Informed Design: Using science, research and evidence to shape policies and best practices in the private and public sectors

Originally published on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/informed-design-using-science-research-evidence-shape-marcel-harmon/

Policy, whether a small business’s new employee on-boarding policy or a nation’s economic policy, based on ideology at the expense of evidence is simply folly. At best it’s a short term success by accident. At worst it can lead to an organization’s downfall. Policy makers have a duty to make decisions based on the best evidence available to them – to let their ideological frameworks evolve based on what the evidence says. At the same time, scientists, researchers and subject matter experts have an obligation to communicate their research based understanding of the world to policy makers and the general public at large.

Ian L. Boyd, the chief scientific adviser in the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as well as professor of biology at the University of St Andrews, UK, recently wrote a commentary in Nature (Take the Long View) on the importance of science in policy. Boyd focuses on governmental policy, but I’d argue that science is equally critical for informing on the policy, procedures and strategies formulated and followed within the private sector. Over relying on ideological frameworks, or even common sense, at the expense of contradictory evidence based on solid research can have negative consequences for businesses as well as governments.

Case in point, the current intellectual traditions of HVAC design focus on achieving and maintaining a set point defined as the “optimum” temperature in our interior environments. But recent research has reignited interest in the concept of thermal alliesthesia – the phenomenon of moving from a state of slight discomfort to comfort, causing one to experience a thermal sensation in the brain that translates into delight, pleasure or comfort.

The research would seem to indicate that by focusing on the thermal destination instead of the thermal journey, contemporary HVAC design creates environments that are less comfortable, less enjoyable, less productive, more prone to occupant complaints, and potentially more energy intensive. More research is needed, but the policies, procedures, best practices, standards, etc., of HVAC design and operations will likely change in the coming years to reflect what’s learned from this growing body of research.

One of the reasons I joined Forte Building Science / M.E. GROUP nine plus years ago was their recognition that evidence and research are critical for moving the building/construction industry forward and making it more sustainable. Another reason is their focus on the occupant, on the people who live, work and play in the facilities we design, exemplified in M.E. GROUP’s purpose statement – Improving Lives through a Better Built Environment.

Boyd, in his commentary, also points out that for science to improve its effectiveness relative to policy, it must focus less on game-changing discoveries (supply-side innovation) and more on organizational, system-based solutions (demand-side innovation), driven by behavioural and operational research. Forte Building Science / M.E. GROUP has also recognized this, devoting a segment of its services to understanding occupant/organizational behavior and needs within the context of the built environment and then meeting those needs through its various other services, from building physics and design, to commissioning and post occupancy evaluations.

Evidence based design (using that phrase in a general sense as opposed to its specific origins in the health care sector) could really describe our general approach to almost everything we do. Post Occupancy Evaluations (POEs) are perhaps our most deliberate form of using research and evidence to inform on design strategies as well as the planning/design/construction/post occupancy process itself. Many of my LinkedIn published posts directly or indirectly discuss our POE services, case studies and lessons learned, as well as our use of evidence based design in general.

One of our clients, the New Mexico Public Schools Facilities Authority (NMPSFA), has used the results of the New Mexico K-12 POEs we’ve performed for them to develop their POE handbook as well as update their K-12 standards, guides and best practices that New Mexico schools must follow to receive construction money through NMPSFA. As we also transmit the knowledge gained from these lessons learned throughout the firm, our other clients ultimately benefit from these POE case studies as well.

I’ve also used the knowledge gained from our own case studies and research, as well as industry research in general, to provide informed recommendations to state legislators. For example, during the last Kansas legislative session, I raised the concern with legislators that the current environmental conditions in many schools across the state (as well as nationally), partially the result of decades of deferred maintenance in our school districts, was having a negative impact on the performance and health of our teachers and students.

A significant amount of industry research has demonstrated the link between performance/health and indoor environmental conditions. At the time, proposed legislation that would have reduced the amount of state aid available for bond and interest, and make it harder to obtain the remaining state aid left, was simply a bad idea and not in the best interests of our state’s students. See Addressing Facility Needs in Kansas Public Schools May Get Harder and 2016 State of Our Schools Report - We've got work to do.

Following the examples of other scientists, researchers and subject matter experts, I’ve also drawn on my knowledge and background in evolutionary theory and anthropology to make research based recommendations to state legislators on aspects of sustainability/energy/climate change, public education and economic policy. Many of those recommendations are also included in articles and blog posts I’ve written for Salon, Daily Kos, Evonomics and at Cultural Commentary. Though I warn the reader that many of these pieces are fairly political in nature (nor were the Salon titles my choice).

Forte Building Science / M.E. GROUP is one of many firms, NGOs, governmental agencies and other organizations that to varying degrees review and conduct research, apply it and translate it into best practices. Another is the Evolution Institute, a think tank dedicated to using evolutionary science to solve real-world problems, including those found within the building/construction industry. For example, I’ve previously written how evolutionary science provides insights into increasing the likelihood that decisions are made to build sustainability. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg for what evolutionary science can offer the building/construction industry.

I believe that deliberately operating within an evolutionary theoretical framework will contribute to designing, constructing and operating more sustainable/regenerative built environments that better and more equitably meet the productivity and health needs of building occupants and organizations, as well as minimize, and even reverse, the built environment's contributions to climate change. As 2017 unfolds, I’ll be laying out the argument for this, as well as steps for making it happen, in a series of essays that will appear either in This View of Life or the Social Evolution Forum.

Here’s to 2017 being a year less about ideology alone guiding our policies and decisions and more about science, research and evidence taking the lead – in our board rooms, design charrettes and capitol buildings.