# The role of design in social innovation

Moâtaz Fatnassi

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Moâtaz Fatnassi. The role of design in social innovation. Madarat, Revue trimestrielle trilingue multidisciplinaire, 2020, XVIII (35/36), pp.11-25. hal-05005675

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Submitted on 25 Mar 2025

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# The role of design in social innovation

Case study: the design competition organised between

The municipality of Sidi Hassine (Tunis) and ISAM Mahdia

FATNASSI Moâtaz

Université de Monastir, Institut Supérieur des Arts et métiers de Mahdia.

## Abstract

This article explores the role of design in social innovation through a case study in Sidi Hassine (Tunis). A design competition engaged students in solving urban challenges using a Design Thinking approach. Projects addressed waste management, flooding, urban furniture, and public lighting, aligning with the city's "clean city" and "smart city" vision. Findings show that design initiates, guides, or supports social change by fostering citizen participation and improving public services. The study highlights design's potential as a catalyst for urban and social transformation.

**Keywords:** Design Thinking, Social Innovation, Urban Development, Participatory Design, Public Space.

## I- Introduction

Unlike technological, cultural or economic innovation, social innovation places the individual at the centre of its concerns. It seeks to meet their needs, expectations and aspirations.

When we speak about social innovation, it can involve transformations in products belonging to the public space, services, behaviours, attitudes, ways of living or belonging to a specific community. The same concept also encompasses organisational changes between public policies and citizens, based on a participatory method that promotes exchange and makes the involvement of the latter greater. More precisely, social innovation « *is an intervention initiated by social actors, to respond to an aspiration, meet a need, provide a*
solution or take advantage of an opportunity of an action in order to change social relations,
transform a framework of action or suggest new cultural orientations<fnref n="1" /> ».

Furthermore, design is presented as an approach, a methodology that is capable of dealing
with various problems in order to find creative and innovative solutions. It is literally defined
as « a problem-solving methodology that enables us to steer innovation, develop the success
of companies and lead to a better life quality.<fnref n="2" />».

Nowadays the use of design and its tools is
becoming widespread in many fields, including social and local public policy. Thus, it is quite
legitimate to wonder the relationship that can be woven between design and social
innovation, and the role that can be played by the designer in this innovation.

With a view to participating in the study and discussing the concept of social innovation, based on experience in the field, our aim in this article is essentially to identify the role that design can play in social innovation, and to determine the nature of the relationship that can link between these two areas.

II - the framework of the experiment

After the municipal elections of 6 May 2018 and the beginning of the progressive application of local governance throughout Tunisia, like several other municipalities, the municipality of Sidi Hassine has sought to create working collaborations with organisations, professionals and social actors who have the capacity to help it in the development and evolution of the municipality. On the other hand, the Higher Institute of Arts and Crafts of Mahdia is trying to open up to its national and international environment to enrich its training and create new teaching opportunities. Thus, there is talk of an intersection of profits translated into a collaboration agreement between the two parties. The first action of this agreement is in the form of a design competition between the students of the final year of the industrial design speciality.

The objectives of this competition are based on four essential points:

- The design of urban furniture that best fits the socio-cultural context of the concerned city.

<footnote n="1">¹ This definition is proposed by the Centre for Research on Social Innovations (CRISES) in Montreal.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² This is the definition of Design proposed by the (WDO) Word Design Organisation at its 29th General Assembly in Gwangju (South Korea).</footnote>
- The resolving of difficulties related to specific situations or problems such as flooding or the non-conformity of the designs of the kiosks installed.

- Initiating the creation of a new visual identity for the city, inspired by and referring to the Pink Flamingo (its shape, colours, etc.).

- The reinforcement of the strategic orientations of the municipality, which aims to obtain the international labels of clean city and smart city. In other words, the products designed should be in line with one or both of these concepts at the same time.

### III- The stages of the experience

The experience as a whole went through 4 main stages: immersion, ideation, prototyping and evaluation. In fact, we tried to proceed through this experience to the different stages of Design Thinking<fnref n="3" />.

Before the start of this experiment the municipality was able to identify a number of local problems to which it wanted to direct the students' projects. These problems were determined on the basis of the citizens' interventions in the numerous participatory general assemblies.

#### 1- Immersion and identification of problems:

In order to get to know the places and the real environment in which the products are going to be installed, it was important that the students visit the commune of Sidi Hassine and try to immerse themselves in the different spaces. An outing was organised with this objective in mind. The day was divided into two parts. The first part was devoted to a general meeting in the municipality during which the students were able to interact with several people of different status.

