People-centred business continuity: a case for inclusive design

Author: Ninela Ivanova Ninela Ivanova Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art

Abstract: This conceptual article draws together the seemingly disparate concepts of business continuity and inclusive design with a two-fold overarching aim. Firstly, the paper aims to make a case for people-centered approaches to business continuity planning, particularly in areas of real-time assessment, building agile and resilient organizations, and new value creation. This is fulfilled by tracing recent developments in business continuity thinking and business continuity management practice, that highlight a shift from a purely functional approach to a more holistic, embedded, dynamic, people-centered and strategic stance. Secondly, the paper aims to propose new applications of inclusive design for business impact in general, and business continuity in particular, thereby extending the business case for inclusive design as outlined in British Standards (BS 7000–6:2005).

This is fulfilled by highlighting the rationale, value and emergent opportunities in this area. In bringing the two concepts and their respective theory and practice together, the paper also presents recent discussions on the intersection of design thinking and business continuity, which demonstrate the potential value that a design-led approach can bring to enable people-centredness and inclusion in the domain of business continuity. Additionally, the paper proposes a first-level definition of ‘people-centered business continuity’ which is considered a stepping stone in the research process for further investigation in both theory and application. Keywords: business continuity, business impact, design thinking, inclusive innovation, organizational resilience.

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