Partnerships & Collaborations

Where Real-World Impact Meets Design Education

The School of Design Strategies (SDS) offers a wide range of partnership opportunities for corporations, non-profits, and government organizations to engage with faculty experts and the next generation of creative thought leaders at Parsons School of Design and The New School.

These strategic collaborations center on deep research, live project briefs, the development of design strategies, prototyping creative solutions, and building professional skills in client engagement, research, storytelling, and delivery.

Partnerships create mutual value: students gain hands-on experience working with industry and civic leaders, while partners receive fresh perspectives and actionable insights informed by design methodologies and systems-level inquiry.

SDS employs a four-tiered partnership model to support research-based collaborations, innovative curricular initiatives, and multidisciplinary practicebased research. At the same time, SDS welcomes new forms of collaboration beyond this framework.

Interested in partnering with us? Let’s create impact together.

Curricular Partnership

Curricular Partners participate in existing core curricular activities within the School of Design Strategies (SDS) programs and or courses within them. Program Directors and faculty determine the central themes and areas of focus. SDS seeks to build long-term relationships, and tier 1 engagement of Curricular Partnership offers organizations an accessible opportunity to interact/ collaborate with the school at no cost.

Members gain access to the latest developments in faculty research and the development of limited customized creative collaboration.
Ability to develop customized creative collaborations at two per year, such as:
- Co-Lab; a focused elective within the curriculum
- Design Sprints and Workshops
- Thought Leadership Symposium
- Specialized Exhibition
- Product Launch Activation
- Invitation to members-only research meetings
- Specialized newsletter with research updates
- Dedicated Partnership Liaison and Collaboration Committee
- Featured status on the SDS website as a Partner
- Student recruitment/mentorship/internship
- Entity Named Scholars: $150K annually for a two-year commitment to name a student scholar
- Focused Research: $150K annually for a three-year commitment
Non-exclusive, license-fee-free, royalty-free licensing rights for IP unless it involves specialized focused faculty research

Executive Partnership

Executive Partnerships include all the benefits of Research Partnerships, along with expanded opportunities for collaboration. At this level, faculty, students, and staff from across SDS – leveraging the full resources of Parsons and The New School– work on research initiatives and/or a common project or set of projects. Executive Partnerships begin at $250K per year, with a three-year commitment.

Collaboration within the existing curricular structure
Existing SDS Courses; 3-6 week partner project component, or a 15 week, full semester course focusing on a partner project
- Leveraging existing curriculum at no cost
- Project engagement at the start and end of the semester
- Student recruitment/mentorship/internship
Get in touch with us to know more.
Following The New School Standard Intellectual Property (IP) Policy, students retain all IP for their concepts and designs. SDS will facilitate the equitable exchange of IP if a partner would like to implement anything from the class.

Custom Partnership

Custom Partners engage with bespoke programming and pedagogy developed by SDS leadership and faculty to expand research in a specific area of interest or address a challenge identified by the partner. Fees at this level are determined by the scope of program or pedagogy development, the resources required for implementation, and the number of faculty and students involved.

Collaboration outside of the existing core curriculum
Design Sprint or Workshop: Non-course related activities of various lengths; one day to one week, or longer
Co-Lab: One or two semester course of 15 or 30 weeks specifically developed and dedicated to a partner project
- Customized curriculum
- Engagement throughout the project
- Student recruitment/mentorship/internship
Get in touch with us to know more.
Following The New School Standard Intellectual Property (IP) Policy, students retain all IP for their concepts and designs. SDS will facilitate the equitable exchange of IP if a partner would like to implement anything from the class.

Research Partnership

Research Partnerships build on the benefits of Curricular and Custom Partnerships, offering a range of extended opportunities. At this level, faculty, students, and staff from across SDS, leveraging the broader resources of Parsons and The New School- collaborate on research initiatives and/or common projects. Research Partnerships begin at $100K per year, with a three-year commitment.

Members gain access to the latest developments in the Research Lab, develop limited customized creative collaboration and unique opportunities such as the Employee-in-Residence program
Ability to develop customized creative collaborations at three per year, such as:
- Co-Lab; a focused elective within the curriculum
- Design Sprints and Workshops
- Thought Leadership Symposium
- Specialized Exhibition
- Product Launch Activation
- Co-branded Research Lab
- Invitation to Members-only Research Lab meetings
- Specialized newsletter with Research Lab updates
- Dedicated Partnership Liaison and Collaboration Committee
- Featured status on the SDS website as a Executive Partner
- Invitations to University-wide specialized events such as the Parsons Festival and Parsons Benefit
- Student recruitment/mentorship/internship
- Entity Named Scholars: $150K annually for a two-year commitment to name a student scholar
- Additional Focused Research: $150K annually for a three-year commitment
- Employee-in-Residence: $250K per year
- Senior Leadership Program: $250K per year
Non-exclusive, license-fee-free, royalty-free licensing rights for IP unless it involves specialized focused faculty research

Agency

Fohr

Gensler

McKinsey & Company

Public Policy Lab

Civic + Government

Barcelona Municipal Government

Brooklyn Public Library

NASA

New York Public Library

United Families of Sunset Park

United Nations Development Fund

Culture

Harlem Stage

Newark Museum of Art

PS1 MoMA

Health

Bayer

NYU Langone Health

Johnson & Johnson

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Northwell Health

Pfizer

Planned Parenthood

SOME OF OUR DIVERSE PARTNERS

Entertainment + Media

Nickeloedeon

Sesame Street Workshop

SPIN

Vice Media

Food + Beverage

Hannaford Grocery

Hot Bread Kitchen

E&J Gallo Winery

New York City

Department of Cultural Affairs

Department of City Planning

Department of Parks & Recreation

Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs

Department of Education

Retail

Amazon

CandyLab

EBAY

General Motors

Moleskin

Technology

Kickstarter

Microsoft

Samsung

Spotify

DOWNLOAD PARTNERSHIP PDF

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT MARK RANDALL

Design

Design Within Reach

Heller

OXO

WaterWorks

Fashion + Beauty

Calvin Klein

Coty

Esteé Lauder

Kantoor Brands

Nike

The Haus of Gaga

Finance

Chase

Citi Financial Group

Eskala

Non-Profit + NGO

Center for Court Innovation

Ford Foundation

Housing Works

Human Rights Foundation

James Beard Foundation

The Black School

UNICEF