Reach School
The strong relationships between the partners in our network create a fertile ground for joint reflection and learning. We regularly organise Reach School sessions to exchange ideas and enhance our hard and soft skills together.
Cultivating Change: A Journey into System Transformation
In June 2025, seven studios from the Reach Network contributed stories and reflections on the engagements they have had with system transformations. Our journey into system transformation revealed a fundamental truth: it’s about looking beyond isolated problems to understand interconnected challenges. For those designing solutions, this means shifting from fixing individual parts to engage with the system as a whole. For everyone, it’s about asking: What are the hidden connections, and how do changes ripple through the whole? Working systemically demands a particular way of thinking. It's about embracing curiosity, humility, and a willingness to collaborate across diverse perspectives. We observed the value of going broad in our understanding before diving deeper into specific areas. One helpful analogy that emerged was that of a gardener, nurturing growth and working with natural systems rather than simply trying to fix broken elements.
Taking charge of our learning journeys
Reach School offers space to reflect, connect, and re-engage through curiosity and small, intentional actions. We ask simple questions that help move from passivity to participation, taking charge of our learning journeys, even in the smallest interactions. These moments remind us of the power of being in conversation—with each other, and with the world around us. As part of our mission, we are striving to make virtual spaces feel alive through thoughtful facilitation and a strong sense of collective presence.
Shaping the future of AI-enabled teamwork
The future of our work as designers and researchers will continue to evolve due to ongoing digitalization and advancements in AI. To remain resilient, both we as knowledge workers and our organizations need to embrace continuous learning. In the age of AI, this means creating new knowledge because nobody knows how AI will change our work yet. We must design the future of our work through experimentation. This will get us beyond ‘Babel’, which simply means confusion.
The impact of toolkits in international development
All studios in the Reach Network love to share knowledge. We regularly develop toolkits for a diverse range of clients. In this session, we discussed the challenges and impact of those toolkits.
Gathering, the art and craft of holding space for shared enquiry.
We enjoy collaborating with our partners in the reach network as they develop frameworks, workshop methods, or new theories. The diverse perspectives from around the world are invaluable in enhancing and deepening our understanding.
What can decolonisation mean to us as the Reach Network?
In our network, we encourage everyone to bring forward topics they find important for discussion. Recently, three studios from India, the Netherlands, and Mexico collaborated to invite us to reflect on the decolonization of design. This conversation is particularly relevant to our practice as design researchers.
AI and the role of global design research
Integrating new technologies like AI into our daily lives and work is not a new concept. In our Reach School sessions in 2024, we have engaged in multiple conversations about AI. We believe it is our responsibility to understand what efforts are needed to create meaningful, positive, and humane ways of utilizing AI, around the world.
Empowering Whole-Community Co-Creation
About the long-term participatory work required to shift an entire organisational culture.
Diversity in Connecting to New Networks
About practices in enabling new connections with people beyond the ecosystem of your work and identity.
Building Rapport and Inclusiveness
About leveraging aspects of yourself to facilitate trust building and inclusivity.
Broadening Perspectives
About developing approaches to consistently evaluate and expand your view of your work.
Comfortable with Uncertainty
About cultivating an easefulness in situations that are hard to predict and control.
Open to (Unanticipated) Possibilities
About finding a balance between plan-based approaches to work and openness to moments of intuition and new discovery.
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Open To Other Perspectives
About building an appetite for understanding external perspectives and experiences in a manner that allows you to put your own associations aside and empathise more deeply with others.
Creating a Shared Sense of Direction
About being able to help your team share and navigate individual agendas to arrive at a collective objective or goal.