An introduction
Dr Wina Smeenk has been professor of Societal Impact Design since January 2021 and is part of the Creative Business Research Centre. She works for parties such as Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab Amsterdam, SLUISLab Amsterdam and Sustainable Media Lab. The Empathy Compass that she developed, as well as her Mixed-Perspectives Methodologies and Empathic Handover Method, will enable her to continue assisting the lab’s research work and reinforcing the lab’s design team. The ultimate aim is to create an inclusive city in which tourism and quality of life are in balance.
Alongside her professorship at Inholland University of Applied Sciences, Wina is actively engaged in professional practice through projects carried out with her own co-design agency, WiEN’s ontwerperschap. For example, she applied her empathetic co-design methods to develop the Into D’mentia simulator, first in a physical container and later in virtual reality. She also applied her methods in areas such as youth care and in the development of a smart residential and working district.
Wina is founder and primus inter pares of Expert Network for Systemic Co-design (ESC), a research group that connects design professorships from The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, and Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences.
Collaboration
Co-design is an inherent part of a collaborative effort. Wina is keen to collaborate with all those involved with social innovations for the city. Meaningful design solutions can only be devised once the various perspectives are represented. In research projects, this automatically implies the involvement of residents, visitors, patients, clients, students, authorities and for-profit and non-profit organisations.
The Co-design Canvas
Wina Smeenk publishes useful tool for co-design processes
Societal challenges are urgent and affect everyone, including politicians, citizens, government officials, business professionals, NGOs, designers and researchers. Understanding and addressing these challenges is difficult because no single stakeholder or organisation is solely responsible. Everything is interconnected and constantly changing, resulting in challenges being neglected and stakeholders being unable or unwilling to make important decisions.
The Co-Design Canvas is a practical and user-friendly tool that supports flexible planning, conducting, and evaluating of co-design processes for multi-stakeholder coalitions and facilitators. The Canvas:
- Helps you discover how to facilitate open and transparent dialogue.
- Is a useful tool for initiating, planning, conducting and assessing collaborations.
- Learns you about inclusivity and effective collaboration in addressing societal challenges.
Inaugural lecture by Wina Smeenk: The world tilted
In Wina's inaugural lecture, she explained how creative professionals can make a significant contribution to the approach to social problems. The world is changing, Wina states, and we all need to join forces to ensure that it moves in the right direction. Keen to find out more? Download and read the English inaugural lecture here or watch the lecture in the video below (Dutch spoken).
What can you contribute to a more sustainable society?
The transition to a sustainable society is often seen as a challenge that is too complex to even contribute anything yourself. In her interview with Kees Klomp, Wina explains why this does not need to be the case if we apply the principles used in the design world. By doing so, we can create a society that works for everyone. Watch the video with English subtitles below or read the interview (written in Dutch).
Who is Wina Smeenk?
Expertise
Expertise
Wina works as a professor at Inholland University of Applied Sciences. She is also heavily engaged in professional practice, carrying out assignments through her own innovation and co-design studio, WiEN’s ontwerperschap. She has used her empathetic co-design methods to better understand people with dementia, for instance. But she has also used her method for such things as developing a smart residential and business district.
Experience
Experience
Wina studied Industrial Design at Delft University of Technology, where she specialised in innovation management and user-centred design, focusing on vulnerable groups in particular. She has worked as a designer and innovation strategist for a range of international companies. She soon started combining this with roles in education. For example, she helped build the Faculty of Industrial Design at Eindhoven University of Technology in the capacity of programme and domain manager.
She set up her own co-design consultancy firm in 2010 to help clients with social innovation processes. In 2019, as an external doctoral student at Eindhoven University of Technology, she published her thesis, Navigating Empathy, on practical and student case studies revolving around her empathetic methods in co-design. In 2022, she co-wrote Design Play Change with Agnes Willenborg.
About Wina
About Wina
Wina is married with two children and feels at home in the creative village of Broek in Waterland in the province of North Holland.
"Involve all relevant parties in your design solution and, above all, do not forget the vulnerable groups."
- Wina Smeenk, professor of Societal Impact Design
Wina Smeenk is engaged in research work at:
Expert network for Systemic Co-design
Wina forms part of the Expert network for Systemic Co-design (ESC). In this network, Inholland University of Applied Sciences, The Hague University of Applied Sciences, HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht and Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences - supported by funding from SIA-SPRONG - have teamed up, together with workfield and other partners, to do design-oriented research into methods of expediting societal transitions.
Wina set up this network together with six professors from our collaborating universities of applied sciences in order to develop a collective approach of this nature. Based on specific case studies, we will be spending eight years exploring which approach will provide the best support when it comes to uncertain change processes.
