As a planet and a species we are facing many imminent threats: climate change induced disasters are increasing 65+ million people are displaced due to man-made conflicts preventable diseases continue to plague us almost half of the world live in poverty Rapidly evolving technology can help us overcome many of these problems, but it is also a catalyst for further societal disruption. We are as yet unclear how robots and automation will play out in the workforce. Our institutions are not prepared for the massive societal changes these technologies will bring. What is the role of design in the problem solving equation? Design has created some game-changing solutions to very specific problems, in particular, those in less developed countries. From poverty reducing water pumps to gravity powered lights, design can incrementally improve lives and undoubtedly transform our future. But what are the barriers which prevent it from reaching its full potential and how we might overcome them? How does design unlock its inherent ability and scale up to solve the world’s most pressing and complex problems? - Ann Longley is a digital transformation expert whose career in digital spans 20 years. She has worked across sectors and continents modernising businesses, enriching public services, and helping save lives through the strategic and creative application of digital technology. She has worked with the DEC and its member agencies including Oxfam, Save the Children, and the British Red Cross planning, incubating and co-creating pioneering approaches to delivering aid to disaster affected communities. She is a visiting lecturer at Greenwich University, and the founder of Something New Together, a consultancy designed to futureproof organizations by co-designing new products and services.

1. Can design save the world? Ann Longley, 18 Oct 2017

2. Topics for today
Creating a
shared vision
How are we going
to get there?
10 things
you can do now

3. Topics for today
Creating a
shared vision
How are we going
to get there?
10 things
you can do now

4. Imagine if….

5. We lived in a lush fertile world producing everything we need

6. Coral reefs and sea life are thriving

7. People’s basic needs are met
Image Source: McIntyre Drive social housing, Australia, Photo: Trevor Mein

8. Resources are distributed fairly

9. Our work and working relationships fulfilling

10. Technology improves our health and quality of life
Image source: Enabling The Future

11. The world is full of peace

12. How does that make you feel?

13. What is the reality of our situation?

14. We are destroying our forests

16. Our reefs are being bleached

17. Climate change incidents are becoming more frequent

19. Famines and man-made disasters are on the rise

20. 65+ million people displaced - 500K in Myanmar

21. Child labour and slavery still exist - 200M child labourers
- 120M of them are engaged in hazardous work
Source: The World Counts

22. 1 Billion people = close to 1in 8 of the world’s population live in slums
Source: Slum Almanac 2015-2016 – UN-Habitat

23. Technology is moving faster than our institutions
and we’re not really sure what that means

24. How does that make you feel?

25. And yet….

26. “We have, today, accurate, complete equations adequate to provide the foundation of
nuclear physics, materials science, chemistry and all plausible
forms of engineering.”
Franz Wilczek, Nobel Laureate

27. We are planning to take rockets around the planet

28. Do we want utopia or dystopia?

29. Topics for today
Creating a
shared vision
How are we going
to get there?
10 things
you can do now

30. What is it going to take for us to solve our most
serious existential problems?

31. We are at a decisive point in time

32. Our existential threats are based on these complex
ecological and social systems
Human
economy
Climate
Change
Exponential
human
population
growth
Ecological
overshoot
Biotic
impoverishment
and reduction
of biodiversity
Renewable
resource
depletion
Energy
allocation
Environmental
refugees

33. Most of these systems have one or more tipping points beyond which change is irreversible (Catton 1982).
Passing a tipping point in any one of the eight, complex systems would produce a ripple effect in the other seven
and probably throughout the entire biospheric life support system (Solomon et al. 2009).
Image source: World Vision

34. We may be able to change the trajectory of climate change
if we mobilise globally

35. Desertification may be reversed if we act now

36. Our interventions can make a difference
Source: Gates Foundation

37. Our brainpower is about to get supercharged

38. We are at a tipping point to make a difference:
let’s make it our time to flourish

39. Pursuing profit without any responsibility is hurting us.
700 marine species may become extinct due to plastic.
Source: Plymouth University, One Green Planet

40. 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris are in the ocean. 269,000 tons float on the surface.
4B plastic microfibers per square kilometer litter the deep sea.
Source: National Geographic

41. Promising signs of progress

42. Countries with intent: Sweden has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2045

43. Brands with purpose: Unilever is committed to working towards
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

44. B Corps certification exists for businesses that have social
and/or environmental outcomes as part of their mission

45. Which brands do we want to support?
Non-profit
For-profit
Collective focusIndividual focus

47. Do we need a new global council to combat these
existential threats?

48. Skills for the 21st Century

49. Source OECD Forum 2016 – Skills for the Future
Advanced Digital Problem Solving Skills are in demand.
Andreas Schleicher, Director, Education and Skills, OECD

50. Systems thinking provides the multi-level perspective
needed to solve complex problems.

51. We can use it to assess the impacts of technology
Source: Forum for the Future, Tech Catalyst

52. Design Thinking has become widely accepted as a way to
deliver innovation and business transformation

53. It can also be used to solve some of our most pressing challenges.
Its built in optimism (how might we?) helps overcome inertia.

54. Kick Start Model
to end poverty
Kick Start has been using this sustainable design-led model since 1991

56. Other sources of inspiration

57. Frugal Innovation
• Applies design thinking and
lean start up practices to do
more with less
• We can apply it to our big
challenges
• We just need to prioritise
them and work together -
let’s do it
Source: Navi Radjou & Jaideep Prabhu, Forward by Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever.

58. Aravind Eye Hospital
Founder Dr. Venkataswmy’s aim
was make eye clinics accessible to
all eliminating needless blindness.
He created a low cost delivery
model.
• The hospital manufactures its
own lenses keeping costs down.
• Its surgeons are possibly the
most productive in the world.
Franchising the clinics makes
them ubiquitous & accessible.

59. Design skills can accelerate progress - agility is important!

60. Topics for today
Creating a
shared vision
How we’re going
to get there
10 things
you can do now

62. Small changes in your design solutions
can make a big difference

63. 1. Be mindful of the SDGs: promote them whenever possible

64. 2. Be principled: ‘Let us move from human-centered design
to humanity-centered design’.

65. Source
3. Be irreverent when needed
Source: Adbusters

66. 4. Design with impacts in mind

67. 5. Apply design thinking to real world problems

68. 6. Run design sprints to save the world
Source: Google Ventures

69. What if the DEC was created in 2017?

70. 7. Offer pro-bono services to a charity

71. 8. Say no to unethical stuff

72. 9. Engage in design activism
Source: Liberate Tate

73. 10. Make ‘design for good’ mandate a magnet for clients and talent

74. Thank you!
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
• We can change the world for
the better, but we need to act
now
@annmargaret

75. ann@annlongley.net