SD2S113 - Design-Thinking, Research and Project Management 01 Sep 2024 - 31 Aug 2030 | Version 0

Associated Module Information

Module Code: SD2S113
Module Title: Design-Thinking, Research and Project Management
Faculty: Faculty of Business and Creative Industries
Faculty Group: Leadership and Public Services
Faculty Sub Group: Leadership and Public Services
Module Leader: Paul Lewis, Wendy Booth
Module Team: David Phillips
First Intended Intake: SEP 2024 Final Year of Intake: 2029
Date Closed:
Credit Value: 20 Credit Level: 5
Language: English
Percentage of Module Taught in Welsh: 0
Equivalent Module:
HECOS codes: 100647 - public policy
HECOS Code Weighting: 100

Document Version Information

Version 0
Valid From 01 Sep 2024
Valid To 31 Aug 2030

Module Aims

The aim of the module is to encourage students to seek out effective ways of using design thinking and research to investigate societal problems and public services related issues.  

The objectives of the module are to: 

  1. Extend students’ understanding of basic research methods 

  1. Develop an understanding of the role of research both inside and outside academia 

  1. Examine case studies in relation to research and project management 

  1. Identify problems and situations that can be analysed using design thinking 

  1. Develop a research proposal for year 3’s dissertation / social impact project involving design thinking techniques and research methods  

  1. Consider the ethical issues related to their research focus 

Content Summary

This module will allow students to see the link between research and project management, and recognise the usefulness of design thinking. Students will be given the opportunity to use techniques such as empathy mapping, stakeholder engagement, and accelerating the SDGs to consider societal problems and public services issues. They will be expected to engage with critical social problems and to creatively explore potential, practical solutions. This will provide a basis for developing a research proposal in preparation for year 3. For their proposal, students may choose from a range of traditional research methods (quantitative/qualitative); design thinking approaches, or theoretical research. Students will explore the ethical issues around their topic of choice. Ultimately, this module will clarify learning expectations for year 3, improve organisational skills and motivate students to want to do research, and to recognise the importance of research-based knowledge/data gathering. The goal is to maximise civic impact and to relate academic requirements to real-life scenarios.   

Learning and Teaching Methods

Activity Type Hours
Seminars 40
Independent Study 88
Directed Study (Including online independent learning) 72
Total Hours Selected 200

Learning Outcomes

# Learning Outcome
LO1 Seek out effective ways of using design thinking and research to investigate societal problems and public services related issues.
LO2 Develop a research proposal for a dissertation / social impact project.

Module Requisites

N/A

Assessment Criteria

Assessment Category Assessment Type Description Duration Word Count Weight (%) Best of? Pass Mark
Asynchronous Assessment Portfolio 1 A portfolio on techniques and methods used in class 0 2000 50 No 40
Asynchronous Assessment Research Plan / Proposal / Project/ Log 1 A dissertation proposal/social impact project that prepares students for year 3 0 2000 50 No 40

Assessment Matrix

Assessment Type Learning Outcomes
LO1 LO2
Portfolio 1
Research Plan / Proposal / Project/ Log 1

Reading List

Alcock, P. & Gregory, L. (2022). Social policy in Britain. Bloomsbury Publishing. 

Bason, C. (2017) Leading Public Design: Discovering Human-Centred Governance. Bristol: Policy Press. 

Bell, E. Bryman, A. & Harley, B. (2022). Business research methods. Oxford university press. 

Dunleavy, P. Rainford, P. & Tinkler, J. (2011). Innovating out of Austerity in Local Government: A SWOT analysis. 

Grit, R. (2022) Project Management: A Practical Approach. Routledge 

IDEO (2015) The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design.  

Morgan, T. and Jaspersen, J.A. (2022) Design Thinking for Student Projects. SAGE: London 

Nesta (2017) Design Thinking for Public Services. [.pdf] Available at: https://media.nesta.org.uk/documents/nesta_ideo_guide_jan2017.pdf (Accessed: 26/11/2023) 

Tromp, N. & Hekkert, P. (2019) Designing for society: products and services for a better world 

United Nations Development Programme (2014) Design Thinking for Public Service Excellence. [.pdf] Available at: https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/publications/GPCSE_Design%20Thinking.pdf (Accessed: 26/11/2023) 

Wollmann, H. (2017). Policy evaluation and evaluation research. In Handbook of public policy analysis (pp. 419-428). Routledge.