The second part was a kind of general visit of all the streets, public squares, municipal projects in progress, institutions and a good number of the districts of Sidi Hassine. During this visit several students, accompanied by municipal staff, visited specific places to take photos, interview people and film some video footage. Each student tried to contact, follow

<footnote n="3">³ Tim Brown, Design thinking: How design thinking transforms business and inspires innovation, Pearson France, 2019.</footnote>
and get to know as many people as possible who could be a stakeholder in his or her problem.

## 2- the ideation and conceptual development of the projects:

Once the problems had been defined and formulated, the work of ideation and the search for solutions began. Taking into consideration all the social and technical constraints identified during the visit, analyses made on similar situations, the students proposed more than one solution for each problematic context dealt with. The proposed solutions followed a development of research and improvement during which there were fabricated pre-models, computer-generated images produced by three-dimensional modelling software and dozens of graphic research. This ideation phase resulted in at least one valid product ready to move on to the next stage.

## 3- prototyping and shaping of projects:

To be able to validate the good design of the designed products, it was essential to prototype them. That is to say, to model the product in its final three-dimensional shape. The techniques used by the students in this stage are diverse, some have used 3D modelling software such as 3dsmax<fnref n="4" /> or Solidworks<fnref n="5" />, others have used prototypes made of cardboard or rigid foam. There are also some students who have used 3D printers<fnref n="6" /> to prototype their models.

## 4- evaluation:

The evaluation of the students' work went through two different stages. The first one is an academic evaluation since the projects carried out are done within the framework of the final year projects. In other words, there were support and juries composed of teachers and industrial experts. We note that during this stage two staff members from the municipality

<footnote n="4">⁴ It is a 3D modeling and rendering software for design visualization, games and animation.</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵ SolidWorks is a CAD software, for Computer Aided Design, that will allow you to create three-dimensional parts. This tool is ideal for producing detailed drawings in the fields of mechanics, manufacturing and industry as a whole.</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶ 3D printing or additive manufacturing groups together the processes for manufacturing parts in volume by adding or agglomerating material, by stacking successive layers. 3D printing makes it possible to produce a real object: a designer draws the 3D object using a computer-aided design (CAD) tool.</footnote>
were invited to attend the progress of the projects and to give their remarks concerning the efficiency and the relevance of the proposed solutions.

The second stage of the evaluation is made by the inhabitants of Sidi Hassine during an exhibition of works organised for this objective. In fact, the local inhabitants had the opportunity to visit the exhibition in the municipality and see the totality of the works with their respective models and prototypes. In addition to this, there were evaluation papers placed in front of each work so that visitors could contribute a note.

## IV - the approach used in the conceptual process

All projects are developed in a participatory approach. Throughout the design phases the students were in a state of interaction with the different stakeholders, namely the architect of the municipality, the members of the municipal council, the administration of the municipality, the citizens (whether directly or indirectly), the supervisors, the professionals...

There are two main phases that can determine the participatory aspect of project development:

The first phase is during the stages of empathy and definition of the problem: after two weeks of research and documentation work, a field visit to the city of Sidi Hassine was organised during which the students met the different officials of the municipality (the president, members of the council, technicians, engineers, architects), representatives of the civil society and citizens. The interaction between these actors and our students started in the municipality's meeting room during a generic representation of the preliminary tracks of the selected projects. Each student spoke individually about his or her project idea, trying to answer the questions of the present people. After that, we went to visit the city and see, on the spot, the work in progress and the location of the projects on which the students would be working. Of course, this visit was guided by technicians (an architect and the person in charge of the works in the municipality) who talked with the students and answered their questions and queries.

It should be remembered that the issues and projects proposed by the municipality were defined after several General Assemblies which saw the participation of citizens and civil associations.
The second phase is during the search for ideas and prototyping: the conception of the projects took into account the instructions and constraints expressed by the different actors during our visit to the municipality of Sidi Hassine, also the supervision and correction sessions were collective, in which each student represented his progress, explained his axes of development and interacted with the remarks and proposals of his classmates. To ensure that the progress of the projects follows a direction that corresponds to the needs and expectations of the inhabitants of sidi hassine and their municipality, representatives of the latter were invited as members of a pre-jury whose objective was to evaluate and guide the progress of the work in the different projects.

## V - the result

The projects designed in this competition are 22 in number, the table below provides us with information concerning the names of the designers (students), the sectors of intervention, the designations, the concepts used and the advantages of each project. It should be noted that the following table includes only half of the projects, those that were framed. The remaining projects were mentored by another colleague.

