This book describes a collaborative Design Pilot Project held in Brazil (called MODU.Lares)
involving micro and small enterprises and other actors in the furniture sector. The experience
was based on an action research method and evaluated by using a tool in order to assess the
value of pilot project as a boundary object capable of fostering innovation and sustainability.
The impact of the Design Pilot Project in triggering change in a fragmented local system with a
poor environmental and social record as well as management and innovation issues were
assessed with the help of the same tool taking into account environmental technological
economic sociocultural and organizational indicators. The collaborative network established
was chiefly based on four elements: prototypes meetings exhibitions and the Pilot Project (as
an overall process). The results indeed demonstrate that a Design Pilot Project can be a valid
instrument for establishing a collaborative environment that promotes sustainability and
innovation particularly in contexts with a weak associative culture. Such collaborative
projects can constitute the first step in a design policy cycle in developing countries
contributing to the definition of ideas and objectives among local stakeholders minimizing the
risks of failure and increasing the chances of receiving governmental support.
