From incidental to integral: strategies to advance to higher levels of design integration in public organizations

Around the world, public organizations are experimenting with design to address presentday’s complex societal issues. These experiments are generally conducted in a lab or by external design agencies, i.e. separated from the daily operations of the organization. The impact of these experiments has thus far been limited. One of the reasons for this is that these experiments essentially sideline design from the get-go, thereby curbing its potential impact. Correspondingly, it is increasingly recognized that the potential of design is better realized if it becomes a more integral part of the way of working of public organizations. Although there are several models and perspectives on what design integration actually means, there is little knowledge about how to achieve this. In this study, a set of strategies was identified to support the advancement of design to higher levels of integration in public organizations. As such, this study offers theoretical and practical insights that are essential for realizing the potential of design for public issues.