<table><thead><tr><td>name and first name</td><td>area of intervention</td><td>project designation</td><td>concepts exploited</td><td>the benefits of the projec</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>boutheina jomaa</td><td>waste management</td><td>underground waste bin</td><td>smart city</td><td>less clutter in the public space<br>Facilitation of dust and small waste collection</td></tr><tr><td>eya abed</td><td>street lighting</td><td>economical lighting poles</td><td>smart city<br>Ecology</td><td>energy saving<br>solidification of the city's visual identity (pink flamingo)<br>Ornamentation of the city</td></tr><tr><td>farah ghaoui</td><td>management of public space</td><td>prefabricated kiosk</td><td>clean city<br>Ecology</td><td>organisation of public space<br>optimisation of the exploitation of the products manufactured</td></tr><tr><td>Ferdaous bouchnek</td><td>transport</td><td>intelligent bus shelter</td><td>smart city</td><td>transport facilitation<br>strengthening the municipality's communication tools</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><tr><td>Imen</td><td>management of public space</td><td>bench for high school students</td><td>Ecology</td><td>organisation of public space<br/>promotes exchange and communication between high school students<br/>a resting support</td></tr><tr><td>Khouloud triki</td><td>disaster management (flooding)</td><td>the dismountable bridge</td><td>clean city</td><td>moving over puddles<br/>the passage of cars and people over a powerful flow of water</td></tr><tr><td>Malek bayoudh</td><td>management of public space</td><td>park bench</td><td>clean city<br/>smart city</td><td>a support for sitting and resting<br/>promotes communication between people<br/>organises the public space</td></tr><tr><td>Mouna</td><td>disaster management</td><td>a device against flooding</td><td>clean city</td><td>stop the infiltration of water into houses</td></tr><tr><td>Oumaima mejri</td><td>green space management</td><td>planter modules</td><td>clean city<br/>smart city</td><td>she has created more green spaces.<br/>Ornamentation of the city.<br/>facilitation in the maintenance of the green spaces installed</td></tr><tr><td>Souhaila baccar</td><td>waste management</td><td>the integrated waste bin (in the house fence)</td><td>clean city</td><td>Ornamentation of the city<br/>facilitation in the work of the garbage collectors<br/>more cleanliness around the rubbish bin areas</td></tr><tr><td>Siwar mdaissi</td><td>waste management</td><td>the suspended waste bin</td><td>clean city</td><td>Ornamentation of the city<br/>facilitation in the work of the garbage collectors<br/>more cleanliness around the rubbish bin areas</td></tr><tr><td>Sonia</td><td>display and health</td><td>display module for</td><td>clean city</td><td>an optimisation in the management of sewer display spaces</td></tr></table>
<table><caption>Table 01: the first part of the projects designed during the design competition in Sidi Hassine</caption><tr><td></td><td>vegetables</td><td>more health protection for the display of vegetables</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>organisation of public space</td></tr></table>

## VI - the discussion

In order to be able to discuss the importance and role of the projects designed in social innovation and the improvement of living conditions in Sidi Hassine, it is essential to understand more about the diversities around the latter concept and to determine the specificities characterising the act of social innovation.

As a practice, social innovation has been applied for a long time but its conceptualisation is recent. In the 1990s, it emerged as a concept and it is only after the 2008 crisis that it will be considered « as a field of action as such, capable of providing creative responses to the challenges of today's society related to unemployment, poverty, ageing, climate change, etc.<fnref n="7" /> ».

This conceptual diversity can be classified into three main groups. In the first group, the different approaches that consider social innovation as a tool for change and evolution of public policies, particularly in the context of the reform of social protection systems, come together. This vision is especially conveyed by international organisations such as the European Union or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The European Commission's Guide for Social Innovation, published in 2013, recognises the social aspect of the current economic crisis and recommends the exploitation of socially innovative solutions, « we need to take a fresh look at social, health and employment policies, but also at education, training and skills development, business support, industrial policy, urban development, etc., to ensure environmentally and socially sustainable growth, jobs and a good quality of life in Europe <fnref n="8" />».

In the second group, we find conceptions that focus on the entrepreneurial dimension of social innovation. It thus includes approaches to social enterprise or social entrepreneurship.

