In Flourish, The Innovation School at The Glasgow School of Art have explored the ways in which qualities of life are generated and sustained, how personhood and collective wellbeing can flourish, and how design can enable a
flourishing society. Working together with clinicians, fundraisers, and voluntary services staff from Highland Hospice in Inverness, Curated Care focuses on the care provided by the 750-strong volunteer community, the factors that motivate people to share their talents and time to care for others, and how this can influence wellbeing in transformative ways. This book is presented in four sections. Positioning the work in the context of informal care, Emily Patrick and Maria Cuthbert introduce their experiences of working with the volunteers in Highland Hospice. We then describe our design approach to participatory inquiry, before profiling the motivations and experiences of four volunteers – Jim, Wilma, Derek, and Audrey. From this, we draw out themes emerging from the stories of the volunteers we have engaged with, and go on to offer our impressions and reflections around how the social qualities of personhood contribute to a landscape of collective wellbeing, the integration of health and social care in the distributed region of the Highlands and Islands, and the role design can play in connecting communities of care.