Chris Speed

Chris Speed FRSE, FRSA is Professor of Design for Regenerative Futures at RMIT, Melbourne, Australia, where he collaborates with a wide variety of communities and partners to explore how design provides methods to adapt toward becoming a regenerative society. Chris has an established track record in directing large complex grants and educational programmes with academic, industry and third sector partners, that apply design and data methods to social, environmental and economic challenges.

Research

Chris’ research identity has been defined through his 10-year leadership of the Institute of Design Informatics at the University of Edinburgh. Initiated in 2012 as a collaboration between the Design School and School of Informatics, the Institute is now home to over 80 academics, researchers, PhD students and professional services staff. Chris was appointed the first Director of the Institute, and he guided its growth through the development of collaborative MA & MSc programmes, over 60 UK and EU funded research grants, and a programme of public and business partnerships.

The Institute for Design Informatics, remains a unique centre to explore how we design systems for better human data interaction, in diverse settings such as climate, health, culture, mobility and finance. Teams explore design from, with, and by data: the central concern being the design of how data flows in such a way as to sustain and enhance human (and more than human) values. Relevant technologies range from the internet of things, through blockchains, to robotics, natural language processing, data visualisation, interaction design, and social computing.  Design informatics as a contemporary discipline across design research continues to combine data science with design methods in a context of critical enquiry and speculation.

A parallel institutional project that Chris co-designed and ultimately Directed, was the transformation of the 23,000m² Old Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, a Florence Nightingale hospital in the centre of Edinburgh, into a world leading centre for interdisciplinary teaching, research and innovation. The Edinburgh Futures (EFI) Institute seeks to pursue knowledge and understanding that supports the navigation of complex futures. EFI’s distinctiveness stems from our approach to research and innovation, education and engagement – an approach that combines multi-disciplinarity with co-production.  Working with industry, government and communities at home and abroad, EFI aims to build a challenge-led and data-rich portfolio of activity that has demonstrable ethical, social, cultural, economic and environmental impacts.

Chris was involved in 49 research projects during his time at the University of Edinburgh, leading on 19 projects worth a total of £13.5.mil and Co-Investigating 30 projects worth in excess of £76mil. Chris was PI for the TOTeM project investigating social memory within the ‘Internet of Things’ funded by the Digital Economy (£1.4m) and the related Research in the Wild grant: Internet of Second Hand Things (£250k); PI for three AHRC Connected Community grants under the moniker Community Hacking that explores parallels between virtual society and actual society (£120k); Co-I to the Sixth Sense Transport RCUK funded Energy project (£900k) which explored the implications for the next generation of mobile computing for dynamic personalised travel planning. He was PI to the EPSRC funded Connected High Street project (£350k) with University of Dundee and NCR, and Co-I to the AHRC funded Design in Action Knowledge Exchange Hub (£6m). He is currently PI to the EPSRC TIPS grant OxChain (£1mil), PI to the ESRC After Money project (£250k), Co-I to the £5mil PETRAS IoT Hub and Co-I to the EPSRC TIPS PACTMAN grant (£1mil). Chris is Director of the £6mil (£5.5Mil AHRC & £0.5Mil SFC) Creative Informatics R&D Partnership, one of the nine AHRC funded Creative Industries Clusters in the UK, and is Co-I to the Next Stage Digital Economy Centre DECaDE led by Surrey with the Digital Catapult. Chris was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2020.

Chris is a regular contributor to design conferences including the DRS, EAD, DIS, CHI and the Research Through Design network for which he co-chaired the 2017 conference in Edinburgh.

In 2020 Chris was awarded the Chancellors Award for Research at the University of Edinburgh, the most prestigious recognition for commitment, expertise and experience in the development of research cultures and economies.

• BA (Hons) Fine Art (Brighton, UK)
• MA Design Futures (Goldsmiths, UK)
• PhD (Plymouth, UK)

Chris has an established track record in directing large complex grants with academic, industry and third sector partners, that apply design and data methods to social, environmental and economic challenges.

From 2018-2024 Chris was Director for the £7.4m Creative Informatics R&D Partnership, one of the nine AHRC funded Creative Industries Clusters in the UK. Creative Informatics supported creatives in Edinburgh and South East Scotland to innovate with data and data-driven technologies. We worked with creative SMEs, entrepreneurs and larger creative and cultural organisations to undertake R&D. The programme developed a network of over 5000 creatives, trained 650+ in using data-driven technologies, funded 130+ projects, which developed 145+ new products & services, and secured over £6.78m in further funding and investment. Partners included CodeBase, the UK largest growing tech programme; Creative Edinburgh, a 5000 creative practitioners network; the BBC; National Galleries of Scotland; The List.

In parallel Chris was also Co-Investigator for the £5m / 5 year (2020-2025) Next Stage Digital Economy Centre DECaDE led by the University of Surrey with the Digital Catapult and University of Edinburgh. DECaDE is interested in decentralised platforms that are enabled by emerging data-centric technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Distributed Ledgers and Blockchain that disrupt our social and cultural economies – including the way we work, interact and create value. Partners included the BBC, Tesco Bank, Nat West Bank, The Bank of England and many SME’s that sustain interests in emerging digital economies.

Chris also led the UK funded £1.1m OxChain project (2016-2020). OxChain was a collaborative research project between the Universities of Edinburgh, Northumbria and Lancaster, and research partners Oxfam, Zero Waste Scotland, Volunteer Scotland and WHALE Arts. By bringing together experts in digital design, cryptography, business and international development we developed new smart contracting donation products and services for Oxfam Australia that was launched as the ‘If / Then / Give’ app for iOS and Android.

Chris’ consultancy work has largely involved supporting organisations to understand how value is created within data-driven economies. His design thinking methods have been hired by private companies, governments and charity organisations including: Oxfam (GB and Aus), NatWest, UKRI, Asian Banking School, Franklin Templeton and Tesco Bank.

He is committed to working with communities to learn how best to support their interests and motivations through respectful and collaborative methods. His work in co-developing projects with the Wester Hailes community in Edinburgh remains a personal highlight of his career.