Design Theory Week
Join the 11th SIG Tutorial on Design Theory 2027
We are pleased to announce that the 11th SIG Tutorial on Design Theory will take place from 04 - 05 February 2027, in Paris, France.
Events
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DESIGN Conference 2026: Workshop 8 - Designing Resilient Care Pathways: A Health Systems Design Perspective
DESIGN 2026 - Workshop 8
Designing Resilient Care Pathways: A Health Systems Design Perspective
Location: Hotel Croatia, Cavtat, Croatia (Room TBC)
Dates: 18 May 2026 (Time TBC)
Chairs: Valeria Pannunzio, John Clarkson, Anja Maier and Maaike Kleinsmann
Organised by: Health Systems Design SIG
Workshop Description
Health and care systems are increasingly challenged by disruptive events—from pandemics and workforce shortages to climate-related crises. Such disruptions expose vulnerabilities in care pathways and highlight the urgent need for resilience-oriented design approaches. Organised by the Health Systems Design Special Interest Group, this workshop explores how design research and practice can strengthen the resilience of care pathways through collaborative, systems-based approaches.
The workshop is structured around four guiding questions:
- What types of disruptive events most critically affect care pathways?
- What kinds of impacts—clinical, organisational, social, and technological—emerge because of these disruptions?
- Who can and should contribute to building care pathway resilience across academic disciplines and stakeholder groups (e.g. clinicians, patients, policymakers, designers, engineers, and others)?
- What unique perspectives, methods, and tools can design—and members of the Design Society—offer to this challenge?
The session will combine short, invited talks and case examples from health systems design research and practice with interactive breakout discussions. Participants will then engage in mapping exercises to identify key relationships between disruptions and their impacts, as well as opportunities to improve care pathway resilience. A panel discussion will synthesise the insights generated during the workshop and identify directions for future initiatives and joint research projects.
The workshop is open to all conference participants, including those without prior experience in health systems design. It adopts a broad perspective on health systems, encompassing wellbeing and medical technologies, drug development, medical devices, healthcare delivery organisation, and the design of healthcare environments. The session is expected to be particularly relevant for design researchers and practitioners interested in systemic resilience, collaborative innovation, and the design of complex socio-technical systems.
Key Outcomes
- Input and foundational material for a future conference paper on care pathway resilience.
