Measuring social values of design in the commercial sector

Abstract

The aim of this exploratory research is to understand the meaning of social value, especially in CSR practices, and to explore contextual issues, value and means of measuring the social impact of design. SMEs are the main focus, with a view to expanding the applications to cover other types of organisations in the future. The project consisted of two main phases. Phase 1 attempted to understand the contextual issues surrounding social value, CSR and social design. This exploratory phase focused on identifying the theoretical and practical interpretation of social values and how design benefits social value creation. A literature review was followed by Exploratory Workshop 1, Workshop 1, and SME interviews were conducted. Phase 2, investigated current measurement tools in both business and social contexts, and in design, to create an agenda for developing a possible future tool to measure the social values of design. This phase also had two workshops: Exploratory Workshop 2 and Workshop 2, and supporting desktop research ensured that a balanced view of the topic was covered.