For industry and government
We set out the roles the lab can play and the value we propose. For joint research inquiries, please use the contact form.
Companies (new business, R&D, design organizations, system integrators)
- We explore new-business concepts that start from your by-products, unused resources, and existing infrastructure (Themes 1 and 2).
- We design and evaluate deployments so that robots, AI, and digital twins do not end up installed but unused in the field (Theme 3).
- We separate the steps to delegate from the steps people keep when generative AI enters planning and design work, and turn the result into internal guidelines (Theme 4).
- We support the establishment of in-house service design organizations, staff development, and the publication of cases (Theme 1).
Local governments, communities, NPOs, and international cooperation agencies
- We support the design and operational improvement of relational-population, local DAO, and local token initiatives (Theme 5).
- We shape residents’ acceptance of new infrastructure such as spaceports and next-generation energy through collaboration in advance (Theme 3).
- We build industries that start from local resources and unused resources in developing countries, connecting with cooperatives, local universities, and JICA (Theme 2).
- We design hub facilities, entrepreneur development programs, and disaster education (Themes 5 and 6).
Research themes × proposed value
| Research theme | The lab’s role | Proposed value |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Service design methods, organizational adoption, and training S-D logic × human-centred design |
We build methods, tools, and processes on the foundation of S-D logic and human-centred design and introduce them inside companies. As a reviewer and an internationally accredited practitioner, we assure their quality. | You gain the establishment of an in-house service design organization with yearly technical guidance, a training curriculum (a 15-session structure with a full set of worksheets), support for new-business development, and the publication and international dissemination of your own cases. |
| 2. Turning unused resources and waste into value Global South / circularity |
We serve as principal investigator across the discovery of local resources, the analysis of meaning, product concepts, and acceptance evaluation, and run a study group that brings together fermentation science, food science, legal compliance, ICT4D, and cultural anthropology. | You gain a diagnosis of the structural factors (institutions, complementary resources, material properties) that keep a by-product from becoming a resource, together with design hypotheses for turning it into one. We also provide connections to local universities, cooperatives, and JICA, legal knowledge on the transfer of genetic resources, and an evaluation framework covering environmental, economic, and social effects. |
| 3. Introducing new technologies to the field and their acceptance Robots, digital twins, infrastructure |
We act as the designer who runs the cycle from pre-deployment field research to implementation and evaluation in a short period, and we turn acceptance from an object of analysis into an object of design. | You gain a deployment design that avoids technology that is installed but not used, and evidence for management such as estimates of shifted workload. We also provide consensus-building tools that make visible the gaps in perception between technical divisions, the field, and management, and a process for shaping residents’ acceptance of new infrastructure in advance. |
| 4. Generative AI, LLMs, and collaboration with professionals What to delegate and what people keep |
We turn the boundary between what to delegate to AI and what people keep into a methodology based on practitioner research, and we use LLMs as research instruments in an auditable way. | You gain decision charts for delegated and human-held steps, metrics for the risk of AI dependence, and support for turning them into internal guidelines. We also provide a pipeline for structuring your interview assets with an audit log, and a codified process and training for new-business development with generative AI. |
| 5. Local communities, Web3, and relational population Local DAOs, tokens, hubs |
We study communities across three layers (community managers, digital residents, and physical residents) and translate the findings into design principles and tools, and we accompany municipalities in designing hubs and programs. | You gain a diagnosis that separates problems caused by the technology from problems of governance in transition, and design guidelines for relational-population policies. We also provide planning tools that take local token initiatives from concept sheets to ecosystem maps, and support for hub operation and entrepreneur development. |
| 6. Museums, education, and children AR, games, disaster education |
We take part as co-investigator in the design of exhibition and learning experiences, and we design and evaluate games and AR for children. | You gain the design of AR and games that can be added to existing exhibits, verified through visitor tests of learning effects. We also provide a design template for disaster-preparedness programs for children that turn local disaster culture into teaching material. |
Value that cuts across themes
Short-term research design with a light burden on the field
In a hospital under infection-control restrictions, we implemented two services within two months from interviews with a handful of key informants. Where observation is difficult, we substitute triangulation of documents, logs, and interviews.
Qualitative analysis at an academic standard
Reflexive thematic analysis, qualitative content analysis, double coding, and member checking are our standard, and when we use LLMs we keep an audit trail of independent runs, quotation matching, and line-by-line adjudication.
Making institutions and ecosystems visible
With the three institutions (regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive), actor maps, and service ecosystem maps, we turn friction between technology, organizations, and communities into diagrams that support consensus building.
Prototyping and evaluation as one operation
We have prototyped robot services, fermented beverages, Unity games, and Web3 tools, and evaluated them in terms of behavior change, acceptance, and learning effects.