Further information
Wina Smeenk's publications
Ontwerpen en actieonderzoek
Ontwerpers en ontwerponderzoekers leveren een groeiende bijdrage aan uiteenlopende maatschappelijke transities, bijvoorbeeld in de zorg, het digitale domein en de klimaat opgave. Ze werken daarbij steeds vaker in transdisciplinaire contexten, samen met professionals uit andere...
Ontwerpen en actieonderzoekKennisproducten uit praktijkgericht onderzoek
Van onderzoeksresultaat naar bruikbaar kennisproduct. Hoe voorkom je dat de resultaten van jouw onderzoek in een la belanden? En hoe zet je ze om in kennisproducten die professionals daadwerkelijk gebruiken? Dit boek biedt praktische handvatten om jouw onderzoeksresultaten om te...
Kennisproducten uit praktijkgericht onderzoekEerder zien en handelen
Door de sterke toename van dementie groeit ook de druk op mantelzorgende (schoon)kinderen. Zij schakelen vaak pas laat hulp in en lopen daardoor het risico op overbelasting. Dit onderzoek introduceert zelfbewust mantelzorgerschap en combineert gedragspsychologie, reflectieve praktijk...
Eerder zien en handelenEerder zien en handelen – Interventieoverzicht
Veel mantelzorgers moeten zelf het wiel uitvinden wanneer een naaste dementie krijgt. Partners raken overbelast, maar - en dat is veel minder bekend - hetzelfde geldt ook voor hun kinderen. Zij proberen de zorg te combineren met werk en gezin, maar lopen daardoor het risico zelf uit...
Eerder zien en handelen – InterventieoverzichtESC Terugblik 2024
Met trots en een positieve blik kijken we terug op het derde hink-stap-SPRONG-jaar van het Expertisenetwerk Systemisch Co-Design (ESC). Dit samenwerkingsverband tussen vier hogescholen in de Randstad, acht designlectoraten, hun onderzoekers en werkveldpartners heeft zich ontwikkeld...
ESC Terugblik 2024Reshaping Higher Education Designs and Futures: Postdigital Co-design with Generative Artificial Intelligence
This article examines how collaborative design practices in higher education are reshaped through postdigital entanglement with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). We collectively explore how co-design, an inclusive, iterative, and relational approach to educational design and...
Reshaping Higher Education Designs and Futures: Postdigital Co-design with Generative Artificial IntelligenceIntegreren
Dit artikel introduceert integreren als een kerncompetentie voor ontwerpers die werken in complexe, politiek-bestuurlijke contexten. Hier wordt verwezen naar de bredere ontwerpcompetenties zoals beschreven door Van Arkel & Tromp (2024) waarin de competentie van integreren wordt...
IntegrerenESCollab ESC & Research
In their relatively short existence, the Expertisenetwork Systemic Co-design (ESC) (ESC) puts these aspirations into practice. As an adventurous and open-ended escapade, ESC is building a community of engaged people around shared challenges, who learn together, create new social...
ESCollab ESC & ResearchESCall, ESC & Praktijk
Hoe werk je creatief aan systeemverandering in samenwerking? En hoe kun je de kennis die daarbij ontstaat delen, verdiepen en opschalen? In dit boek presenteren ontwerpers en creatieve bureaus uit het Expertisenetwerk Systemisch Co-design (ESC) hun kennisproducten: kaartensets,...
ESCall, ESC & PraktijkThe Empathy Compass for addressing Societal Challenges in Education.
Higher education, as a catalyst for social progress and talent development, holds a unique position to foster mutual learning across sectors, disciplines, life-spheres and communities. By nurturing critical thinking and creativity, education can empower students to drive and take...
The Empathy Compass for addressing Societal Challenges in Education.Applied Design Research in Living Labs and other Innovative Learning and Experimentation Environments
Experimental learning and innovation environments, such as living labs, field labs, and urban innovation labs, are increasingly used to connect multi-stakeholders in envisioning, creating, experimenting, learning, and trying out novel responses to diverse societal challenges. With...
Applied Design Research in Living Labs and other Innovative Learning and Experimentation EnvironmentsIt really touches me: How to design Empathic Journeys with Virtual Reality in societal challenges
Designers are increasingly collaborating with various stakeholders to address complex societal challenges. These challenges often require a codesign approach, where differ-ent actors with diverse perspectives and experiences unite to explore innovative ave-nues for change. Such...
