Jeremy Beaudry
Director (Interim) of Health System Innovation and Design, The University of Vermont Health Network
Design Is Not Enough: Iterating a “design+” practice for maximum impact in complex systems and organizations
Design teams and design leaders are well positioned to impact their organizations beyond the boundaries of typical design problems. We have proven tools, methods, and frameworks for understanding the needs of people (employees, customers, end users, constituents); we can shift organizations with our approach to be more inclusive, more person-centered, more planet-centered; and we can accelerate collaborative and co-creative action in the service of solving our most wicked problems.
However, for those of us tackling problems beyond the traditional boundaries of the discipline, design alone may not be sufficient. Within the fields of complex systems-level problems – healthcare, climate change, income inequality, housing insecurity, etc. – no single discipline holds all of the knowledge to address these multifaceted issues. We must transcend the ideological and methodological single-mindedness that the design profession has evangelized for the past 15-20 years. We need to embrace and practice a “design+” approach that partners with and learns from diverse co-conspirators and methodologies in other disciplines: that is, design plus community organizing, design plus organization development, design plus systems thinking, design plus public policy, design plus data science, and beyond.
In this talk, I will draw on my years of leading human-centered design processes within civic and organizational spaces to create collaborative structures for conversation and collective action which bridge diverse perspectives and disciplines. I will focus in particular on my most recent experience building a design practice within a large rural healthcare system that evolved from using a rigid design methodological approach to employing a more flexible and responsive “design+” practice to have a greater impact on organizational strategy and its execution. Audience members will be invited to consider how their design practice intersects with other disciplines and methodologies to more effectively solve complex systems problems, and to reflect on their own “design+” position in their unique organization and community contexts.
About Jeremy
Jeremy Beaudry writes poems, plays music, and makes arty things. He currently leads a health system innovation and design team at The University of Vermont Health Network. Before joining UVMHN, he was a professor of design and director of the Design for Social Impact and Industrial Design master’s programs at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. His research and design practice focus on creating collaborative tools, methods, and frameworks to help communities and organizations understand complex challenges and execute systems-wide change and innovation efforts. He publishes, publicly presents, and leads workshops on how designers can collaborate with change-makers from diverse disciplines and contexts to transform complex organizations and systems. Jeremy lives in Montpelier, Vermont with his spouse, three children, one border collie, and two cats.