What design programs rarely prepare students for is how little agency designers often have once they enter professional practice. And this challenge doesn't disappear with experience. When my co-author and I toured our book Designing Tomorrow, the most common question we heard was not what designers should do differently - but how to drive positive change in the face of resistance.
I am a volunteer in the north-east of England and I and many of our volunteers have felt very unhappy about the proposed changes. It is really rewarding being a Samaritan, but can also be very challenging. Volunteers need a high degree of motivation, and this has inevitably been affected by the proposals. Interestingly, in 2021 our chair, Keith Leslie, published A Question of Leadership, which is about leading organisational change.