Northumbria University

nDESISlab (UK)

RMIT DESIS Lab

Melbourne (Aus)

DESIAP

Design & Social

Innovation in Asia-

Pacific Network

Co-Founders:

Yoko Akama (RMIT),

Joyce Yee (Northumbria University)

Funders: RMIT, Northumbria

University, Arts & Humanities

Research Council (2016-2017)

Network collaborators and contributors since 2015:

Australia: Emma Blomkamp (Policy Lab, Melbourne University)

Cambodia: Channe Suy Lan (INSTEDD iLab), Pagna Ukthaun, Watershed Ventures (Cambodia), Alberto

Cremonesi, (Impact Hub Phnom Penh)

Hong Kong: Dr Yanki Lee (Enable Foundation)

Japan: Fumiko Ichikawa & Hiroshi Tamura (Re:Public Inc), Sayaka Watanabe (Asian Women Social

Entrepreneurs Network (AWSEN))

Malaysia: Joseph Foo (3nity), Emma Rhule & Kal Joffres (Tandemic), Fadzilah Majid Cooke, (National University

Malaysia), Zeeda Mohamad (University Malaya), Shariha Khalid (Scope)

Myanmar: Rochelle Ardesher (Point B Design and Training), Klaus Oberbauer (Impact Hub Yangon)

New Zealand: Dr Penny Hagen (Co-design Lab)

South Korea: Dr Joon Sang Baek (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology)

Singapore: Victoria Gerrard (SUTD)

Thailand: Dr Viria Vichit-Vadakan (Learn Education), Boonanan Natakun (Thammasat University)

Philippines: Grace Santos (UNIID-SEA)

Indonesia: Simon Baldwin (SecondMuse)

Taiwan: Associate Professor Shaowen Bardzell (Indiana University)

UK: Professor Ann Light, (University of Sussex), Professor Robert Young (Northumbria University), Associate

Professor Adam Thorpe, (University of the Arts London), Dr Alison Prendiville, (University of the Arts, LCC), Dr

Rachel Clark (Northumbria University), Bas Raijmakers (STBY & Design Academy)

Context

Design and Social Innovation in Asia-Pacific (DESIAP) is

a learning platform, a community of practice and a

network for collaboration and ongoing knowledge

sharing for various practitioners, researchers,

communities, and professionals working in the Social Innovation space in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Project

DESIAP is a network led by Yoko

Akama (RMIT University) and Joyce

Yee (Northumbria University), co-

founded with the aim to enable

researchers and practitioners in the

region to experience mutual learning

for collective capacity building in

design and social innovation ((D&SI).

This network was created to share

inspiration, knowledge and learnings

through practical examples, stories and

voices, supported through our website:

www.desiap.org

Aims

• Make visible the current examples of Design

and Social Innovation in Asia-Pacific.

• Generate a working framework of

terminologies, methodologies and theory of

Design and Social Innovation through case

study and literature analysis.

• Identify opportunities to inform potential PhD

studies, research collaborations and capacity

building in teaching, research and practice.

• Build through the research network productive

relationships and critical mass in Design and

Social Innovation for professionals,

government, organisations, funding councils

and academics, particularly in the Asia-Pacific.

• Build a community of practice and facilitate on-

going engagement among a geographically

dispersed community

Activities

DESIAP network has been built on a series of

gatherings, workshops and public symposia.

The first DESIAP Singapore 2015 event took

place at the National Design Centre and it

signaled strong interest and opportunity for

D&SI in the region. DESIAP Bangkok 2016,

sponsored by Thai Creative Design Centre,

attracted an international audience of over 150

academics, policy makers and practitioners

across its two days. DESIAP KL 2017 was our

third public event, held at the Malaysian

Design Council.

Pluralism and Place-based

Insights

Our early scoping undertaken through DESIAP

(Akama & Yee, 2016) presents a compelling

argument to diversify design and social innovation

(D&SI) frameworks beyond models drawn from the

Global North. It suggests embracing a stronger form

of pluralism, shaped by the history, politics, culture,

dynamics, uncertainties and resourcefulness of the

locality.

Pluralism and Place-based

www.desiap.org

joyce.yee@northumbria.ac.uk

yoko.akama@rmit.edu.au

Northumbria University

nDESISlab (UK)

RMIT DESIS Lab

Melbourne (Aus)