It really touches me: How to design Empathic Journeys with Virtual Reality in societal challengesESC Terugblik 2023
We kijken terug op het tweede jaar van het SPRONG Expertisenetwerk Systemisch Co-Design (ESC). In het eerste jaar hebben we gebouwd aan ons programmateam en ons partnernetwerk. In het tweede jaar zijn we vanuit de opgedane inzichten en gedeelde expertise aan de slag gegaan en hebben...
ESC Terugblik 2023Bridging the research-practice gap: understanding the knowledge exchange between design research and social design practices
Design academics struggle in effectively reaching out to design practice, while design practitioners have difficulties in appropriating academic output. In their turn, design practitioners create new local knowledge that may not be recognised (as such) by design academics. This...
Bridging the research-practice gap: understanding the knowledge exchange between design research and social design practicesUnlocking the potential of living labs: insights and strategies
What are the lessons that applied design researchers can take away from this book? What suggestions and recommendations can be derived from the experiences presented in the preceding chapters? On the one hand, it is clear that working with Living Labs offers unique opportunities to...
Unlocking the potential of living labs: insights and strategiesOpening & Closing Hours
Collaboration in experimental learning, innovation, and transition environments such as Living Labs can be complicated to carry out in practice. Designers and design researchers are often involved in these processes based on their intrinsic emphasis on transformation of the status quo...
Opening & Closing HoursExperimentation at the heart of societal change
Today’s applied design researchers are where the action is. They have always operated as a catalyst of change: propelling and steering design and society into brighter futures. But now, more than ever, design researchers teamup with a broad range of stakeholders to get things done....
Experimentation at the heart of societal changeHet Co-Design canvas 2023 (Nederlands)
De context van een maatschappelijke uitdaging geeft inzicht in de complexiteit van het (eco-)systeem rondom de huidige probleemsituatie: de omgeving, de stakeholders (inclusief de natuur), de hoogtepunten en frustraties, de conflicten en dilemma's, en de kansen voor verandering....
Het Co-Design canvas 2023 (Nederlands)The Co-Design Canvas
Societal challenges are urgent and affect everyone, including politicians, citizens, government officials, business professionals, NGOs, designers and researchers. Understanding and addressing these challenges is difficult because no single stakeholder or organisation is solely...
The Co-Design CanvasESC Terugblik 2022
Dit magazine is een uitgave van Expertise Netwerk Systemisch Co-design, een samenwerking tussen Hogeschool Inholland, Hogeschool Utrecht, Haagse Hogeschool, Hogeschool Rotterdam en partners vanuit creatieve industrie en maatschappelijk domein. Het netwerk wordt mede mogelijk gemaakt...
ESC Terugblik 2022NADR Collaboration for impact
Welcome to the Collaboration for Impact magazine (CfI). This magazine shows the added value of applying design research in, with and beyond the creative industry. The stories presented here are witnesses of the fact that multiple value creation urgently needs discipline and boundary...
NADR Collaboration for impactPilletje hier, pilletje daar
Deze visualisatie is het resultaat van een kwalitatief onderzoek waarin het empathie kompas (Smeenk, 2019) gebruikt is om te onderzoeken en visualiseren hoe studenten van verschillende hogescholen begrip ontwikkelden voor het maatschappelijk vraagstuk rondom synthetische drugs...
Pilletje hier, pilletje daarTeaching the Co-Design Canvas in Living Labs
Our society faces many challenges, necessitating collaborative efforts among multiple stakeholders. Our students learn this in living labs. This paper explores preliminary research on introducing co-design to novices. We introduce a case study exploring how design educators can...
Teaching the Co-Design Canvas in Living LabsThe Co-Design canvas 2023 (English)
The context of a societal challenge provides insight into the complexity of the (eco-)system surrounding the current problematic situation: the environment, the stakeholders (including nature), the highlights and frustrations, the conflicts and dilemmas, and the opportunities for...
The Co-Design canvas 2023 (English)The Empathic Co-Design Canvas
The numerous grand challenges around us demand new approaches to build alternative sustainable futures collectively. Whereas these so-called co-design processes are becoming more mainstream, many multi-stakeholder coalitions lack practical guidance in these dynamic and systemic...
The Empathic Co-Design CanvasMandaat en spierballen
Hoe kun je de impact van een ontwerpende aanpak op maatschappelijke opgaven versterken? Hoe kan een Programma Ontwerpende Aanpak daaraan bijdragen en wat is daarvoor nodig? Vanuit de ambitie van staatssecretaris Gunay Uslu om de inzet van ontwerp te versterken, is een pilot opgezet...
