Engagement Models

While different programs for near-term solutions can be structured based on the aspirations and needs of potential partners, the D-Lab research interests relies on opportunities for advancing research and practice in Design for Well-Being. We work directly with students across disciplines who aspire to address thorny behavioral problems, and with faculty who are interested in applying design to their own research working on, teaching, or building an interdisciplinary agenda. We also engage with individuals and organizations across sectors interested in developing both near-term solutions to specific issues, or long-term research projects involving the behavioral aspects of well-being of people and the environment. 

Currently, we take two different approaches: collaborative or joint ventures.

Collaborative Ventures

These start with existing public health research projects providing questions to the D-Lab so a a parallel design research project can be created. The design research agenda will be shaped by two interdependent research pathways. 

The first is determined in collaboration with partner institutions considering opportunities for accelerating their research and expanding their impact through design. The second is an independent research agenda based on the application of the Whole View Model and complementary frameworks to solve Public Health issues from a design approach. At the end of collaborative ventures, a comparative analysis reveals points of convergence and divergence between both approaches.

Joint Ventures

These start with partner institutions and the D-Lab coming together to share their own understanding of the public health challenge at hand, and agree upon a solution-oriented interdisciplinary research agenda. 

Throughout the project, partner institutions and the D-Lab will integrate expertise to do research and co-design potential interventions in the context being researched. 

At the end of joint ventures, researchers will situate the produced knowledge in the body of work of design and public health, and explore how contextual interventions can inform new research agendas in each field.