When frames collide: Participatory frame navigation through co-design in policy contexts

Design’s expanding presence in policy has generated multiple expressions of its value and impact, yet few address the political and strategic dimensions of policymaking. This paper examines how co-design operates within these dynamics by navigating frame conflicts during policy problem-setting and policy options modelling. Drawing on Schön and Rein’s theory of Frame Reflection, we analyse how institutional framings of policy issues collide with those held by communities, and how co-design practices surface, negotiate, and reconfigure these conflicts. Through two English case studies: 1) School Food Systems and 2) Breakfast Clubs, we show how co-design reveals divergent interpretations of public problems and enables collaborative reframing toward implementable clumsy solutions. The findings highlight codesign’s under-recognised capacity to make frames visible and negotiable in policy contexts. This practice of participatory frame navigation furthers our understanding of design’s contribution in policy-making contexts.