Alicia Carnicero
This doctoral research project aims to investigate the potential contribution of Systemic Design (SD) methodologies to governance innovation, democratic participation, and socially sustainable territorial development. The study explores how design practices can respond to complex societal challenges by fostering collaborative, reflexive, and context-sensitive forms of public action and policymaking.
The project is grounded in the context of the Basque Country, where public innovation initiatives and design-led governance experiments are increasingly addressing issues related to democracy, participation, and territorial transformation. Particular attention is given to how systems mapping, relational analysis, and collective sensemaking practices can support multi-stakeholder coordination and participatory policymaking processes.
Methodologically, the research combines an ongoing theoretical review with qualitative and practice-oriented fieldwork through a comparative case study approach. The first case study analyses the work of the design consultancy Maraka, examining how systemic approaches are integrated into socially oriented strategic design projects. The second case study will be conducted during a research stay at the Systemic Design Lab, focusing particularly on the SYSTOUR Interreg Project. Data collection includes semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and documentary analysis.
The research ultimately aims to contribute both theoretically and practically to the field of SD by critically analysing the operationalisation of systemic methodologies within governance and public innovation contexts. In addition, the project seeks to propose an operational framework capable of supporting institutions, organisations, and practitioners working on collaborative governance and social innovation initiatives when applying SD approaches.
Keywords: systemic design, design for policy, collaborative governance, social innovation