Apply to speak at Advancing Service Design 2024

We’re so excited to announce the launch of a new virtual conference: Advancing Service Design 2024! The conference will take place virtually December 3-4; it is curated by Patrick Quattlebaum and Ben Reason, and produced by Rosenfeld Media.

Why do we need a new conference on service design? Because, as a methodology that helps us connect and communicate designed experiences at a systems level, service design is clearly more relevant and important than ever before.

But we feel there’s a dire need to demonstrate service design’s value in new contexts: how its toolkit can support other practices, like product management, and how it can make a difference even broader, more complex settings that are often inter, not intra-organizational.

Whether you identify as a service designer, systems thinker, or something else entirely different, we encourage you to submit a proposal (see form below) to speak at the inaugural Advancing Service Design. Specifically, we’re seeking case studies that demonstrate how service design:

• Integrates with and supports other practices—like product management, agile processes, and corporate strategy—within an organizational system.
• Engages with wider systems that go beyond individual organizations, as required for impact in such areas as healthcare, the green transition, or with advanced technology.

We anticipate that these presentations will run 20-25 minutes (not including Q&A).

Do you have a rich story to tell, or even a formal case study? Then please submit a proposal to speak by completing the form below. Submissions are due by EOD Monday, August 19.

Important notes for prospective presenters:

• Let’s Advance Service Design together. We’re looking for stories in which Service Design is not the hero; rather, it should be a critical ingredient in a cross-disciplinary partnership.
• This is not your grandfather’s presentation preparation process: Our speakers prepare their presentations over the course of 2-3 months in a highly iterative, collaborative process. You’ll be part of a speaker cohort, getting and providing feedback to your fellow presenters with the aid of our curators and a speaker coach. It’s work that requires your commitment (and if it’s not honored, we’ll remove you from the program). But it also offers a unique opportunity to delve into your idea with lots of support and the benefit of time. You’ll ultimately be positioned to give a great presentation, maybe your best yet—whether you’re new to speaking or a seasoned presenter.
• Diverse perspectives are required, not a nice-to-have: You don’t advance a field by recycling the same voices and perspectives again and again. So we employ our CFP to uncover people from underrepresented groups and others who, for various reasons, haven’t presented frequently. Whether or not you intend to make a proposal here, please also encourage others who might not ordinarily consider speaking to submit a proposal.
• Our CFP asks a lot. We appreciate your spending time to seriously communicate your case study: its context, problem statement, and outcomes. Also note that we request DEI information as part of your proposal, and employ a double-blind review process–so please don’t include personally identifying information in your submission except where we request it.
• What happens next. If your proposal is accepted, you’ll receive a complimentary ticket to the conference and a small honorarium after completing your presentation (and remember, it’s virtual, so no travel required). We’ll also promote you and your case study, and help you develop it. If your proposal is not accepted, we’ll let you know by mid-September.

Reminder that the deadline to submit is EOD Monday, August 19. Contact the Rosenfeld team (conferences@rosenfeldmedia.com) with questions.

Submit a Proposal