Practices of High-Performance Group

Design Deconstructed: 2016-17 Salon

Ever since design-thinking became an articulated approach to innovation and entrepreneurship, empathy has been in demand. However, recent research suggests that our ability to experience and express empathy is on the decline. Although many accounts have been published and workshops conducted on the role of empathy in the innovation process, perhaps it would be useful to unpack the concept of empathy itself. What is it? What conditions inspire and inhibit it? How is it expressed, received, and encouraged? And what impact might it have in personal, organizational, and societal contexts?

In the 2016-17 academic year the Krause Innovation Studio will host an experimental Salon focused on understanding these questions. This participatory session will include brief presentations by Penn State scholars from across the university to orient the session, rich peer-to-peer conversations, and an informal reception featuring refreshments and a gallery of topical artworks. A synthesizing document based on research and on the Salon’s exchanges about empathy in contemporary innovation practices will be produced for participants after the event.