Wina Smeenk, Professor of Societal Impact Design, has published her new book The Co-design Canvas. The Co-Design Canvas is a proven, practical and user-friendly tool to start openly and transparently, plan, execute and evaluate collaborations around societal challenges with different stakeholders. Understanding and addressing these challenges is difficult because no single stakeholder or organization is solely responsible. Everything is interconnected and constantly changing, resulting in challenges being neglected and stakeholders being unable or unwilling to make important decisions.

“Co-design is inherently collaborative. To achieve societal impact, all stakeholders are needed. Only when all different perspectives are represented can you achieve meaningful design opportunities," says Wina Smeenk. "If we want ideas from socially engaged residents to take effect, it can only be done through good collaboration with other stakeholders.”

The Co-Design Canvas is a tool for governments, citizens, businesses, nonprofit organizations, knowledge institutions and other stakeholders to communicate and collaborate transparently. It clarifies and discusses differences in interests, knowledge, experience and power relations, dwells on desired positive impact and concrete results from the beginning, and ensures that everyone’s voice is truly heard.

The Canvas consists of eight cards about co-design decisions that can be placed together. "Together with the stakeholders you navigate through the cards flexibly”, Wina explains. "You can take different routes through the Canvas. Sometimes you have to backtrack. It's revisiting decisions and thinking ahead." But crucial above all is that everyone has a say, Wina believes. "If people can really bring in their interests and feel that their interests are served by the portfolio of collaborative projects, then you see people put their shoulders to it and give it all their enthusiasm. Then something beautiful is created."

The Co-Design Canvas is available through BIS publishers.

Book presentation

On Tuesday, October 10, the festive presentation of the book The Co-Design Canvas will take place at Pakhuis de Zwijger. You are cordially invited to attend.

WITH CONTRIBUTIONS OF
Agnes Willenborg, Claudia Mayer and Koen van Turnhout

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Date: 10 October 2023
Time: 19:00h - 21:30h
Location: Pakhuis de Zwijger, Piet Heinkade 179, Amsterdam

REGISTER
Tickets for this event are available free of charge through Pakhuis de Zwijger: https://dezwijger.nl/programma/the-co-design-canvas

The Expertise Network Systemic Co-design, the Systemic Design Association and Pakhuis de Zwijger are joining forces and organizing the Amsterdam hub of the RSD12 Symposium from October 10 to 12. RSD stands for Relating Systems and Design Thinking and is an annual conference where several ESC professors have presented before. Instead of having everyone fly to Georgetown, where RSD12 takes place, this year the conference has 12 hubs around the world. This will allow everyone to be inspired without flying long distances.

The overall theme of the RSD conference is "Emergence in Entanglement," and in Amsterdam we have a program full of examples, stories and research around the question of how to navigate systemic change and transitions. We explore four different societal challenges: the sustainable and circular society, the healthy and vital society, a safe and fair digital world and education in times of transition. Around each theme there will be keynotes, workshops and presentations, both plenary and in breakout sessions.

"We could not have done this conference on our own as Inholland. The strength of ESC lies in the fact that we can pick up and organize larger projects together" - Wina Smeenk

Program and tickets

Each part of the day is dedicated to a social transition, which we consider a system. You can find the program on the website of Pakhuis de Zwijger, which will be added to in the coming weeks. Tickets for the three-day conference can also be purchased through this webpage.

Evening program

On October 10 and 11 two book presentations will take place. Wina Smeenk will be presenting her book "The Co-Design Canvas" on the evening of Oct. 10 (in English) and Bas van den Berg presents his book "Regenerative Education in Times of Transition" on the evening of Oct. 11 (in Dutch).

More info and registration for book presentation Wina: https://dezwijger.nl/programma/the-co-design-canvas 

More info and registration for book presentation Bas: https://dezwijger.nl/programma/onderwijzen-in-transities

Keep an eye on our website and LinkedIn to stay informed about the program.

For questions, ideas or workshop suggestions, please contact Frank Evers at frank.evers@inholland.nl