Design in public and social innovation, what works and what could work better

A flood of initiatives to use design methods is underway around the world. The hope is that these will advance public and social innovation and achieve creative solutions beyond the reach of conventional structures and methods. Some of the momentum originates in frms offering distinctive techniques:
IDEO and Frog, Thinkpublic and Engine have been amongst the pioneers. Public bodies have also promoted design, including Mindlab in Denmark, SITRA in Finland with its Helsinki Design Lab, the Design Council in the UK and Region 27 in France. Umbrella organisations like the Design Management Initiative and collaborative programmes like DESIS have also played a part. Interest in these various methods has grown in tandem with rising interest in social innovation. Within the public sector the imperative to improve user experiences has combined with acute pressures to raise productivity.