Design in the public sector: Toward a human centred model of public governance

ABSTRACT

In recent years, design has emerged as an approach to shaping public policies and services. However, how design works in the public sector has not been rigorously studied. This paper analyses 15 cases of design in the public sector to arrive at a theoretical characterization of design in the public sector that aligns with descriptions in non-public settings, with some differences. We also consider whether public design practices might signal the emergence of human centred models of public governance that offer new openings for creative influences and serve as a constructive counterbalance to more bureaucratic and analytical traditions.

KEYWORDS:

• Design
• human-centred design
• design thinking
• public design
• public governance
• public management

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Manager interviewed in the early stages of this case development was different than the one interviewed in the later data gathering, due to a change in project management.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christian Bason

Christian Bason is CEO of the Danish Design Centre. From 2007 to 2014, he was Director of MindLab, an innovation centre funded by the Danish government. The author of seven books, most recently, Leading Public Design (2017), he also frequently contributes to blogs and periodicals, including Harvard Business Review, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and the Danish weekly business and political magazine Mandag Morgen. Dr. Bason is a member of the board for the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, Design and Conservation (KADK), a member of The Rockwool Foundation’s Intervention Committee, board member of the Centre for Leadership, and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Agile Governance. He is former Chair of the European Commission’s Expert Group on Public Sector Innovation, the Danish government’s challenge panel on public innovation and digitization, of the Bloomberg Mayor’s Challenge Selection Committee, and a former member of the European Design Leadership Board. He holds an M.Sc. in Political Science from Aarhus University and a Ph.D. from Copenhagen Business School.

Robert D. Austin

Robert D. Austin is a professor of Information Systems at Ivey Business School, and an affiliated faculty member at Harvard Medical School. Before his appointment at Ivey, he was a professor of Innovation and Digital Transformation at Copenhagen Business School, and, before that, a professor of Technology and Operations Management at the Harvard Business School. At Harvard, he chaired the executive programme for Chief Information Officers (CIOs) for more than ten years. Professor Austin has published widely, in both academic and professional venues, such as Harvard Business Review, Information Systems Research, MIT Sloan Management Review, Organization Science, Organization Studies, and the Wall Street Journal. He also is the author of nine books, more than 50 published cases and notes, four Harvard online products, and two popular Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) running on the Coursera platform. His ‘Cyberattack!’ Simulation won the 2020 International Serious Play Gold Medal. His research on neurodiversity employment programmes is funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada.