Recap — Reimagining Systems of Care: Public Innovation and Community Action in Times of Polycrisis, with Jesper Christiansen and Javier Vergara Petrescu

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Published on May 1, 2025

On April 2, 2025, Dahdaleh research fellow Dr. Chiara Camponeschi opened a timely seminar by exploring the role of public innovation in addressing complex and overlapping global challenges. She framed the discussion around “infrastructures of care” calling for a deeper understanding of how care can be embedded into systems and policies in ways that are equitable, inclusive and community driven.

Dr. Camponeschi challenged dominant narratives that portray care as a private or market responsibility emphasizing how these views limit the possibilities for collective wellbeing. She proposed rethinking infrastructure beyond physical systems, urging participants to see it as relational, emotional and ecological which are deeply connected to everyday life and vulnerable communities.

Javier Vergara Petrescu, an urban planner based in Chile, shared his work on participatory urban design and co-creation. Through examples from projects like Santiago Zero Carbon and Urban95, he demonstrated how temporary, community led interventions such as reclaiming streets near schools which can improve safety, promote sustainability and foster social cohesion. These small actions, he explained, have the potential to spark long term structural changes in how cities are planned and governed.

Dr. Jesper Christiansen, drawing on decades of experience with public institutions and international agencies, reflected on how governments can be better partners in social innovation. He emphasized the importance of moving away from rigid, top-down policies and instead building adaptive systems grounded in experimentation, cross-sector collaboration and community participation. By embracing complexity and uncertainty, he argued institutions can become more responsive and resilient.

Together, the speakers called for a transformation in how we design and manage public systems which is not just to respond to crisis, but to build futures rooted in care, justice and shared responsibility. The seminar offered both a critique and a vision, encouraging new ways of thinking across disciplines.

Connect With Chiara Camponeschi.

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