Design for Hope: Cultivating Deliberate Hope in the Face of Complex Societal Challenges

TL;DR

The paper investigates how deliberate hope can be cultivated within design practice to address complex societal challenges in CSCW contexts. It proposes a one-day Positech workshop that integrates hope theory with design thinking to expand problem spaces and produce proactive pathways. Through hands-on activities like problem reframing and taxonomy development, the approach seeks to generate actionable strategies for sustaining hopeful research trajectories and community engagement. The post-workshop plan emphasizes building a durable Positech community and releasing a taxonomy of design methods to support ongoing, hope-driven collaboration.

Abstract

Design has the potential to cultivate hope in the face of complex societal challenges. These challenges are often addressed through efforts aimed at harm reduction and prevention -- essential but sometimes limiting approaches that can unintentionally narrow our collective sense of what is possible. This one-day, in-person workshop builds on the first Positech Workshop at CSCW 2024 by offering practical ways to move beyond reactive problem-solving toward building capacity for proactive goal setting and generating pathways forward. We explore how collaborative and reflective design methodologies can help research communities navigate uncertainty, expand possibilities, and foster meaningful change. By connecting design thinking with hope theory, which frames hope as the interplay of ``goal-directed,'' ``pathways,'' and ``agentic'' thinking, we will examine how researchers might chart new directions in the face of complexity and constraint. Through hands-on activities including problem reframing, building a shared taxonomy of design methods that align with hope theory, and reflecting on what it means to sustain hopeful research trajectories, participants will develop strategies to embed a deliberately hopeful approach into their research.