<footnote n="7">⁷ Rousselle Mylène. «L'innovation sociale, une solution durable aux défis sociaux», Informations sociales, vol. 180, no. 6, 2013, pp. 140-148, p141.</footnote>

<footnote n="8">⁸ Extract from the foreword of the Guide to Social Innovation written by the European Commissioners for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn, and Social Affairs, László Andor (European Commission, 2013).</footnote>
Finally, the third group brings together approaches supported by researchers or actors of the social and solidarity economy (SSE), which consider that social innovation is capable of initiating a social transformation centred on the involvement of all stakeholders and on democracy in the territories.

At present, there is no single definition accepted by all the actors concerned by the notion of social innovation. It is nevertheless accepted to consider it on the basis of 4 characteristics:

- It presents a response to social needs not resolved by the State or the market.

- Its beneficiaries are collectives, or even society as a whole.

- Its beneficiaries are directly or indirectly involved and mobilised in a participative manner.

- It is a new solution in development or governance.

Taking these premises into account, we move on to the study of the contribution of projects designed in social innovation and the improvement of living conditions in the commune of Sidi Hassine.

As a bonus, it is stressed that the products designed in the mentioned competition have completed the selection phase and the municipality is interested in most of them. However, initially, only three products are concerned by the realisation.

If we consider the relationship between the projects and the nature of the change that they will leave in local society, we could divide the role or impact of these projects into three categories.

1. The first is that of projects that will initiate social change or innovation. Among these projects are those that have presented solutions to bypass or considerably reduce the devastating effects of floods, specifically the projects of the demountable bridge and the flood control system. These products will respectively allow the passage of people and vehicles over powerful water flows, and cover doors and windows to stop the infiltration of water into houses. The impact caused by the development of these products will have a double innovation effect in the city of Sidi Hassine.
Firstly, they are effective and they are new solutions that respond to a real and urgent need for many inhabitants. Hundreds of houses are at direct risk of being submerged whenever there is a high intensity of rain. Material losses are proportionally enormous for flood victims. Secondly, for the first time the municipality will be directly involved in the active and preventive resolution of natural disasters threatening its spatial territory. Therefore, after seeking to find real solutions for specific and contextual problems, the municipality will aim to find the best way to use these products and make them available to those who need them. Thus, the intervention of designers in the city of Sidi Hassine marked a point of radical change in the habitual approach followed by the municipality in disaster management. It is no longer a passive actor waiting for help and instructions from the centre (governorate of Tunis) to intervene after the disaster. Instead, it is now an active player that takes the initiative to anticipate problems and resolve them with its own resources.

2- The second category is that of projects that will guide social innovation. That is to say, there will be several projects whose resolution turns around the same central axis. This axis can be in the form of a concept or other. One of the municipality's recommendations during the competition was to direct the students' work towards projects that can fit into the concept of a "clean city<fnref n="9" />" or "smart city<fnref n="10" />". In fact, the city council thought it could direct the evolution and development of the city towards these concepts, or even obtain the corresponding international labels, without having the idea or the way to do it. So, in order to achieve this orientation, all the projects designed have respected the conceptual constraints mentioned, while taking into account the rest of the parameters which build the different problem situations they have worked on. One of the examples that can perfectly illustrate this compromise is the public lighting pole project. According to the analysis and study made by the student Eya Abed, she has identified four main constraints in her new design for the public lighting poles in Sidi Hassine. The intensity of the lighting must be powerful enough to illuminate the streets, intelligent lighting that changes power according to the traffic in the street, the lamps are powered by photovoltaic energy and their shape is

<footnote n="9">⁹ To be a clean city, you have to solve the problems that can lead to unhealthy living conditions and, ultimately, poor health. This mainly means that waste management must be well organised and that the city must have a good waste management system. In addition, the transport infrastructure has an impact on the quality and cleanliness of the air.</footnote>

<footnote n="10">¹⁰ The intelligent city, the French translation of "smart city", is a concept that appeared about ten years ago, which is an extension of the concept of the sustainable city. It brings a new dimension to the latter by integrating the impact of the digital transition on the fabric of the city and the territories.</footnote>
inspired by the Pink Flamingo. In this way, the city project was able to both align itself with the future perception of the intelligent city and meet the specific functional needs of its context of use.

