Summary
The keynote centers on empowering researchers to reclaim their value within increasingly complex, relational, and pluralistic organizational contexts. It outlines a progression of sessions featuring experts such as Robin Beers, who advocates for applying systems theory to drive scalable change; Rachel Dicus, who addresses the urgent need to recognize and mitigate trauma within research ecosystems; and Bruce Gillespie, who highlights balancing impactful communication with compassionate storytelling. Practical tools and strategies are proposed by Jess Greco for amplifying researchers' unique voices, while Megan Blocker, Marika McCloskey, and Renee Reed discuss structuring teams and careers to facilitate fluid collaboration. Sarah Fala and Alba Il explore the role of researchers as stewards of organizational wisdom, with Maria Gigi concluding the day with an inspiring call to regain agency and passion amid evolving research landscapes. The overarching message emphasizes moving beyond simply informing to inspiring decision-making, fostering collective empowerment, and operationalizing changes that underscore researchers’ indispensable contributions.
Key Insights
-
•
Researchers must evolve into coaches, consultants, and strategists to empower broader research adoption.
-
•
Effective research communication is about inspiring action, not just delivering information.
-
•
Applying systems theory helps researchers drive change at scale by better understanding complex organizations.
-
•
Recognizing and addressing trauma in participants and practitioners is critical for ethical research.
-
•
Balancing impactful communication with compassionate storytelling enhances relational connections.
-
•
Researchers need practical tools to harness and differentiate their unique voices in noisy environments.
-
•
Fluid team structures and career paths better support pluralistic and relational ways of working.
-
•
Researchers increasingly act as stewards of organizational wisdom, not just insight providers.
-
•
Collective empowerment matters more than being the sole spokesperson in research narratives.
-
•
Reclaiming research value involves regaining agency, passion, and adapting to fluid, participant-centered spaces.
Notable Quotes
"Reclaiming our value is not about shouting about our worth, it's about demonstrating it in impossible ways to ignore."
"How do we empower others to perform research by becoming coaches?"
"We need to transform insights into wisdom that influences decisions."
"Organizations are complex, plural, relational systems that require new lenses to understand and influence."
"Trauma among participants and practitioners is an industry problem we can no longer ignore."
"Impactful communication must be balanced with compassionate storytelling to truly resonate."
"Researchers need to harness their unique voice to cut through the noise in our increasingly fluid landscape."
"We must rethink team structures and career paths to support more pluralistic ways of sharing and learning."
"Researchers are becoming stewards of organizational wisdom, not just collectors of insight."
"To reclaim our value, we must regain our agency and renew our passion as researchers."
Dig deeper—ask the Rosenbot:
More Videos
"We as researchers have gotten good at delivering answers but lost sight of where the learning loop connects into the bigger organizational context."
Sharon Banh Dave Hora Marieke McCloskey Alicia ZhongReimagining research: What does the field need to grow? [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
October 16, 2024
"Supporting older adults in UX research reveals a community that is often undervalued and underlooked."
Dr. Jamika D. BurgeTheme 3 Intro
March 11, 2022
"The Ab Builder is a collaborative workspace where designers and developers have synchronized component libraries and themes."
George Abraham Stefan IvanovDesign Systems To-Go: Reimagining Developer Handoff, and Introducing App Builder (Part 2)
October 1, 2021
"Organizations contain antibodies—cultural forces that resist change."
Bill ScottLean Engineering: Engineering for Learning and Experimentation in the Enterprise
May 14, 2015
"Design review is a time to get comfortable feeling vulnerable and stay curious and open. - Kelly"
Erika Kincaid Brenna Heaps Jessica TsukimuraConnecting the Dots: How to Foster Collaboration and Build a Strong Design Review Culture
June 8, 2022
"Community input is invaluable in crafting solutions that work for everyone."
Lena ShenkarenkoCollaborative Wireframing for Creating Team Alignment and Shipping Better Products
October 21, 2020
"When we empower others, we are actually reinforcing the hierarchy we seek to subvert."
Victor UdoewaRadical Participatory Research: Decolonizing Participatory Processes
March 9, 2022
"Design researchers, salespeople, and customer service agents have the best understanding of what customers need, but they are rarely invited into corporate strategy processes."
Nathan ShedroffDouble Your Mileage: Use Your Research Strategically
March 31, 2020
"We can make this thing go faster, more people can access it, but we can have benefits for the planet as well."
James ChudleyDecarbonising User Journeys: How minimising enables us to do more with less
February 19, 2025
