Responsible stakeholder engagement in design education: A gobal survey of design programs

Design education increasingly recognizes responsible stakeholder engagement yet lacks clarity on what to teach and how. Applying stakeholder theory, we define Responsible Stakeholder Engagement Competences (RSEC) and its dimensions (Balancing Perspectives, Negotiating Power Relations, and Managing Resources Responsibly), and map how programs teach them. A global survey of design programs (N = 167) measured teaching focus toward four stakeholder groups (users/clients, inter- and intraorganizational, social/cultural, planet) and modeled associations with RSEC using Structural Equation Modeling while controlling for institutional/program factors. We find programs emphasizing inter- and intraorganizational stakeholders report higher RSEC, with strongest gains in Managing Resources Responsibly and Negotiating Power Relations; attention to social/cultural stakeholders shows benefits for Balancing Perspectives. User/client and planetary focus were not significant predictors of RSEC. Program types display distinct stakeholder teaching profiles, and some institutional factors (e.g., degree level) matter. We argue for deliberate, program-level prioritization of organizational stakeholder engagement to build RSEC across design fields.