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Design in the public sector: Nurturing reflexivity and learning

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: It has been highlighted how design engagement with the public sector risks being either irrelevant or instrumental to technocratic agendas due to a lack of understanding of the public sector’s nature. Based on the idea of public sector innovation as a matter of learning and adaptation for continuous improvement, this article looks at how participatory design approaches can be used to drive co-learning processes within the public sector, namely, collaborative learning processes about institutional aspects. It reflects on the authors’ engagement within a Swedish public organisation that relied on traditional design processes and co-learning processes. By analysing these processes, the article highlights how design as problem framing, by supporting collaborative reflexivity, can be a fruitful way to engage with institutional aspect.

Source: The Design Journal

DOI: 10.1080/14606925.2022.2042100

Authors: Anna Seravalli, Savita Upadhyaya, Heiti Ernits

Institutions: Malmö University, VA Syd, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden

Language: English

Topic: Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development

Subfield: Management of Technology and Innovation

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: VINNOVA, Energimyndigheten