Designing Pilot Projects as Boundary Objects

This book describes the MODU.Lares Project in Brazil, in which an action research method was applied in order to assess the value of a collaborative Design Pilot Project, involving micro and small enterprises and other actors in the furniture sector, as a boundary object capable of fostering innovation and sustainability. The impact of the Design Pilot Project in triggering change in a fragmented local system with a poor environmental and social record was assessed using a tool comprising environmental, technological, economic, sociocultural, and organizational indicators. Flow of knowledge in the established collaborative network was catalyzed by way of four elements: prototypes, meetings, exhibitions and the Pilot Project (as an entire process). The results indeed demonstrate that a Design Pilot Project can be a valid instrument for stimulating a collaborative environment that promotes sustainability and innovation, particularly in contexts with a weak associative culture. Such a project can constitute the first step in a design policy cycle in developing countries, contributing to the definition of ideas and objectives among local stakeholders, minimizing risks of failure, and increasing the chances of governmental support.