Designing Pilot Projects as Boundary Objects: A Brazilian Case Study in the Promotion of Sustainable Design (SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology) - Softcover

Zurlo, Francesco; Nunes, Viviane Dos Guimarães Alvim

Softcover

ISBN 10: 3319231405 ISBN 13: 9783319231402

Publisher: Springer, 2015

Synopsis

This book describes a collaborative Design Pilot Project held in Brazil (called MODU.Lares) involving micro and small enterprises and other actors in the furniture sector. The experience was based on an action research method and evaluated by using a tool, in order to assess the value of pilot project as a boundary object capable of fostering innovation and sustainability. The impact of the Design Pilot Project in triggering change in a fragmented local system with a poor environmental and social record, as well as management and innovation issues, were assessed with the help of the same tool, taking into account environmental, technological, economic, sociocultural, and organizational indicators. The collaborative network established was chiefly based on four elements: prototypes, meetings, exhibitions and the Pilot Project (as an overall process). The results indeed demonstrate that a Design Pilot Project can be a valid instrument for establishing a collaborative environment that promotes sustainability and innovation, particularly in contexts with a weak associative culture. Such collaborative projects can constitute the first step in a design policy cycle in developing countries, contributing to the definition of ideas and objectives among local stakeholders, minimizing the risks of failure, and increasing the chances of receiving governmental support.

About this title

From the Back Cover

This book describes the MODU.Lares Project in Brazil, in which an action research method was applied in order to assess the value of a collaborative Design Pilot Project, involving micro and small enterprises and other actors in the furniture sector, as a boundary object capable of fostering innovation and sustainability. The impact of the Design Pilot Project in triggering change in a fragmented local system with a poor environmental and social record was assessed using a tool comprising environmental, technological, economic, sociocultural, and organizational indicators. Flow of knowledge in the established collaborative network was catalyzed by way of four elements: prototypes, meetings, exhibitions and the Pilot Project (as an entire process). The results indeed demonstrate that a Design Pilot Project can be a valid instrument for stimulating a collaborative environment that promotes sustainability and innovation, particularly in contexts with a weak associative culture. Such a project can constitute the first step in a design policy cycle in developing countries, contributing to the definition of ideas and objectives among local stakeholders, minimizing risks of failure, and increasing the chances of governmental support.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3319231405
• ISBN 13: 9783319231402
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 126