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Summary
Fresh off the December conference, we join together to chart the year ahead for the Civic Design Community. Together we reflect on key tactics, themes, and areas of inquiry you’re carrying into your practice.
Key Insights
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Community members focus on diverse civic design challenges including form design, voter registration language access, and resident engagement.
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Capacity building in public sector human-centered design is a priority, especially training leaders and multidisciplinary teams.
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There is a push to modernize government operational workflows integrating enterprise architecture and business analysis.
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Complex systems thinking and life-centered design are gaining traction as more holistic frameworks beyond human-centered design.
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Embedding inclusive practices (DEI) inside government remains a core goal, alongside managing time and resource constraints.
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The community seeks more practical case studies to learn how teams solve real-world problems.
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The Civic Design Library is exploring electronic lending similar to public libraries to increase accessibility.
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Networking formats like random pairings can deepen personal connections within a global civic design community.
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Ongoing asynchronous engagement through Slack and mural boards supports continuous community conversation.
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Formal processes such as calls for presentations and newsletters are planned to maintain engagement and growth.
Notable Quotes
"I'm very much focused on voter registration language access and form design processes in my field."
"It's surprisingly hard to hire product managers and designers in government; I'm looking at how to unblock those system barriers."
"I'm working on creating a more holistic view of life rather than just centering humans in design."
"We have to shift from mechanistic linear thinking to complex systems thinking."
"What would Universal Design mean for communications, like a podcast that serves visually impaired listeners too?"
"We want more practical case studies showing how specific teams approached problems and what they learned."
"Could the Civic Design Library offer electronic book checkouts like the Toronto Public Library does?"
"Doing random pairing or 'donuts' could connect Civic designers from around the world for informal one-to-one exchanges."
"Protecting my time is something everyone is empathizing with right now."
"We want regular monthly meetings to keep conversations alive while being doable for everyone’s schedules."
Or choose a question:
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