Design Exchange Partnerships

Designing the green transition

Students analysing and taking pictures of flowers

The Design Exchange Partnerships (DEP) aim to foster collaborative projects that leverage design-led approaches to address the unique challenges faced by UK coastal and island communities in transitioning towards greener, more sustainable futures. This initiative emphasises the application of arts and humanities-led design research to create tangible impacts within these communities, focusing on practical solutions for achieving green transition goals.

Design Exchange Partnerships: design the green transition initiative is funded by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), in collaboration with Future Observatory and the Design Museum.

Collaborative partnerships

The DEP projects are based on partnerships among three key organisations with a shared goal. The project facilitates the growth of this strategic partnership, which also promotes the career advancement of the design researcher and the development of versatile skills through a model of knowledge exchange and capacity building.

The three-way partnership model involves:

Design researchers: these individuals or teams bring expertise in applying design methodologies to solve complex problems.
Academic partners: researchers from academic institutions provide theoretical and empirical grounding, ensuring that the projects are underpinned by robust research.
Industry/third sector partners: these are typically local businesses, non-profit organisations, community groups, or public sector entities that can implement and benefit from the research outcomes.

Nine young people working together around a table, writing on paper. Bridport project

Explore our funded research projects

Design Exchange Partnerships adopt a human-centred design research process and aim to:

stimulate strategic partnerships that support career development and the development of hybrid skills
increase the diversity of voices and actors consulted in and contributing to addressing the climate crisis
enable the development of outcomes that have a positive impact in the real world.

Meet our design researcher: Ashita Gupta

Ashita is the Research Associate for the Make Space for BEES Design Exchange Partnership. As an architect turned urban designer, she has an MA in Urban Design and Planning and has worked on multidisciplinary projects in the private sector and in research.

Find out more about Ashita's research

Theory of Change

Our projects adopt a Theory of Change model which outlines how and why a desired change is expected to happen in a particular context. It is focused in particular on addressing the gap between what a programme or change initiative does (i.e., its activities or interventions) and how these lead to desired goals or impacts being achieved.

SHAPE disciplines address global challenges associated with marine, health and sustainability through the lens of place

Through five place-based research themes, we investigate the intricate relationships between communities, the natural world, and technology.

Locally, we co-create sustainable solutions to complex problems in order to build resilient and thriving neighbourhoods, cities, and regions. This work transcends geographical, social and political boundaries to become applicable on a global level.

Explore our research addressing global challenges through the lens of place