Does Design Thinking Work in the Long-term? A Case Study of Interdisciplinary Research on Aging

Design thinking (DT) as an approach has been 20 years in development; however, its use and value across long-term projects are rarely reported or understood. As DT is at a transitionary stage in its evolution, with questions as to where it evolves next, there is a need to understand this. In this chapter, we report on the use of DT over seven years of developing interdisciplinary research on aging within a university. Using a case study approach, we describe its development over three phases, and its use across six faculties, through small- and large-scale projects. This included more than 180 researchers and 100 trainees across multiple disciplines and career stages. Through this long-term understanding, we seek to address the question: Does DT work in the long term? In answering this question, we aim to understand the conditions of embedding long-term DT and offer recommendations for future researchers and practitioners to optimize it in long-term projects. From this study, we conclude that DT has assisted in facilitating and initiating interdisciplinary research in the long term, and therefore it is working. However, for it to be sustainable in the long term, conditions of embedding DT need to be in place. These conditions are: (1) leadership and buy-in, (2) flexibility and adaptability, and (3) time and support.