Insights curated by Experientia, the UX research and design consultancy
Insights curated by Experientia, the UX research and design consultancy
A very insightful story by Geraldine Bedell in today’s Observer explores the latest thinking on the role of design as a means to develop solutions to services, business models and social issues, and the controversy this has generated in…
The British Government is working on a series of strategies to put an entirely different dynamic in place to drive the UK public services: one where the service will be driven not by the managers but by the user –…
Jim Murphy, parliamentary secretary at the UK Cabinet Office, recently gave a speech entitled “Towards Customer Centric Government: Strategies for Service Transformation“. Reporting on this, Ann Light in Usability News is particularly struck by the section on relevancy: ‘We…
The Workshop on Digital Inclusion and Participation in Brussels on 23 September 2005 aimed at setting the scene for the EU’s i2010 ambitions: an inclusive information society that provides high quality public services and promotes quality of life. It involved…
USE-ME.GOV (usability-driven open platform for mobile government) is an EU-sponsored research and development project designed to support and encourage access to new e-government services anytime and anywhere through the use of mobile communications and internet technologies. The main goal of…
RED is a unit at the (British) Design Council that wants to challenge accepted thinking on current social and economic problems by exploring new solutions through innovative design practice. The unit takes a proactive approach to solving problems and developing…
Demos, the British think tank for everyday democracy and the publisher of The Greenhouse weblog, organises a series of monthly discussions about innovation and future leadership in education and public services, called Open Secrets. Tellingly, the latest discussion, which was…
“Smart Internet 2010” was an 18-month project conducted by Australia’s technology research consortium, the Smart Internet Technology CRC, to examine what the internet might evolve into by 2010 and the implications for end-users. The report was spearheaded by leading…
The European Commission has published a new plan, called i2010 for ‘the completion of a Single European Information Space’. The Commission proposes an 80% increase in funding for ICT research focused on areas where Europe has recognised strengths: nano-electronics, embedded…
To prepare students for an evolving information-based society, architects are designing innovative schools to support new models of teaching and learning. Read full story (Related story: Students at Roy Lee Walker Elementary School don’t just study textbooks to learn about…
Axel Soojung-Kim Pang, research director at the Institute for the Future and lead blogger of the Institute’s Future Now website sent me some thoughts on how the isolated, autonomous science city has now been displaced by the model of…
Ethiopia, one of Africa’s poorest countries, is spending one tenth of its GDP every year on IT. Over the next five years, the government plans to invest more than $100m (£56m) in public sector computers. It aims to equip hundreds…
Recent experiences in the struggle against terrorism have shown not only what a critical role the public plays in preventing and responding to crises, but also the importance of a widely available tool the public can use to prevent terrorist…
John Thackara, director of Doors of Perception, just posted a critical comment on how the EU’s innovation and research programmes put an emphasis on tech rather than on people. For instance, the EU’s Information Society Technologies programme contains, according to…
San Francisco’s Department of Elections has become very interested in usability issues of voting quipment. Recently, the department had usability expert Scott Luebking come in to provide the staff some basic training on usability and voting equipment. The training included…
Does design have a role in implementing social policy and addressing political challenges? In an informal debate on “Design and Social Policy”, the July meeting of AIGA Experience Design in London weighed up just how far designers should be engaged…
Moving beyond recycling to preventing garbage itself as the next generation of social and civic responsibility, Seattle Public Utilities is launching an initiative called Wasteless in Seattle. With the long-term goal of “zero waste,” the city hopes to drastically reduce…
As China races toward a more market-driven economy, it is building new theatres, concert halls and museums nearly as fast as it is erecting Western-style shopping malls, hotels and business complexes. But the government is also decentralising control of the…
Digital technology is providing people with the tools to produce and share content like never before, and it is set to throw the relationship between them and institutions into turmoil, say experts. “I am predicting 50 years of chaos,” said…
The British Library recently published “Redefining the Library: The British Library’s strategy 2005 – 2008” and lists as its top 3 strategic priorities: enrich the user’s experience, build the digital research environment, and transform search and navigation.Read more