[Book] Design for Policy

Design for Policy
Edited by Christian Bason, Chief Executive, Danish Design Centre
Series: Design for Social Responsibility
Hardcover: 250 pages
Publisher: Gower Pub Co; December 28, 2014

Design for Policy is the first publication to chart the emergence of collaborative design approaches to innovation in public policy. Drawing on contributions from a range of the world’s leading academics, design practitioners and public managers, it provides a rich, detailed analysis of design as a tool for addressing public problems and capturing opportunities for achieving better and more efficient societal outcomes.

In his introduction, Christian Bason suggests that design may offer a fundamental reinvention of the art and craft of policy making for the twenty-first century. From challenging current problem spaces to driving the creative quest for new solutions and shaping the physical and virtual artefacts of policy implementation, design holds a significant yet largely unexplored potential.

The book is structured in three main sections, covering the global context of the rise of design for policy, in-depth case studies of the application of design to policy making, and a guide to concrete design tools for policy intent, insight, ideation and implementation. The summary chapter lays out a future agenda for design in government, suggesting how to position design more firmly on the public policy stage.

Design for Policy is intended as a resource for leaders and scholars in government departments, public service organizations and institutions, schools of design and public management, think tanks and consultancies that wish to understand and use design as a tool for public sector reform and innovation.

Contents

Preface
This book: an overview
Introduction: the design for policy nexus, Christian Bason

Section 1 Design in Context:

• Design in policy: challenges and sources of hope for policymakers, Tom Bentley
• Public design in global perspective: empirical trends, Christian Bason and Andrea Schneider
• Innovating public policy: allowing for social complexity and uncertainty in the design of public outcomes, Jesper Christiansen and Laura Bunt
• Towards policymaking as designing: policymaking beyond problem-solving and decision-making, Sabine Junginger
• Innovating large-scale transformations, Banny Banerjee
• Strategic design and the art of public sector innovation, Marco Steinberg

Section 2 Policy in Practice:

• Design and policies for collaborative services, Ezio Manzini
• Synthesizing policy and practice: the case of co-designing better outcomes for vulnerable families, Sarah Forrester and John Body
• Using an urban design process to inform policy, Christopher T. Boyko and Rachel Cooper
• Designing legitimacy: the case of a government innovation lab, Kit Lykketoft
• The Branchekode.dk project: designing with purpose and across emergent organizational culture, Mariana Amatullo
• Reflections on designing for social innovation in the public sector: a case study in New York City, Eduardo Staszowski, Scott Brown and Benjamin Winter
• Friendly hacking into the public sector: (re)designing public policies within regional governments, François Jégou, Romain Thévenet and Stéphane Vincent

Section 3 Design Tools for Policy:

• Tools for intent: strategic direction by design, John Body and Nina Terrey
• Tools for insight: design research for policymaking, Andrea Siodmok
• Tools for ideation: evocative visualization and playful modelling as drivers of the policy process, Joachim Halse
• Tools for implementation, Simona Maschi and Jennie Winhall

The frontiers of design for policy, Christian Bason
Index

About the Editor

Christian Bason is Chief Executive of the Danish Design Centre (DDC), which works to strengthen the value of all forms of design in society. Before joining DDC, Christian headed MindLab, a cross-governmental innovation lab, and the public organization practice of Ramboll Management, a consultancy. Christian is also a university lecturer, and has presented to and advised governments around the world. He is a regular columnist and the author of four books on leadership, innovation and design, most recently Leading Public Sector Innovation: Co-creating for a Better Society. Christian holds an M.Sc. in political science from Aarhus University, executive education from Harvard Business School and the Wharton School, and is a doctoral fellow at Copenhagen Business School.