Quarterly Council Reports

The QCR was an initiative of Alec Robertson, DRS Publications Officer, supported by the Design Research Society Council. It had the prime aim of providing a regular overview of Council member views and activity primarily to the DRS members. Content included a selection of edited reports from Council Officers and international Council members produced from time to time. The quarterly QCR was intended to complement the successful monthly electronic newsletter of the Society -Design Research News -DRN, that focused upon time-dependent information. At the time of setting up the QCR, the DRS Council was UK-centric and Council Members met in person regularly (this was prior to video conferencing). Yet there were numerous members located internationally. So, as Publications Officer, Alec Robertson proposed there could be reports to it from dedicated corresponding members informing the Society of what design research activity was happening in their countries. Initially called International Corresponding Members of Council -(ICMs) several were coopted onto Council. Once ICMs were appointed, Alec Robertson established the QCR, who acted as Editor. It comprised occasional reports from Elected Council members and the appointed ICMs of Council, who were invited to regularly submit reports for it on what design research was happening in their countries, and especially on their activities. These reports in the QCR were distributed to the membership via a UK Academic Jiscmail list, established for this purpose by Alec Robertson. Although content of the QCR was a matter for Council, the JISC rules were such that the list owner had to be an individual academic, who had sole authority over the List, and it could not be controlled through a proxy individual of a body such as DRS Council. Latterly Rachael Luck, then DRS Secretary, was added as a co-editor. The ICM roles were developed subsequently into a more formal role as today. After thirteen Issues the QCR was superseded by the DRQ (Design Research Quarterly) edited by Peter Storkerson, with a more scholarly ethos. Any views within material supplied for the QCR by contributors were those of the authors and not the Design Research Society.