The role of service designers as a facilitator and the utilization of co-design toolkit - in the public sector

Abstract

Background Recently, the scope of design use in the public sector is expanding, but research on the role and method for designers to effectively have co-creation with stakeholders is insufficient. Based on this background, this study intends to propose the role of facilitation and a co-design toolkit process that can increase participation and sympathy when service designers collaborate with stakeholders. Methods In theoretical considerations, the principle of co-design and facilitation were combined to derive the capability of facilitation of service designers. In addition, by analyzing domestic and foreign Design Thinking workshop cases, facilitation and utilization of toolkits in actual sites were derived. We built a process based on the contents derived from the literature and examples, and conducted a total of two Design Thinking workshops to find out the effectiveness and utilization of the process. Results The Action Research results showed that the workshop process and toolkit composition reflecting the characteristics of policy makers are needed. In addition, when constructing the toolkit, policy makers should focus on what they need to understand and apply it to actual work. Based on these results, the process of utilizing co-design facilitation and a toolkit in the Design Thinking workshop was established. Conclusions The study is meaningful in that the ability of facilitation suitable for a service designer was derived by combining the theory of co-design and facilitation. In addition, the study is significant in that the direction of the toolkit and the utilization point of facilitation was conducted in the public sector, not in the direction of the general co-design toolkit.