1. DESIS UK: Case studies
Present your project in the following slides using this template.
Follow the instructions on each slide:
-Insert images minimum 1024x756 pix.
- Fill in the text box respecting type, size and maximum length.
(you can take a look at the samples in the same attachment)

2. Green Camden
Co Designing Shared Assets & Public and Collaborative Services to
Reduce Carbon Emissions in London Borough of Camden
more on: http://desisgreencamden.jimdo.com
HEI: Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design
Course(s)/Research body: Socially Responsive Design and
Innovation Research Hub; MA Applied Imagination
Main Partners: Camden Council; Green Camden Network,
Transition Dartmouth Park
Funders: Courses and Research Hub
Place: London borough of Camden
Keywords: Urban Green, Neighbourhoods, Carbon reduction

3. The context (situation/ problem):
In January 2012, Camden Council approached our research team to
explore the possibility of a practice based research project focusing on
assisting the Council’s Green Camden initiative in changing the behaviors
of those who live and work within London Borough of Camden so as to
reduce carbon emissions.
The project has 5 overarching aims: reduce residents carbon emissions;
adapt to a changing climate; reduce, reuse and recycle perhaps linked to
collaborative consumption/shared assets; improve air quality; improve
biodiversity in the Camden locality.

4. Click on the icon below to insert one or
more images showing the project…
(of people, objects and places)
Add text below to summarise the starting
concept and strategy, how did the
project develop? what were some of the
key outputs and outcomes?
The Project Response:
The project aimed to engage students and Camden residents in the co-
creation of new product service systems that could be implemented by
residents and other social actors to facilitate and promote sustainable
behaviours. Also, to engage students in co-design activity with residents to
improve services that were already being implemented by residents to
facilitate and promote sustainable behaviours.
Staff and students developed relationships with Camden residents and
worked with them to collaboratively apply service design methods to identify
opportunities for design interventions. They then worked together to co-
create product service propositions aimed at reducing carbon emission.
A series of prototype objects and service blueprints were delivered and
made available to the Camden residents for implementation.

5. Actor Profile:
Transition Dartmouth Park: Highgate Newtown community centre
Motivations for involvement (agendas):
Shared aim of promoting more sustainable ways of living in the Dartmouth Park area of
Camden. Specifically interested in local food growing. Wanted increased use of
community garden; increased community engagement within the garden and community
centre and spread of local food growing to other locations.
Contribution to the project (assets):
Place, time, people, knowledge, skills and some tools. Site for design intervention;
participation in co- design processes; knowledge of the local context, experience and
expertise of using the site and promoting its use to others, insight into perceived barriers
to current use of the community garden, knowledge of local networks and actors
The project outcomes for this actor:
A more effective means of communication between local actors including the community
centre and gardens users. Increased community interaction.

6. Actor profile:
Camden Council Sustainability Team
Motivations for involvement: HE staff and students represent resource to
help deliver ‘Green Camden’ a Council initiative to engage residents in
behaviour change to reduced carbon emissions. Access to design skills.
Additional community engagement at no extra cost.
Contributions to the project: Introductions to community groups participating
in the council scheme. Briefing students on sustainable behaviours. Sharing
knowledge of what works and what doesn’t. introduction to network of actors
who may be of use to the project.
Project outcomes for this actor: Public and collaborative service blueprints
(services to help promote sustainable behaviours delivered by communities
for communities), Publicity through exhibition and showcase of the student/
participants response.

7. Actor profile:
MA Applied Imagination CSM
Motivations for involvement: Fulfil course requirements. Exposure to and
experience of co-design processes.
Contributions to the project: Co-ordinated the design process and co-
delivered responses
Project outcomes for this actor: Design work, exhibition, experience of
participatory design process, collaborative engagement and consultation.
Experience and learning relating to participatory design and service design
approaches to design led social innovation for sustainability.

8. The process was collaborative and iterative involving students and residents
in the co-definition of design briefs and the co-development of design outputs
– products prototypes and service blueprints

9. Methods used:
A co-design approach was used in the research and development
stages; methods included stakeholder mapping; asset mapping;
agenda mapping; journey mapping. data visualisation was used in
the research/scoping stages of the project to help communication
with diverse actors. paper prototyping and desktop walkthroughs
were used to understand how services would work see:
servicedesigntools.com

10. Design(ers) role:
In the process of co-design designers acted as ‘facilitators’ using their design
skills to help other actors to articulate and share their experiences and
identify their assets and needs particularly in the research stages of their
projects. On other occasions designers (and designs) acted as ‘triggers’ by
making prototypes or propositions that challenged actors to do things
differently and opened up new possibilities for action by actors. Visualisation
and realisation of high quality designs that added value to the process of co-
design for other actors and made their objectives easier to communicate,
often buy responding to the designed iterations. Co-design of collaborative
products and services.

11. Project output and impact:
Key outputs of the project: A range of product prototypes, service blueprints
and co-design tools that facilitate community engagement in the Green
Camden agenda. e.g. facilitating reuse of plastic bags in local retail contexts,
facilitating food growing from food packaging, facilitating collaborative
visioning using newly designed narrative tools.
See: http://desisgreencamden.jimdo.com/responses/vimeo-student-
responses-to-residents/
The impact of collaborative efforts of the 10 design projects that were
undertaken within the Green Camden project is difficult to evaluate. However,
the most notable feedback collected indicates that it is the social capital and
innovative capacity that has been established by going through the co-design
process that is most significant. We call this ‘slow prototyping and
infrastructuring’.

12. Learning Outcomes:
Students: Received exposure to and experience of participatory
design and service design methodologies beyond provision offered
by their courses.
Courses: Attention was drawn to the difficulties in assessing design
led social innovation responses (collaborative) within the existing
curriculum and required deliverables (3d product orientated).

13. Successes and Shortcomings/ Barriers and Enablers
The successes of the project: A collection of appropriate design
responses. Community engagement and cohesion facilitated by the
designers and design processes. A positive response from the
council leading to a number of dissemination events about the project
and the Green Camden initiative and future collaborative
opportunities.
The key shortcomings of the project: Unrealistic expectation
management, community participants felt that service blueprints and
product prototypes should be taken forward beyond the scope of the
student project.
Confused engagement in the project set up: The number of partners
with a broad range of agendas meant that the project took longer to
get off the ground than anticipated.
Perception of expertise: Community understanding of the capacity of
designers. Work was needed to explain the designers role beyond
the design and production of objects.

14. Appendix