UK DESIGN: NET ZERO

This research will explore how design research conducted in UK universities is contributing to the UK Government's Clean Growth ambitions and the goal of 'net zero' emissions by 2050, and develop recommendations for how this contribution can generate greater impact in the future. The output of the research will be a report that describes: the
current landscape of 'design for net zero' research; strengths and weaknesses of the associated skills pipeline; the emerging research themes that are likely to attract investment from funding bodies and attract co-investment from other partners; case studies of existing best practice; and derives recommendations for how UK university-led design research
can maximise its contribution to the twin goals of a 'net zero' future and increased private sector research and development spend.

Since the topic of 'clean growth' is very broad, the first stage of the project will be to set boundaries, identifying where the greatest current and future potential is for design research. A review of the literature, and of research projects that fall within the establish boundaries of 'design for net zero' research will establish the current landscape and identify best practice examples that demonstrate both excellent design research and co-investment from partners outside the Higher Education environment. Case studies will be developed that highlight how partnerships were developed, the perceived value of design research and associated skills both within and beyond the research community, and the factors that
influenced co-investment. The case studies will be used to formulate initial recommendations on how the research and development environment for 'design for net zero' can be improved. The initial recommendations and case studies will also form the basis for two stakeholder workshops in which academics, government actors, funding managers
and potential co-investors will contribute to their further development. Participants for the stakeholder workshop will be identified through the contextual review, and through the recommendation of case study interviewees. The outputs of the various activities will be synthesised into a final report, which will be disseminated to the AHRC to inform future delivery plans and related strategies, to broader UKRI funders to highlight the contribution of design research to their portfolios, to design researchers to guide their future research planning and to the broader 'clean growth' community to raise the profile of design research as a means to achieving and maintaining net zero emissions beyond 2050.