Leading human-centered design and engineering research that addresses societal needs and fundamental knowledge gaps.
Overview
HCDE’s Research pillar centers the department’s commitment to research that is human-centered, collaborative, and impactful. This pillar is about more than individual projects — it is about building the conditions that allow HCDE research to be well-resourced, well-connected, and visible across academic, professional, policy, and public communities.
HCDE researchers work across domains, from how people learn, behave, and connect in digital spaces, to the design of AI and data systems, to the infrastructure of coordination and community, to the pursuit of just and sustainable futures. This pillar strengthens the funding pathways, partnerships, infrastructure, and communication practices that help that work reach farther and make a broader impact.
Outcomes
HCDE researchers have the funding pathways, administrative support, and infrastructure needed to conduct high-impact research.
This outcome focuses on the foundations of research excellence: sustainable funding, strong administrative support, and the physical and technical resources that enable HCDE researchers to do their best work.
Strategies
- Diversify the research funding portfolio across mechanisms, agencies, and faculty.
- Build an operational infrastructure that supports research while enabling investigators to focus on research.
- Develop and maintain physical and technical research infrastructure that facilitates HCDE’s research approaches.
- Support HCDE researchers in working on problems that matter — and being recognized for it.
We develop and sustain critical partnerships and networks — grounded in equity and mutual benefit — to conduct translational and actionable research.
HCDE’s research is strongest when it is connected to communities, institutions, and partners over time. This outcome emphasizes relationships that are durable, equitable, and designed to support research that is both rigorous and useful.
Strategies
- Cultivate a portfolio of long-term community and organizational partnerships — not just project-by-project relationships.
- Build the internal infrastructure that makes partnership-based research feasible and equitable.
- Lead interdisciplinary research collaborations where human-centered design is the organizing frame.
HCDE research is visible, influential, and field-shaping across academic, practice, and policy communities.
This outcome focuses on extending the reach of HCDE scholarship so it can shape how people think, work, and make decisions. It also recognizes that translation, communication, and leadership are part of the research mission itself.
Strategies
- Expand the translation and communication of HCDE research for non-academic audiences.
- Strengthen HCDE’s research leadership within UW and the College of Engineering.
- Increase HCDE’s field-shaping presence in academic and professional communities.
- Develop HCDE’s external profile in policy, practice, and professional communities.