Public Collaboration Lab

PCL explores the potential and value that can be generated through collaboration between a design university and the authorities in its local area, bridging the gap between design education’s learning objectives and local government’s operational objectives

Initially funded through the Arts and Humanities Research Council (2015 – 2016), this project continues to deliver collaborative projects in the local community that aim to raise awareness and change behaviours.

Collaborate with us

At PCL, we are actively seeking new partners and collaborators across the public, private and third sector, as well as academia. We undertake projects on a range of scales and themes, including (but not limited to) service design, behaviour change, public consultation, design for social innovation and organisational change. If you would like to discuss a potential project or find out more about how we can work together, please contact Adam Thorpe: a.thorpe@csm.arts.ac.uk

Objectives

Create a model for a collaborative way of working between design education and local government to improve outcomes for citizens.
Provides a ‘de-risked’ space for experimental learning and collaboration with diverse groups – learning together by doing together.
Increase understanding of a design universities’ role in supporting innovation practices within local government through design-led action research.
Explore the potential of co-design in making public services and policies more inclusive and innovative.
Evaluate the impact of design in local government and service reform.
Propose effective practices that can be scaled up and applied in other contexts.

Explore our research structure and methodology on Figshare.

Projects

Photo if a wood project with wood work outside — **T-Factor, Photographed by Adam Razvi.**

T-Factor

Prototyping participatory urban futures to demonstrate how culture, creative collaboration and wide engagement can unleash vibrant urban hubs of inclusive urban (re)generation, social innovation and enterprise

An illustration of a person with a banana on their head — **Credit: TrashCanLdn**

TrashCanLdn

Working with local partners and the Public Collaboration Lab (PCL), our BA Product Design students inspired young people in Somers Town to design and develop eco-friendly product ideas that could be created and sold locally, with revenues returning to Somers Town Youth Centre and the young people involved in the project.

Wooden shelves — **Credit: Liliya Galabova, Barbara Guoth, Elora Pierre, Zoe Kahane, Giorgia Rossi, Yin Wang**

Overcrowded Living

Exploring ways to improve households living in overcrowded conditions. MA Industrial Design students worked with residents and service providers to understand the challenges, needs and desires of people living with overcrowding, and design ways to address them.

Photo: Paul Cochrane — **A shipping container with the word "MAKE" on the side**

MAKE @ Story Garden

MAKE is a public studio for creative collaboration and social innovation, formed with the local communities from Somers Town and St Pancras in Camden. The aim is to bring local people together with students and staff from Central Saint Martins to curate a programme of arts and creative activities.

A floorplan of a building — **Photo: PCL**

Camden Youth Hubs

MA Narrative Environment students collaborated with Camden Cabinet Members and young people to research and develop designs for youth hubs that could accommodate the newly configured council youth services.

A bin hanging off a door handle — **Photo: PCL**

Let’s Sort it Out! Tackling Waste Contamination to Increase Recycling

In collaboration with council officers and residents of Kilburn Vale and Chalcots Estate in Camden, BA Product Design students, alongside tutors and PCL researchers, investigated ways to enhance the effectiveness of waste separation through innovative product design.

Sheets of paper on a table — **Photo: PCL**

Reimagining Planning

Reimagining Planning was a four-week design ‘sprint’ which brought together students, residents, planning officers, architects, developers, activists and design researchers to explore perspectives around planning engagement.

Folded cards on a table — **Photo: PCL**

Future Libraries

MA Industrial Design students, supported by design researchers and tutors, collaborated with council officers and librarians to design creative new ways to engage the public in sharing their visions for libraries of the future.

Home Community and Library

The Home Community and Library project connected postgraduate Service Design Innovation students from London College of Communication with home librarians. Together, they explored the future of the Home Library Service using service design thinking methods and tools.

Partners

Publications

To find out more about Public Collaboration Lab and the valuable work we do, explore our publications on UAL Research online:

The Public Collaboration Lab – Infrastructuring Redundancy with Communities-in-Place (2018) by Adam Thorpe and Sarah Rhodes
Amplifying Relationships through Place and Locality in the Design of Local Government Digital Services (2018) by Alison Prendiville
Anatomy of Local Government/Design Education Collaboration (2017) by Adam Thorpe, Alison Prendiville, Lara Salinas and Sarah Rhodes
The Public Collaboration Lab (2016) by Adam Thorpe, Alison Prendiville, Sarah Rhodes and Lara Salinas
MAKE (e)valuation Report (2022) by Patrycja Kaszynska, Adam Thorpe and Samuel Mitchell