Conference Agenda

This paper examines how design is conceptualised within design and policy literature in public-sector contexts, contributing to the expanding discourse on design for policy. Despite the growing adoption of design approaches in governance, robust evidence of their contribution remains limited. Using a qualitative meta-synthesis of 24 publications spanning design studies, policy design, and public administration, the study identifies four interrelated logics through which design is conceptualised in policymaking: systems learning and reflexivity; legitimacy and relational effectiveness; structuring and coherence; and adaptation and delivery. These logics are reframed as epistemic, relational, systemic, and operational dimensions of contributive capacity that describe how design may strengthen policymaking across micro-, meso-, and macro-levels. The study proposes a preliminary multi-level conceptual framework to guide future research, acknowledging that while design is increasingly integrated in policymaking practice, systematic evidence of its contribution remains limited.

The prowess of design to reframe complex sociotechnical issues has made it appealing for tackling wicked problems faced by the public sector. Effective reframing requires an understanding of the problem frames in use and their shortcomings to avoid past mistakes. Literature on this groundwork for reframing is sparse. To address this gap, we report a case study on assisting migrants’ awareness of public services, involving interviews with service coordinators working in a Finnish municipality and migrants, and a co-design workshop to surface assumedly problematic frames. We then concretized the frames through an investigation of solution artifacts, encompassing in-person services, websites, and print materials. Findings highlight an overemphasis on information aggregation, excessive design efforts, limited provision of meta-information, and a lack of resources integrated into everyday life. We demonstrate how so-called Frame Excavation can be conducted in complex contexts, such as the public sector, sparking discussion on challenges and best practices.

Using Fayetteville, Arkansas, as a primary case study, this paper frames city council meetings as dynamic systems of discourse, where a citizen’s ability to contribute is shaped by the design of institutional environments and mediating artifacts. Drawing on field studies and participatory design methods, the author dissects how the design of such meetings supports and hinders equitable participation. To address these challenges, the author turns to another structured form of discourse: the design critique. Contemporary critique practices offer participatory frameworks for exchanging feedback that redistribute power and invite diverse perspectives. Building on these parallels, the author prototypes a critique-inspired, multimodal system of design interventions that add flexible, informal, and asynchronous channels for citizen engagement. While grounded in a U.S. municipal context, the resulting framework proposes adaptable methods for enhancing participatory governance and transparent citizen–government communication across public sector settings globally.

Universities are increasingly recognised as laboratories for socio-ecological transition, yet higher education sustainability frameworks in France remain largely managerial, privileging compliance and infrastructure over participation. This paper examines how three national and regional instruments, including the Plan Climat–Biodiversité, the Note de cadrage TEDS, and the SRESRI 2021–2027, are translated into governance practices within two university campus ecosystems in the Pays de la Loire region: Chantrerie (Nantes) and Belle-Beille (Angers). Adopting a systemic design perspective, the study conceptualises governance as a process mediated through design practices involving feedback, coordination, and institutional learning. Through a comparative analysis of these models, it identifies gaps in stakeholder participation and proposes design-supported mechanisms for regenerative governance. By bridging sociological theories of bureaucracy with systemic design and sustainability research, the paper positions universities as meso-level laboratories that translate transition missions into inclusive, reflexive, and regenerative institutional cultures.

This paper examines why design practitioners experience tensions when ap-plying systemic design approaches within policy contexts. Drawing on Bekkers’ four analytical perspectives (rational, political, cultural, and institutional), we reinterpret the systemic design activities to reveal how each perspective places distinct, and at times conflicting, demands on design processes. By comparing the lenses across the dimensions of principles, framing, validity, appropriateness, and embedding, we develop a theoretical framework to shed light on how these tensions emerge. The framework also shows that each perspective puts different demands on a design process in the policy context. The framework helps both designers and policy professionals under-stand their own normative positioning, recognize competing logics, and iden-tify pathways to navigate complexity when collaborating on transformative so-cietal challenges.