Why should local governments be using design to create policy?

Using design to create policy means to apply design methodology along with its creative tools and techniques in the context of creating policies and strategies. When governments use design in the forging of new policies, challenges that require solutions at a higher political level can be addressed by applying the principles of user-centric participatory and co-design.

For example, designers may be asked to come up with solutions to help homeless people, like better tents or sleeping bags - but using design at the outset of creating policy can solve problems like poverty and homelessness in their earliest stages, negating the need for ‘quick fix’ temporary solutions later on.

In our latest video, Piotr Swiatek explores how governments can use design to create policy, and why design is critical to championing ‘social good’ for the betterment of society.