Theme 3 Intro
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."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"In corporate settings you have to get buy-in for care—it’s strange to think about, but that’s part of decentralizing power."
Sahibzada Mayed Lauren LinCultivating Design Ecologies of Care, Community, and Collaboration
October 4, 2023
"Engaging influencers early helped them appreciate being included sooner than later, which improved the project."
Frank DuranPartnership Playbook: Lessons Learned in Effective Partnership
January 8, 2024
"In India, a cow crossing the road can disrupt Uber pickups, showing the need to design with local realities in mind."
Nancy DouyonWe'll Figure That Out in the Next Launch: Enterprise Tech's Nobility Complex
June 15, 2018
"We want to develop a civic design methodology compatible with Istanbul’s current conditions."
Onur Kocan Ayhan EnsiciUnderstanding the Strategy for Civic Design in a Complex City: Istanbul
November 16, 2022
"Show and tells are not critiques, they’re chances to share progress and practice presentation without pressure."
Rusha SopariwalaRemote, Together: Craft and Collaboration Across Disciplines, Borders, Time Zones, and a Design Org of 170+
June 9, 2022
"A model is a simplified representation of a system, whether in math or UX."
Scott PlewesWhy Isn't Your UX Approach Going Viral?: A Mathematical Model
March 28, 2023
"If your company has customers with disabilities but no way to collect their feedback, you’re missing critical insights."
Sam ProulxAccessibility: An Opportunity to Innovate
September 8, 2022
"We created research indexes with search blocks that update over time to help people focus on the most recent insights."
Michelle Bejian Lotia Anne-Marie MorellRolling Out a Repository: How Zapier Centralizes Insights from Across their Organization
March 28, 2023
"Writing helps me clearly articulate ideas and feedback, which is a superpower as a manager."
Amy Jiménez Márquez Michael J. Metts Joie ChungThe Atypical UX Manager Path
July 23, 2020
