Profile
Eduardo Staszowski, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Design Strategies at Parsons School of Design. Staszowski is also the co-founder and Director of the Parsons DESIS Lab, an action-research laboratory created at The New School to advance the practice and discourse of design-led social innovation to foster more equitable and sustainable cities and practices. Staszowski's research interests center on the intersection of design, social innovation, and public policy, which has as its core the development of experimental yet practical approaches to enhancing participation in policy development and civic service design. Specifically he studies how design as a method, language and agency can act as an intermediary among different stakeholders and environments to create, orient and govern processes of social innovation and sustainability. This research practice has led to the successful receipt of a number of merit based research awards and grants since joining The New School in 2008. Staszowski teaches courses in the areas of Design Strategies, Participatory Design and Social Innovation. Working with external partners the courses provide opportunities for students to address real-world challenges and allow them the room to navigate and cultivate their work in areas of public policy and social innovation today. He co-coordinates the Graduate Minor in Civic Service Design. Staszowski is founding editor of Designing in Dark Times and Radical Thinkers in Design. Published by Bloomsbury, this book series investigates design’s capacity to offer critical and transformative perspectives on our contemporary condition. Exploring the interaction of design with social research and presenting both modes of thought and courses of action, books in this series engage polemically with the opportunities now presented to rethink what acting and designing can be.
Recent Publications
BOOKS
Staszowski, E. & Tassinari V. (Editors) (2020) Designing in Dark Times: An Arendtian Lexicon. Bloomsbury
Manzini, E. & Staszowski, E. (Editors) (2013) Public & Collaborative: Exploring the Intersection of Design, Social Innovation and Public Policy. DESIS Network Press
BOOK CHAPTERS
Staszowski, E. (2018) Inclusive Iteration. In Public Interest Design Education Guidebook: Curricula, Strategies, and Academic Case Studies. Edited by Abendroth L. M.and Bell B. Routledge
Srinivas, N. & Staszowski, E. (2018) Trickery in Design: Cooptation, Subversion and Politics. In Tricky Design The Ethics of Things. Edited by Fisher T. & Gamman L. Bloomsbury
Staszowski, E. & Manzini, E., (2016) Explorer L’innovation Sociale Dans Le Secteur Public. In L’indiscipline de L’Action Publique. Edited by Scherer P. La 27e Région
Penin, L.; & Staszowski, E. (2016) Building Community Capacities through Design: Amplify New York. In Concurrent Urbanities. Designing Infrastructures of Inclusion. Edited volume by Mitrasinovic M.. Routledge
Staszowski, E., Brown S. & Winter, B. (2014) Reflections on Designing for Social Innovation in the Public Sector: A Case Study in New York City. In Design for Policy. Edited by Bason C. Gower
ARTICLES
Buchanan, C., Amatullo, M., & Staszowski, e. (2019). Building the Civic Design Field in New York City. Diseña, (1 4 ), 158-183.
Penin, L., Staszowski, E., Brown, S. (2016) A new generation of transdisciplinary thinkers and practitioners of design-led social innovation. Design and Culture Journal. Feature section on emerging issues in design education and social innovation (Vol. 7 no. 2, July, 2015).
Penin, L.; Staszowski, E.; Harriss, H. (2015). “Amplify Soundview: reflecting on the use of digital tools for promoting community engagement & stewardship in the development and care of the Soundview Park in New York City”. The Electronic Journal of Communication
Staszowski, E., Penin, L. & Moon, A. (2015) Towards a Sustainable Present: Urgency and Agency in Transition Design. Transition Design Symposium. School of Design, Carnegie Mellon University. Saturday March 7, 2015 (Proceedings publication in progress)
Staszowski, E., Sypek, A. & Junginger, S. (2014) Public and Collaborative: From Participatory Design to Design for Participation. 19th DMI: Academic Design Management Conference: Design Management in an Era of Disruption. Conference Proceedings edited by Erik Bohemia (Design Management Institute)
Penin, L., Forlano, L., Staszowski, E. (2013). “Designing in the Wild: Amplifying Creative Communities in North Brooklyn”. Cumulus Working Papers Helsinki-Espoo 28/12. Publication Series G. Aalto University. School of Arts, Design and Architecture 2013
Staszowski, E. (2010). Amplifying Creative Communities in NYC: A Middle-Up-Down Approach to Social innovation. SEE Workshop proceedings, Florence, Italy.
JOURNAL (as editor)
Staszowski, E. & Brown S. (Editors) (2016) (New): Public Goods. Journal of Design Strategies, Vol. 8 no. 1, 2016. School of Design Strategies, Parsons School of Design
Research Interests
Design Strategies, Social Innovation, and Public Policy