ESCollab, ESC & Research

How do you collaborate on transitions? And how can design research help make change tangible, open for discussion, and actionable? In ESCollab, ESC & Research, designers, researchers, and societal partners from the Expert Network for Systemic Co-design (ESC) share their experiences, lessons, and insights from practice-based research projects: the ESCollabs.

At the heart of ESC’s work are these ESCollabs: hands-on research collaborations in which creative professionals, scientists, and societal actors work together on urgent themes such as energy, food, industry, and social inclusion. By connecting lived experience, creative expertise, and practical experimentation, new approaches, tools, and perspectives for systemic change emerge.

This book brings together methods, stories, and reflections from the ESCollabs and shows how design can move beyond creating products or services toward reimagining systems and relationships. It highlights how Systemic Co-Designers act as catalysts, building awareness, strengthening communities, and exploring pathways for transformation – while working in the challenging reality of complex societal issues.

ESCollab, ESC & Research shows how collaboration is not only a way of working but also a guiding principle for building a more inclusive, connected, and resilient society.

The book is the second volume in a trilogy on the Systemic Co-Design approach, focusing successively on practice, research, and education. A must-read for designers, researchers, policymakers, educators, and changemakers who want to understand how co-creative design can contribute to systemic change.

Het Expertisenetwerk Systemisch Co-design (ESC) is een samenwerkingsverband van vier hogescholen en praktijkpartners, gefinancierd door een SIA SPRONG-subsidie. Het netwerk werkt gezamenlijk aan het verdiepen en verbreden van het begrip Systemisch Co-Design. Door het ontwikkelen van theorieën, modellen en praktische kennisproducten biedt ESC waardevolle inzichten en toepasbare methoden voor veranderaars bij (creatieve) bedrijven, overheden, kennisinstellingen, belangenorganisaties en burgerinitiatieven.