Project R-8239

International co-ordination action: EIDD - Design for All Academic Newtork (DfA ACANET) (Research)

EIDD-Design for All Europe (www.dfaeurope.eu) is an independent European Institute established in Dublin in 1993 that connects organisations and networks working on the topic of Design for All. Design for All (DfA), Universal Design (UD) or Inclusive Design (ID) are three synonyms for a design strategy defined in the '70s by Ron Mace. This strategy states that everything that we design has to support users in a positive, elegant way and so that users don't need to adapt themselves to these designed products, services or environments. On the contrary, the designed environment supports the diversity of people in the best possible sense without stigmatising anyone. This DfA-design strategy is scientifically outlined and can be very effective and innovative in terms of diversity and inclusion and is thus an effective strategy for innovation across all sectors that benefits society, business and the individual at the same time (Eikhaug, 2010 ). However, it is still very unknown and unfamiliar to business, government, users, educator and scientists. Therefore, the 3 main scientific goals of this 'Design for All Academic Network (DfA ACANET)' are (1) to connect research and researchers from interdisciplinary organisations (eg. academia, education, design institutes, business, government, user organisations) in order to (2) incubate and (3) disseminate knowledge and science in DfA.

01 January 2018 - 27 October 2019