Synthesising needs in system innovation through structured design: a methodical outline of the role of needs in reflexive interactive design (RIO)

Bram Bos; Peter Groot Koerkamp

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Synthesising needs in system innovation through structured design: a methodical outline of the role of needs in reflexive interactive design (RIO)

In: Transitions towards sustainable agriculture and food chains in peri-urban areas

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Bram Bos

Bram Bos
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Peter Groot Koerkamp

Peter Groot Koerkamp
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 219–237

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-688-5_014

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In order to make modern western animal production systems more sustainable, it is necessary to design systems that address multiple challenges at one time. It is not only profitability that is at stake, but also issues like the position and welfare of animals, the environmental impact, labour quality and quantity and biodiversity. Solving these issues in isolation of one another will likely conflict with, or even negatively influence the performance of systems in other ways. To prevent this from happening, a structural reorientation of the system at hand (a system innovation) is needed, which tackles the systematic linkages between desired and undesired effects. It is this linkage that makes it difficult, for instance, to improve animal welfare without increasing the detrimental environmental impact of that production system. The RIO approach (a Dutch acronym for reflexive interactive design) is a set of methods that is being applied by ASG WUR (Animal Sciences Group of Wageningen University and Research Centre) in order to interactively design and realise system innovations in complex and often controversial contexts like animal husbandry, in an effort to circumvent social and technical constraints for sustainable development. Determining the basic needs of live actors (animals, farmers, the general public and consumers) that are involved in a system is a key starting point for this approach. Needs may be different from (short-term) interests, since they are the expression of fundamental preconditions for a good life, as perceived by the actor, or engrained in the actor’s biological make up. Short-term interests may be context dependent, and may change over time. RIO aims at the synthesis of the needs of these different actors, instead of weighing the pros and cons of the various interests. By taking needs as the central ‘currency’ for this design approach, actors – like animals and man – can be treated symmetrically. RIO connects the structured design approach of Van den Kroonenberg, in which needs are the departure point, with interpretive and constructivist approaches to technology assessment and development, in which more fundamental values, preferences and futuristic views of (human) actors take the place of short term interests. An important first step in this design approach for an (intended) production system or production chain is formulating the different actors’ needs and desires and their translation into a Brief of Requirements (BoR). These requirements are quantified as far as possible, based on scientific and practical knowledge. The BoR lays the foundation for the design process itself. In this paper, the role of the concept ‘needs’ in the RIO approach is discussed. We detail the way a BoR can be made for animals and how this entails interpretation and analysis. We furthermore show how animal needs can be brought on a par with human needs. In conclusion, we claim that the needs approach taken in RIO facilitates the design of production systems that address a multiplicity of challenges, without implicitly having to trade off one against the other.

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Transitions towards sustainable agriculture and food chains in peri-urban areas

E-Book ISBN:: 9789086866885

Publisher:: Wageningen Academic

Print Publication Date:: 24 Oct 2009

Subjects
- Life Sciences

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Synthesising needs in system innovation through structured design: a methodical outline of the role of needs in reflexive interactive design (RIO)

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Transitions towards sustainable agriculture and food chains in peri-urban areas

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