<figure><img src="image_2.png" /><figcaption>Figure02: Graphical search for the post lamp</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>Figure03: Final design of the lighting post</figcaption></figure>

Another example that can show the capacity of design to guide change and social innovation is at the level of the process. As already mentioned, the approach followed in all stages of product design was a participatory approach, from the empathy phase to the test phase. The students were always listening and in contact with the different stakeholders. The application of this method enabled the inhabitants not only to take ownership of the products designed (something that was detected during the test phase) but also to feel responsible for their preservation and sustainability. Given the success of this experiment and the effectiveness of the approach used, the municipal officials are now convinced of this method and of the relevance of citizen participation in local governance (they have also proposed a second collaborative project).

3. The third category is that of projects that will support social innovation. In other words, the change is already happening and these projects come to boost and accelerate it. One example is the strengthening of the sense of belonging among the inhabitants of Sidi Hassine.

Indeed, the perception of the municipality concerned has sought to strengthen this sense of belonging through the creation of a visual identity specific to the city and recognisable to its inhabitants. To achieve this they chose to exploit the image of the pink flamingo<fnref n="11" /> in the logo

<footnote n="11">¹¹ The city of Sidi Hassine is known for the large number of Pink Flamingoes that live in the Sebkha.</footnote>
of the municipal administration. Unfortunately this project ended with this action. During
the competition some students chose to work on this orientation and support it, so there
were projects that took the image of the pink flamingo as a reference of plastic inspiration
for their respective works (the economic lighting poles and sports machines in the second
group, etc.). As there were others who chose to take another specificity of the city such as
the colonial style in the architectural buildings. The number of projects which have been
designed from this perspective will have a great effect in consolidating the sense of
belonging, not only because they refer to recognisable specificities of the city, but also
because they will be permanently present in the daily lives of the inhabitants.

From the examples just cited, it can be said that the importance of the role of design
intervention in social innovation depends on the timing of its entry into action. In other
words, the role of design as initiator, leader or disseminator is defined by the moment in
which it enters the process of social transformation, be it at the beginning, just after the
launch, or in more distant moments.

It is quite clear that the notion of time is very important in the creation of social innovation.
Its final realisation only comes after a certain amount of time, which is indispensable for the
achievement of change and its massive spread. It is stated that « *The temporality of projects
that bring social innovation requires a long time, especially its dissemination and the changes
in representations and practices that are linked to it*<fnref n="12" />» . This close relationship between
social innovation and time perfectly explains the diversity in nature and scope that has been
noticed in the design projects designed by the students. On the other hand, it underlines the
difficulty of carrying out this process of transformation while calling for a constant and
continuous effort to achieve it. To explain the role that design should play in social
innovation, Ezio Manzini writes « *Design for social innovation is a constellation of design
initiatives aimed at making social innovation more likely, effective, sustainable and likely to
spread*<fnref n="13" /> » . In doing so, he reconfirms the different roles that design can play in the creation

<footnote n="12">¹² Besançon Emmanuelle, Nicolas Chochoy, et Thibault Guyon. « Conclusion générale : Les enjeux liés à l'innovation sociale », Emmanuelle Besançon éd., *L'innovation sociale. Principes et fondements d'un concept*. L'Harmattan, 2013, p117.</footnote>

<footnote n="13">¹³ Ezio Manzini, Making Things Happen: Social Innovation and Design, Design Issues, Volume 30, Issue 1, Winter 2014, p64.</footnote>
and realisation of social innovation. As it insists on the succession of design initiatives in order to be able to spread this innovation.

## VII - conclusion

Through this article it was shown that design as a specific method in problem solving and product design is paramount in social innovation. Its importance is presented under different levels depending on the moment of its intervention in the creation of social innovation. A design project can be a trigger for social innovation, as is the case in projects that try to solve the problem of floods. As it can guide projects that aim to transform a social reality gradually, or support the generalisation of an innovation through a constellation of projects and diverse designs.

Every social innovation is an innovative project capable of solving a previously unsolved problem. Thus, responding to these two constraints (project and innovation) leads us directly back to design, which is a discipline capable of dealing with different problems and finding creative and effective solutions. This essential relationship between design and social innovation is reflected in the emergence of an entire branch, or stream of design that specialises in this type of innovation, namely Social Design. It is defined as « *the branch of design concerned with social development, for example, unemployment, school drop-out, intercultural tensions, obesity, or climate change.* <fnref n="14" />»

Towards the end of this article, the question is raised as to the conditions required to apply the Social Design approach and its ability to address the various social needs that have remained unmet to date. Can social design succeed where the state has failed?

<footnote n="14">¹⁴ E. Ernst, N. Tromp, Social Design Community, « About », in ligne :
http://web.archive.org/web/20140103182752/http://www.socialdesigncommunity.com/</footnote>
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