Policy Press

Policy-Making as Designing

The Added Value of Design Thinking for Public Administration and Public Policy

Edited by Arwin van Buuren, Jenny M. Lewis and B. Guy Peters

Published

May 24, 2023

Page count

244 pages

Browse the series

New Perspectives in Policy and Politics

ISBN

978-1447365938

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

May 24, 2023

Page count

244 pages

Browse the series

New Perspectives in Policy and Politics

ISBN

978-1447365945

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press

Published

May 24, 2023

Page count

244 pages

Browse the series

New Perspectives in Policy and Politics

ISBN

978-1447365945

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press
Policy-Making as Designing

The articles on which Chapters 4, 5 and 6 are based are available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence.

Design approaches to policy-making have gained increasing popularity among policy makers in recent years.

First published as a special issue of Policy & Politics, this book presents original critical reflections on the value of design approaches and how they relate to the classical idea of public administration as a design science, with a new concluding chapter. Contributors consider the potential, challenges and applications of design approaches and distinguish between three methods currently characterising the discipline: design as optimisation, design as exploration and design as co-creation.

Developing the dialogue around public administration as a design science, this collection explores how a more ‘designerly’ way of thinking can improve public administration and public policy.

“This timely volume expands understanding of design ‘for’ public policy. In a context in which policy-making is complex and contested, it provides a useful foundation for research and practice.” Lucy Kimbell, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London

Arwin van Buuren is Professor of Public Administration at the Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Jenny M. Lewis is Professor of Public Policy in the School of Social and Political Sciences and Director of Scholarly and Social Research Impact at The University of Melbourne.

B. Guy Peters is Maurice Falk Professor of American Government at the University of Pittsburgh.

1. Improving Public Policy and Administration: Exploring the Potential of Design – Arwin Van Buuren, Jenny M Lewis, B Guy Peters and William Voorberg

2. Applying Design in Public Administration: A Literature Review to Explore the State of the Art – Margot Hermus, Arwin Van Buuren and Victor Bekkers

3. Challenges in Applying Design Thinking to Public Policy: Dealing with the Varieties of Policy Formulation and Their Vicissitudes – Michael Howlett

4. Designing Environments for Experimentation, Learning and Innovation in Public Policy and Governance – Maurits Waardenburg, Martijn Groenleer and Jorrit De Jong

5. Policy Labs: The Next Frontier of Policy Design and Evaluation? – Karol Olejniczak, Sylwia Borkowska-Waszak, Anna Domaradzka-Widła and Yaerin Park

6. When Design Meets Power: Design Thinking, Public Sector Innovation and the Politics of Policymaking – Jenny M Lewis, Michael McGann and Emma Blomkamp

7. Designing Institutions for Designing Policy – B Guy Peters

8. Applying Design Science in Public Policy and Administration Research – A Georges L Romme and Albert Meijer

9. Using a Design Approach to Create Collaborative Governance – John M Bryson, Barbara Crosby and Danbi SEO

10. Policy-Making as Designing: Taking Stock and Looking Forward – Arwin Van Buuren, Jenny M Lewis, B Guy Peters and William Voorberg