Dr Louise Mullagh is attending DRS 2022 in Bilbao, let’s ask her a few questions …
What’s your research area?
I look at how and where design methods are used in policy making. At the moment I am exploring place-based policy and how design might be used to assist in government at the local and national levels (in the UK) work together for better outcomes to society. I work across different policy areas, such as post-COVID recovery, the Levelling Up agenda, emerging technologies and place.
Tell us about the paper you’re presenting.
The paper presents findings from a project carried out with my colleagues Dr Naomi Jacobs and Nuri Kwon called P-PITEE (Participatory Policies for IoT (at the edge) Ethics). In the paper we look at how we used design fiction and walking to develop a policy with our local district council for IoT (Internet of Things) and Edge Computing in public spaces.
What other activities are you doing?
I am co-chair of the PoGo {Policy and Governance) conference track and I am also leading a workshop for the group, for which I am Chair for Research. We will explore what ‘design’ in ‘design for policy’ means. This is the first time our group will have met in person, so I am really looking forward to meeting people I have been talking to since the group started nearly two years ago.
What are you looking forward to the most?
Exploring Bilbao and visiting the Guggenheim, as my previous career was in museums. I am also really looking forward to travelling with my colleagues from Imagination and meeting up with the paper presenters in our track and our workshop.
Have you any suggestions or tips for people attending their first in-person conference?
Make sure you set aside some time for relaxing and exploring the city. Conferences can be hard work, with meeting new people and perhaps presenting for the first time, especially as we haven’t been to any for over two years. Also remember that everyone gets nervous before presenting, even really experienced academics. The nerves are just a way of your body telling you that you care about what you are doing, and turn into adrenaline once you step up to do your presentation!
Louise Mullagh