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70 405 Public Sector as Material for Design
Passed foundation level (BA-level) courses at AHO or equivalent, 180 ECTS.
The course is open only for design students. Due to the specific context of the course working knowledge of Norwegian is required.
This course will investigate the complex structures, systems, experiences, connections and culture of the public service sector in Norway. The primary framing of the course is to consider the public sector as material for design and how investigating this material through visualization and mapping can give access and an understanding of this complex context.
The course will be led by Heidi Dolven & Simon Sandoval from design agency Halogen who are both senior designers with long experience working within the bureaucratic structures of public sector Norway, having worked with policy and ‘forvaltning’ design as well as front end, user-centered public service innovation. The course will also include other leading voices from design, public service management as well as others engaged in questions of public service innovation from several levels of government.
The course is positioned from an interdisciplinary perspective that represents systems orientated design and service design.
The main activity of the course will be to investigate, unpack, reflect, visualize and disseminate the material that is public service sector Norway and make this accessible to other designers and bureaucrats working in this context. The output and value of the activity is not only in the finalized visualizations but in the co-created and co-learning space created between students and the many actors with which they will engage.
Students will gain an understanding of how the public sector in Norway is constructed; from governmental, to directorate to municipal level. You will also learn about how the Norwegian public services are organized, interconnected, managed and delivered. From a material perspective they will gain an understanding of tensions, flexibilities and qualities within the structure, system and relationships up and through the entire system. You will also learn techniques of dissemination and visualization that will make this material accessible to others whilst honing skills of facilitation and collaboration with others from outside of design.
Specifically you will gain:
- An overview of how designers can work together with the public sector in Norway
- An in-depth understanding of the system
- A sense of the materiality of the system
- Guidance on how we might unpack and communicate the public sector in Norway
- Skills of critical reflection
- Insight on how the use of visualization and mapping might be used as a strategic tool for engagement and reflection
The first few weeks of the course will start with direction from course leaders to help gain an overview of public sector Norway as a whole whilst, through practice, learning visualization skills necessary to engage and disseminate this knowledge.
After the introduction phase students will plan and run workshop activity together with leading experts engaged in public sector management and innovation, representing several disciplinary perspectives to draw out detailed material knowledge about service system.
Finally, students will further investigate, detail and refine their insights into visualizations for dissemination, exhibition and as a vehicle for further discussion.
We will upload links and documents to Moodle. Here are some things to get you going.
- Radical Help – Hillary Cottam
- New Synthesis of Public Administration: Serving in the 21st Century – J. Bourgon
- Lewis, J. M., McGann, M., & Blomkamp, E. (2020). When design meets power: Design thinking, public sector innovation and the politics of policymaking. Policy & Politics, 48(1), 111-130.
- Junginger, S. (2013). Design and innovation in the public sector: Matters of design in policy-making and policy implementation. Annual Review of Policy Design, 1(1), 1-11.
| Form of assessment | Grouping | Grading scale | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio assessment (Vurderingsmappe) | Individual | Pass / fail | You will deliver the following as part of the course and will be evaluated based upon this: -Individual visualizations of aspects of the area of study -Reflections on the material aspects of public sector Norway -A broader visual narrative that brings together insights from all students that disseminates findings You will be evaluated on the deliverables listed above and your contribution to discussions throughout the course. You should show your understanding of design and public service in your work. Your final piece of work shall be communicated so it highlights the unique characteristics, challenges and potentials of the public sector as material for design. |
| Workload activity | Comment |
|---|---|
| Attendance | The students are expected to take active part and be present in the studio, attend lectures and groupwork throughout the whole course. They are expected to attend all presentations, workshops and formal counsellings. |