RSA Design and Rehabilitation Project

Melanie Andrews from the RSA writes

Following the publication of the RSA’s Design & Rehabilitation report in Spring 2011 the RSA Projects team is continuing to develop a design-training programme for people with spinal cord injuries. Last autumn funding from the Sylvia Adams Charitable Trust allowed us to commission a series of design workshops with three pairs of national partners: Bucks New University and Stoke Mandeville Hospital; Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield Princess Royal Spinal Injuries Centre; and Glasgow School of Art with Glasgow Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit. The aim of the workshops is to determine a range of ways to teach design to patients both during the rehabilitation period and after discharge.

We anticipate that working with this group will yield knowledge with potential for widespread replication among other groups of people whose independence, fulfilment and social participation are challenged, and who may need to be especially resourceful. In particular, the Design & Rehabilitation project aims to discover how, and how much, practical design can be usefully taught in a limited time to people who are not ready, able or inclined to study design in the formal context of university or college, and have no plans to become a professional designer.

We would like to give exposure and scrutiny to the project from several perspectives and invite you to attend a dissemination event at the Design Council on Wednesday 22 February at 2pm – 5pm.

Speakers and guests will include clinical specialists in rehabilitation, designers, tutors, representatives of the main spinal injury charities and other experts in design and/or disability. Excerpts of a film we are making will be shown about the experiences of patients and staff during the project. This is an opportunity for you to contribute your thoughts, experience and insight to this important project, the results of which will be published by the RSA in April 2012.

We hope you can join us and would be grateful if you could register your attendance as soon as possible on Eventbrite