Irish Cycling Campaign was contacted in May 2024 by Ann-Marie Conrado, Associate Professor of Industrial Design at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, in the US. The reason: to explore the feasibility of us helping to steer a project conducted by its ‘Design Thinking’ students on the challenge of increasing cycling ridership in Dublin. The students were engaging in a Notre Dame Dublin study abroad program. We were delighted to get on board!

Research Process
Soon afterwards, ICC members Colm Ryder and Dave Anderson joined the students in interactive and lively workshops to provide the background knowledge of what is happening in the cycling domain in Dublin and to help define the research question. Then in June, the team of Design Thinking students spent the month engaging on the streets with both cyclists and non-cyclists so as to understand the barriers to cycling, and proposing new approaches to addressing the challenges to get more people on bikes. 

The students presented their findings to an ICC delegation on 27th June at the home of Notre Dame in Dublin, O’Connell House on Merrion Square. Additionally, the students also discussed their findings with a delegation from Sligo Cycling Campaign while in the west the following week. 

Prof Ann-Marie Conrado with her University of Notre Dame students taking part in the project

On ‘Design Thinking’ itself, there appears to be no shortage of definitions of what it is, but essentially it can be thought of as an approach to problem-solving where it focuses on the solution to a problem instead of the problem itself. And according to Ann-Marie in conversations at the presentation, the process can be understood visually as a ‘double diamond’, which is a way to describe the steps taken in any design and innovation project, irrespective of methods and tools used. You can read more about it here.

Findings
The students covered a lot in their condensed month-long project. They delved into some of the fears around cycling such as the difficulty in using the Dublin Bikes bike-sharing scheme for the first time, the safety fears around navigating on two wheels, and the fear of bike theft. Then they examined what they described as ‘trigger events’ in prompting people to take up cycling after a long absence. Amongst the opportunities the team identified were proposals around improving the navigability of the city centre, as shown here:

Additionally, their proposed solutions examined the need for better poster campaigns to remind commuters of how quick and predictable (journey time-wise) journeys by bike can be – and wider campaigns to share tips and information between new and experienced cyclists. 

The students’ (59 slide long) presentation can be viewed here HERE and there is plenty in there for cycling advocates to chew on! 

A Perspective from Sligo
The eight members of Sligo Cycling Campaign who attended the Notre Dame presentation in the Sligo Park Hotel are looking forward to viewing it again and applying some of the learning.  Initially we wondered if a cycling project researched in a Dublin context would be applicable in a  town with a rural hinterland. We need not have worried as all of us were captivated by the positivity of the students and the transferability of their ideas. One thing that struck us was the value of diversity within the student team. They were students of Industrial Design, Political Science, English, Finance and other disciplines. 

Cycling advocates are all too aware of the barriers to cycling and the presentation covered these, but the kernel of the presentation for us was the focus on opportunities. The students described a scenario where Emma’s bus is delayed in traffic and she looks out the window to see people on bicycles whizzing by, to a subsequent scene where Emma is deciding to try cycling to work. But there was no road to Damascus, rather incremental steps with various supports along the way. Some supports, for example the map mentioned above, targeted practical issues such as “I don’t know the way”. Others addressed deeper emotional obstacles, such as “I’m scared!”. In the students’ scenario, this fear was addressed by Emma joining a “Cycling Sisters” support group and cycling, in the first instance, away from busy traffic.

In Conclusion
Irish Cycling Campaign sincerely thanks the students and staff of the University of Notre Dame for their work on this important topic. We think the collaboration was a valuable exercise, both for campaigners and students. We will, no doubt, be taking many of the recommendations forward as we advance our own advocacy strategy. We would also like to pay a special thanks to Eimear Clowry Delaney, Director of Notre Dame Dublin, for her contact with ICC from the outset. 

Finally, if your institution (academic or otherwise) is interested in working with Irish Cycling Campaign to further explore how to reshape the mobility system so that everyday cycling plays a much bigger part, we would love to hear from you. Please contact us via [email protected].