Design for Hope: Cultivating Deliberate Hope in the Face of Complex Societal Challenges

Societal challenges, such as those at the heart of CSCW research, are often complex, and responses to them frequently prioritize harm reduction and prevention as immediate goals. While these efforts are essential, they can unintentionally narrow our sense of what is possible, centering our attention on mitigating risks rather than expanding possibilities.

This one-day, in-person workshop builds on the 1st Positech Workshop at CSCW 2024 (https://positech-cscw-2024.github.io/)* by focusing on practical ways to expand beyond reactive problem-solving and build capacity for proactive goal setting and generating pathways forward.

By drawing connections between design thinking and hope theory, we aim to understand how researchers might chart directions in the face of uncertainty, complexity, and constraint. Through activities such as problem-reframing exercises, building a shared taxonomy of design methods, and reflecting on what it means to cultivate hopeful research trajectories for ourselves, we will explore ways to support researchers and research communities in navigating complex societal challenges with greater imagination and agency.

*participation in the 2024 workshop is not required to attend this one.

Link to conference website: https://cscw.acm.org/2025/


• Submission Deadline: August 18th, 2025
• Notification of acceptance: August 25th, 2025
• Workshop date: October 18th, 2025 (TBU)
• Workshop location: In Person
• Contact: positech.research@gmail.com

We invite 15-20 individuals interested in exploring design's role in transforming complex challenges into constructive opportunities to participate in our one-day, in-person workshop. Submissions are welcomed in several forms:

• Position papers or drafts (1-3 pages, ACM single-column format, excluding references). Alternative formats such as design fiction are also encouraged.

• "Encore" submissions of previously published conference or journal papers relevant to the workshop themes.

• Initial research ideas submitted as extended abstracts (1-3 pages, ACM single-column format, excluding references).

• Design as hope in and beyond research: A free-form submission showcasing how design serves as a source of hope, whether in research or everyday life. This could be an image, sketch, diary entry, or any other creative expression accompanied by a brief description. Be creative!

We ask all attendees to provide an accessible PDF of their submission.

The selection of participants will involve a light review process by the organizers, who will evaluate submissions based on their relevance to the workshop's theme, overall quality, and the diversity of perspectives they bring.