The Good Guide to Creative Practice for Sustainable Futures Toolkit

Dr Hilary Kenna; Heitor La Forga; Claire Long; Evan Tobin; Hazel Murray

8 The Good Guide to Creative Practice for Sustainable Futures Toolkit

Dr Hilary Kenna; Heitor La Forga; Claire Long; Evan Tobin; and Hazel Murray

Initiative at a Glance

Institution(s) & Partners: Institute of Art Design and Technology (IADT); National Technological University Transformation for Recovery and Resilience (NTUTORR) Programme
Contributors: Dr Hilary Kenna (Lecturer in Design, IADT); Heitor La Forga (Graduate, MA Design for Change, IADT); Claire Long (Graduate, BA Visual Communication, IADT); Evan Tobin (Graduate, BA Visual Communication, IADT); Hazel Murray (Graduate, BA Graphic Design, IADT)
Timeframe: 2024–present (ongoing pilot at IADT)
Levels Affected: Module level; Across multiple modules; Programme level; Across multiple programmes; Academic unit/school/faculty level; Across multiple units/schools/faculties; Institutional level; Across multiple institutions
Focus: Education for Sustainable Development (ESD); Best Practice in Upholding and Cultivating Academic Integrity
Disciplines: Arts and Humanities; Education; Information and Communication Technologies; Teaching and Learning
Keywords: Design Futures; Futures thinking; Sustainable Design; Universal Design; Design Ethics; Accessibility

Context and Purpose

This SATLE project expands on the development The Good Guide to Creative Practice for Students (2024), which produced an introductory handbook to provide creative arts/design/media/technology students with basic literacies in three core areas: sustainability, equality diversity inclusion (EDI) and the ethical use/application of technology. In the Good Guide, these are presented as three core pillars People, Planet and Tech for Good.

Primary research findings validated that students were concerned about these topics, but felt both powerless, and lacking in knowledge and skills to affect change in their own practice or for their future.

Aims and Objectives

Design and produce an OER toolkit for students and educators in creative arts, media, and technology: The Good Guide to Creative Practice for Sustainable Futures.
Pilot and test the Good Guide OER toolkit within IADT and iterate its design based on feedback and evaluation.
Publish and promote the OER toolkit with other higher education institutions and secure an external pilot.

Initiative Overview

This SATLE project focuses on the development of a teaching and learning toolkit – The Good Guide to Sustainable Futures. It will incorporate three main topics:

Futures Thinking & Speculative Making
Sustainable Materials & Methods
Ethical & Sustainable Tech

The aim of the toolkit is to provide much needed accessible educational resources for educators and students to introduce sustainability into creative practice, to foster both a mindset shift and practical application.

This project specifically aligns with NSESD priority action 3, Building Capacities of Educators, as the Good Guide toolkit will be published internally on IADT’s virtual learning HUB, available to all academic staff and students to adapt and apply within their own programmes and discipline areas. It will be piloted tested and iterated at IADT before it is published externally.

This project aligns closely with priority action 4: Empowering and Mobilising Young People, as the core pedagogical approach of the Good Guide is driven by student-centred research and co-creation of the content and design. The toolkit resources and materials will empower students to develop the values, skills and resilience necessary to build a sustainable creative practice for the future, in order to cope with significant challenges such climate change, economic uncertainty, cultural diversity and the pervasive growth of AI.

Impact and Evidence of Success

The Good Guide project ran a pilot at IADT in 2024–2025 with 35 third-year BA Graphic Design students and 4 lecturers. Using the handbook, students developed an Experiential Design Brief, selecting a pillar theme to promote through a physical or digital campus experience. The pilot produced strong proposals, several shortlisted by IADT’s Climate Committee. Reflections showed high engagement and commitment to sustainability, EDI, and ethical tech. The next phase will test the Good Guide Toolkit in a studio module with another 35 students, with evaluation via student reports and lecturer feedback through surveys and interviews.

Future Directions and Sustainability

The project aims to make The Good Guide handbook and toolkit freely available under a Creative Commons license via the HEA NFETL National Resource Hub, ensuring broad access and low rollout cost. This approach supports capacity building as the HEA community can adopt and customize materials. The project will seek funding to expand development and is exploring sustainable pathways within IADT. An open call will invite academics to share authored content under the three pillar themes, with full accreditation for contributions.

Top Tips

Students state sustainability as a core value but often feel powerless to take positive action.
Students need accessible materials and resources so they can learn how to embed sustainability into their creative practice.
Futures literacy can play a key role in building sustainable mindsets for students.

Alignment and Policy Context

National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development to 2030 (NSESD)
Sustainable Development Goals 2030 – SDG 4 and SDG 13
IADT Teaching and Learning Strategy 2024
Centre for Excellence in Universal Design – Seven Universal Design Principles
IADT Strategic Plan 2024–2028: Strategic Priority 1 (Excellence in practice-led teaching and learning) and Strategic Priority 2 (Sustainability)

Resources and Supporting Information

Images

Funding and Acknowledgements

Funding: SATLE Teaching and Learning Fellowship (June 2025); NTUTORR Student Fellowship Award (March 2024)