The aim of this paper is to present a new methodology in teaching the strategic design approach combining e-learning with practice activities in a unique process of learning experience. Design is moving its domain area close to the management of the innovation and the company strategy. In this new framework strategic design is a mind-set that drives to answer to the social, economic, environmental challenges. Designers can improve their capacity do adopt this mind-set to be able to operate in this complex context also using specific tools and design methods to understand the user experience and to co-design new solutions. These methods are various and can be taught and learned through various education experiences; a wide range of topics in a constantly changing world render designers as lifelong learners. This new professional framework need a continue learning process that designers need to follow to empower skills, competences, knowledge and abilities. Trough a research activity with a pilot experience, a new teaching methodology has been tested in international high training courses and partially in a training program included in a European project.

Abstract:The aim of this exploratory paper is to generate a method of evaluating design interventions for organizational change in third sector and to apply this method to an ongoing design research project with a national social cooperative in Italy. The evaluation model is a way to present what changes and impacts that design, especially strategic design, could bring to organisations and how these results could enable organisations to fulfil its missions in a more "human-centered" process. The results will consist of a theoretical framework to evaluate, taking social cooperative as one example, and the applied results in an empirical project. In the future, this framework will be continuously developed in this and also other similar projects.

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This paper is based on the research project – “LONGEVICITY” - carried out in the Metropolitan Area of Milan, which looks at the cities of the future as highly populated by long-living active people and innovative technological facilities. The project is conducted by a multidisciplinary research approach to study how to support social inclusion of elderlies’ living in urban environments by enhancing their active walking. The whole process will engage participants (senior citizens) and stakeholders in a human-centred design approach. In this paper we will present the results from the preliminary research activities carried out: case studies and territorial observations. The first activity was oriented to investigate and select innovative solutions to enhance the mobility of elderly pedestrians and to improve their (social) lives. The second one helped us in better framing the design context of action and assessing at, a microscopic level, the degree of walkability of specific territorial areas.