Seven Years of Design Research at Politecnico di Milano : Analysus of the funded research project

Abstract

Which are the main research funds currently accessed by the Department of Design? What are the topics explored through them and which are the interconnections with the Department core research activities? Also, what are the research products delivered, the reached outcomes, and the expected impacts BY these research projects? The book synthesises the results of a qualitative analysis conducted over 32 research (out of 96) projects coordinated or participated in by the researchers of the Department in the timeframe 2014-mid 2021. The results of the analysis confirm the high-level attractiveness of the Department research profile on core topics such as design methodology, service design, and health. However, more interestingly, the analysis shows a significant variety of new topics and themes that emerge as new research questions for the Department, such as the role of design in public sector innovation, ethics, or policy design. The publication provides a snapshot of the topics addressed through the competitive research projects, the dimension of such strands of investigations, the typology and features of results achieved, as well as their relationship to the Department's basic research lines. The relationship and interplay among the outputs, outcomes, and impacts of the funded research is then elaborated in impact pathways, opening up reflections about the upcoming and future of Design research. The findings of the analysis aim to capture the present to understand future directions in terms of scientific, societal, technological and economic aspects. The volume addresses an academic audience from long terms researchers the field of design and other closely related scientific disciplinary fields at the national and international levels, to young researchers approaching the world of design research.