Forming interdisciplinary teams and connecting with institutions abroad
We bring together researchers in fermentation science, food law, ICT4D, cultural anthropology, and science and technology studies, and connect with the University of the Philippines, the Royal College of Art, NUS, and National Tsing Hua University.
Publishing practice internationally and developing people
With ServDes, IJHCS, IJD, and JOSM as our main venues, we bring knowledge gained jointly with companies to books, international conferences, and journals. We have a record of yearly technical guidance, a 15-session course, and seminars for practitioners.
Forms of collaboration
| Form | Partners and themes | How the lab works | What partners need to provide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joint research | This suits companies that want to test a new technology or venture in their own field (Themes 2 to 5). | The lab designs everything from field research to implementation and evaluation, and publishes the results. Students take part. | Access to the field, a contact person, and agreement on data use and publication are needed. |
| Contract research and technical guidance | This suits companies that want to build an in-house service design or innovation organization (Theme 1). | We provide lectures, exercises, reviews, and supervision on a yearly basis. | A target division, participants, and an annual plan are needed. |
| Student projects (seminar and courses) | This suits companies and governments that want research and proposals from a student perspective (Themes 1, 5, and 6). | We take the topic into the seminar or a course, and the faculty supervises. | A topic, acceptance of site visits, and participation in the final presentation are needed. |
| Joint applications for public funding | This suits companies, universities, and governments aiming at academic outcomes over the medium to long term (Themes 2 to 4). | We apply to KAKENHI, JST, or foundations as principal or co-investigator and run the team after the award. | Participation as co-investigator or collaborator, and provision of the field, are needed. |
| Field-provision type | This suits governments and organizations that provide a field or data and want the findings shared (Themes 3 and 5). | We conduct the research with the lab’s own funds and return the results and design guidelines. | Access to the field and introductions to stakeholders are needed. |
| Advisory, training, and lectures | This suits companies that want to learn the methods in a short time (Themes 1 and 4). | We provide seminars, supervision, and service on review and evaluation committees. | Dates and target participants are needed. |
Track record
These are joint research, contract research, and technical guidance projects with companies and governments.
| Period | Partner / organization | Project | Type / program |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/10〜2026/05 | 株式会社NTTデータMSE | イノベーション・マネージメントおよびサービス・デザインに関する技術的指導 | 技術指導 |
| 2024/10〜2025/03 | ブリヂストン | 共創テーマ(潜在ニーズ) 創出事業 | 共同研究 |
| 2024/06〜2025/02 | 株式会社NTTデータMSE | イノベーション・マネージメントおよびサービス・デザインに関する技術的指導 | 技術指導 |
| 2023/06〜2024/02 | 株式会社NTTデータMSE | イノベーション・マネージメントおよびサービス・デザインに関する技術的指導 | 技術指導 |
| 2022/11〜2023/03 | 株式会社NTTデータMSE | イノベーション・マネージメントおよびサービス・デザインに関する技術的指導 | 技術指導 |
| 2019/10〜2020/03 | 日本電気株式会社 | サービスデザインフレームワークの構築および評価に関する技術的指導 | 技術指導 |
| 2018/10〜2019/01 | 日本電気株式会社 | 未来のサービスデザインワークショッププロジェクト | Joint research |
| 2017/07〜2018/03 | 山口市 | 新山口駅北地区拠点施設におけるパブリックデザインおよび施設運用に関する研究調査業務 | Contract research |
| 2016/07〜2017/03 | 凸版印刷株式会社 | オープンスペース展示用試作UIシステムの設計指導、並びに、実地検証実験の実験設計、実験指導および実験結果の分析 | Contract research |
| 2015/12〜2016/03 | 山口市 | シンポジウム(地方から起こすイノベーション)の企画・運営 | Contract research |
| 2015/11〜2016/03 | 凸版印刷株式会社 | オープンスペースコンテンツ展示用試作UIシステムの設計 | Contract research |
How a consultation proceeds
- Send “Joint or contract research inquiry” through the contact form, with your organization, division, and theme of interest.
- In a 30-minute online meeting, we listen to your problem and the situation in the field.
- The lab proposes a theme, a form of collaboration, a period, and a team structure.
- The contract is concluded through the university’s industry-academia collaboration office.
Typical inquiries
Turning by-products and unused resources into value
Inquiries come from food, beverage, chemical, and materials manufacturers and trading companies.
Deploying robots and AI in the field
Inquiries come from care and hospital operators, robotics companies, system integrators, and building management.
Internal guidelines for generative AI
Inquiries come from design and planning organizations and consulting firms.
Local tokens and relational-population policy
Inquiries come from local governments, community revitalization groups, and Web3 businesses.
Establishing an in-house design organization
Inquiries come from the design, new-business, and HR development divisions of large companies.
Residents’ acceptance of new infrastructure
Inquiries come from local governments and infrastructure operators.