新作坊 Humanity Innovation and Social Practice

The Humanity Innovation and Social Practice (HISP) project is dedicated to developing strategic programmes of community-university engagement, initiating universities to work with local partners to identify and solve local problems. The researchers from a medical university aim to envision the alternatives of elderly care in an ageing society. Many care studies show that in the care relationship, it is not only the care recipients, but also the caregivers who equally need to be cared for. Most of the discussions under the HISP project in the past have focused exclusively on observations in the field, on talking about others’ stories. In contradiction, it is rare for those who told these stories to tell their own stories. This article, based on a design-thinking workshop organized by the research team of that university, intends to develop a collective self-diagnosis and reflection for the team. The key question underlying our reflections is: Why has been there such a high staff turnover rate in this team? The study shows that the problem involves at least three different yet overlapping structural levels: limited institutional supports, communication gaps within the team, and unrecognized workers. We should take care of ourselves before taking good care of others. The HISP team thus needs more innovations from its own practices.