Mandaat en spierballenPit 3 Maatschappelijk verdienvermogen
Klimaatverandering, woningtekort, krapte op de arbeidsmarkt – zomaar een handjevol issues van deze tijd. Problemen die zo groot en complex zijn dat je ze als enkele partij niet oplost. Alleen door veel verschillende stakeholders te laten samenwerken, maak je een kans. Klinkt logisch,...
Pit 3 Maatschappelijk verdienvermogenDesign Play Change
Design In our modern world, we are constantly confronted by challenges of a societal, ecological, organisational, strategic or cultural nature. These so-called wicked problems are difficult to define and even harder to solve, often requiring feats of collaboration. Design, Play,...
Design Play ChangeMaatschappelijke Waarde creëren
Het begrip Maatschappelijk Verdienvermogen (MV) is nauw verbonden met de begrippen Meervoudige Waardecreatie en Brede Welvaart. Wat is de lading van deze begrippen en hoe verhouden deze zich tot de maatschappelijke uitdagingen en transities waar we als samenleving voor staan? Wat is...
Maatschappelijke Waarde creërenCo-design session
Websites placing cookies on your computer to track your browsing behavior. TikTok stores your personal data in China. Are you aware of what products, services, and organisations do with your personal data? It is often not obvious. Our digital lives are becoming more and more...
Co-design sessionDe wereld gekanteld
Maatschappelijke vraagstukken worden steeds nijpender. Van dementie tot klimaatverandering en corona; we hebben er als mensen, burgers, bewoners en stadsgebruikers – al dan niet door eigen ervaring – een gevoel bij. Het echt begrijpen en aanpakken van deze vraagstukken is echter...
De wereld gekanteldThe world tilted
Social issues are becoming increasingly pressing. From dementia to climate change to corona; we as people, citizens, residents and city users - through our own experience or otherwise - have a sense of them. However, truly understanding and addressing these issues is difficult because...
The world tiltedOnderzoeksdata over Toerisme in Noord
Vanuit de opleidingen Tourism, Leisure & Events Management aan de Hogeschool Inholland, voeren onderzoekers en studenten – in afstemming met het werkveld - sinds jaar en dag onderzoek uit naar aspecten van de stad Amsterdam als toeristische bestemming. Vanaf eind 2015 is hier het...
Onderzoeksdata over Toerisme in NoordHet Co-Design canvas 2020 (Nederlands)
Het Co-Design Canvas is een instrument om samenwerkingen rondom maatschappelijke uitdagingen met verschillende betrokkenen open en transparant te starten, plannen, uitvoeren en evalueren. Het biedt een hulpmiddel aan overheden, burgers, bedrijven, non-profitorganisaties,...
Het Co-Design canvas 2020 (Nederlands)The Co-Design canvas 2020 (English)
The Co-Design Canvas is a tool for initiating, planning, conducting and assessing- collaborations around societal challenges with various stakeholders openly and transparently. It offers a means for governments, citizens, businesses, non-profit organisations, knowledge institutions...
The Co-Design canvas 2020 (English)A comparison of existing frameworks leading to an empathic formation compass for co-design
Although empathy is an essential aspect of co-design, the design community lacks a systematic overview of the key dimensions and elements that foster empathy in design. This paper introduces an empathic formation compass, based on a comparison of existing relevant frameworks. Empathic...
A comparison of existing frameworks leading to an empathic formation compass for co-designA systematic validation of the Empathic Handover approach guided by five factors that foster empathy in design
This study aims at validating the transferability of the Empathic Handover approach, which we originally developed for the co-design process of a dementia simulator. We argue that empathy in design is operationalised using five factors: emotional interest, sensitivity, self-awareness,...
A systematic validation of the Empathic Handover approach guided by five factors that foster empathy in designEmpathic handover: how would you feel?
It is difficult to inform design with experiences from people with dementia. When it comes to involving this vulnerable user group and connecting multidisciplinary design teams, current empathic co-design methods and tools are scarce, seem fragmented and lack a coherent and structured...
Empathic handover: how would you feel?A Systematic Analysis of Mixed Perspectives in Empathic Design: Not One Perspective Encompasses All
The work presented in this paper is set up in the context of empathic design, in particular design for people in mourning situations. It seems almost a truism to say that designing for a situation as delicate, emotional, and complex as mourning demands that the designer is able to...
A Systematic Analysis of Mixed Perspectives in Empathic Design: Not One Perspective Encompasses AllRequirements from the Void:
In this paper we discuss our experiences with the 1:10:100 approach for organizing requirements elicitation in open innovation projects. 1:10:100 was originally developed to tackle the complexity of ‘wicked’ design problems, but also turns out to be a helpful means to organize...
Requirements from the Void: