Designing as Infrastructuring to Impact Policy

Joyce Yee*, Nicholas Spencer, Margaret Anne Defeyter

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

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Abstract

Design for policy discourse is often focused on how design supports policy making in central government. And yet, there are other design practices that are contributing to policy development. We frame our work as designing for policy, design work that is happening outside formal policy space, aimed at impacting policy. This paper presents learnings based on a series of co-design interventions with young people in four English local authorities to a) design age-appropriate Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programmes and b) impact national policy. In expanding what might be considered ‘design for policy’, we hope to draw attention to considerations required when trying to influence policy through the designing of public services. We adopt an infrastructuring approach to help us learn about and influence policy whilst also delivering value at local and national levels. This paper contributes to ongoing work to understand how designers contribute to policy making.
Original languageEnglish
Article number238
Number of pages19
JournalDRS Biennial Conference Series
Volume2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23 Jun 2024
EventDRS 2024: Resistance, Recovery, Reflection, Reimagination - College of Arts, Media, and Design, Northeastern University, Boston, United States
Duration: 23 Jun 202428 Jun 2024
https://www.drs2024.org/

Keywords

  • infrastructuring
  • policy
  • participatory design
  • impact

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