientifically innovative and otherwise high-quality. There were notable differences between the risk cultures of different fields of research, and a striking absence of women could be discerned among the proposals under study.
The Board of the Academy has ended up supporting breakthrough research by mainstreaming. This is understood to entail encouraging researchers to present novel and risky research ideas. Efforts shall be made to better accommodate breakthrough research in the reviewing and funding processes. The ultimate aim in funding breakthrough research is to enhance scientific diversity and it should thus not be restricted to areas of strategic significance.
The Nordic Think-tank Tracking Down the New
Perspectives on Future Competences
Leena Jokinen (Finland Futures
Research Centre, Turku School of Economics, Finland)
The Nordic think-tank is a Nordic Council founded project, which is co-ordinated by the Icelandic labour union organisation Education and Training Service Centre. The think-tank members come from the different Nordic countries; one person from each country. The main aims of the think-tank are to produce critical perspectives on future competences and highlight the needs for development especially on adult education.
The approaches of the think-tank work are: firstly, to form an image of the future society and work life. What are the most important competences of individuals, and what kind of organisations are productive and sustainable in the Nordic context? Secondly, what are the structures and contexts where these future competences have a possibility to develop and flourish? Thirdly, how the Nordic culture can be the basis of competitive strategy and create unique frontrunner products and services in a global world?
The working methods are to explore significant reports as well as other documents, to talk to national experts in different fields of society, and to organise a seminar, where experts and adult education practitioners discuss together. The final product of the project will be a critical, well grounded report, which points out the most significant dynamics on future competence creation and the role of adult education in it. The report will come out by the end of year 2007.
The conference organisers reserve all rights to
any programme or schedule
changes.