Designing Practices: emerging issues around design and research ethics
March 8, 2016
The Art Center College of Design recently brought together a working group and hosted a 2-day authors conference, called “Designing Practices”. The conference addressed emerging issues around design and research ethics including: design ethics in human subject engagement, IRB adoption and accountability, and institutional infrastructures. The goal of this event was to
“launch a national conversation about the growing needs of art and design colleges in terms of human subject engagement, disciplinary ethics, institutional and academic infrastructures, and the research mechanisms needed to responsibly support and legitimize these engagements. The conference brings together leaders in design research and higher education to articulate the issues, identify gaps and opportunities, map best practices, and propose paths forward.”
The website documents their approach and outcomes very well. You can find it here: https://www.definingpractices.com/
There you can find some keen insights, references, and paths forward around ethics & design research, including policies & practices to support research, a disciplinary code of ethics for design research, and pedagogical tools for teaching design & ethics. Here’s the reader from the workshop in case you are interested in learning more or getting involved.