Strategic Innovation Lab (sLab)

When: August 29-September 1, 2010
Where: Midtown Conference Center, Tokyo, Japan
Papers: Abstract submission deadline March 14, 2010
Workshops: Proposal submission deadline April 22, 2010
Artifacts: Proposal submission deadline May 2, 2010
Pecha Kucha: Proposal submission deadline May 9, 2010

http://www.epiconference.com/epic2010/

The start of this new decade marks an exciting new departure for EPIC, as we move beyond North America and Europe for the first time -- to Tokyo.

EPIC is the premier international forum bringing together artists, computer scientists, designers, social scientists, marketers, academics and advertisers - and others! - to discuss recent developments and future advances around ethnographic praxis.

We seek original, high quality and engaging papers, workshops, artifacts and presentations concerning ethnographic praxis in industry, including case studies on  research investigations, methodological & theoretical advances, discussions on outcomes, standards, and new applications of ethnography around this
year's conference theme:

道 Dō captures the sense of individual mastery that is achieved only with the help of a community and its rich heritage. 道 Dō implies a body of knowledge and tradition with an ethic and an aesthetic. 道 Dō is the "path" we have travelled and also the way ahead of us.

道 Dō in ethnography symbolizes the dynamic between ethnography's internal strengths (its essence, our values, its heritage, its rigor and disciplined approach) and its applications to the world (to enhancement of people's lives, to innovation, to transformation of industries, to business growth). It is the "path" we have come from but also the way ahead of us.

"Do" in English represents action, execution and optimism. 道 Dō in Japanese is a call for growth, maturity and proficiency, recognizing our past and visualizing the future. It is a vision of what's ahead of us.

EPIC 2010 will feature a wide range of ethnographic applications in industry, different "ways" forward. Ethnographic praxis in industry is global in scope, but adapted to different geographies (Asia, Latin America, Middle East, Europe, North America), different contexts (academia, business, NGO's, government), different industries (technology, healthcare, consumer goods, advertising) and different purposes (product innovation, strategy, interorganizational collaboration, communications, policy making).