We’re delighted to announce that Design HOPES has received new AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) funding, totalling £3.125m, to further develop and deliver pioneering projects supporting NHS Scotland’s transition to net zero.

Across two phases, the project has now received a total of £7.75m, and the latest boost builds on successful collaborations with NHS Scotland and partners from the third sector and design industry. It will enable the development and delivery of a range of projects, including a range of fully sustainable and biodegradable reusable textile products, and the Green Ward Toolkit, co-developed with NHS Tayside, which empowers clinical and non-clinical staff to address key areas such as energy, waste, water, travel, and medicines, supporting behaviour change on wards through design-led guidance and circular economy principles.

The second phase of Design HOPES, which runs from October 2025 to March 2028, will continue to support the UK’s transition to net zero through the scaling up of design interventions and engaging diverse public audiences with the power of design.

Professor Paul Rodgers, of Strathclyde’s Department of Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management (DMEM) and co-director of Design HOPES, said: “Moving into phase two, Design HOPES will again be working closely with NHS colleagues to translate research findings into real world solutions.

“At present we are working with the NHS National Centre for Sustainable Delivery to roll out a large-scale trial of our reusable theatre caps which are undergoing user-testing across 14 regional NHS Scotland health boards, from NHS Ayrshire and Arran to NHS Shetland.

“This intervention will support NHS priorities by providing evidence-based solutions that contribute to net zero goals.”

Professor Mel Woods, Chair of Creative Intelligence at the University of Dundee and co-director of Design HOPES, said: “Across Design HOPES we are showing how design can drive change at many levels, from a Green Ward Toolkit helping NHS staff measure and reduce a hospital ward’s environmental impact, to the Flow serious game, tackling net zero through patient journeys in emergency settings.

“Our next milestone is to translate this research into lasting impact. The project is connecting sustainability in the NHS with the public imagination, embedding outcomes and changing everyday practice, and policy at the heart of the NHS.”

Design HOPES is a collaborative design-led research initiative, comprising five Scottish Universities (University of Strathclyde, University of Dundee, Heriot Watt University, Abertay University, and the University of Edinburgh), NHS Scotland, the third sector, and design organisations.

Design HOPES is also one of four Green Transition Ecosystem (GTE) hub projects funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of UK Research and Innovation. We’d like to thank everyone who has supported the project throughout its first phase, and look forward to the exciting and productive research, design, collaboration and impact to come!

Find out more about Design HOPES at our current exhibitions; Tools for Transition, at the Future Observatory, Design Museum, London, and opening on 2 October 2025, From HOPE, to HEALTH at V&A Dundee.