Summary
The promise of good civic design may only be realized when it is equally good for everyone. In large and complex systems, we may never fully achieve this. But it is the work of civic designers to persist and lead change. The importance of this commitment is abundantly clear around Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access. On his first day in office, President Biden issued Executive Order 13985 On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. Learn how service designers are embracing this catalyst for change at different levels of the federal ecosystem.
Key Insights
-
•
The 2021 Equity Executive Order requires a whole-of-government transformation to address systemic inequities across federal agencies.
-
•
Customer experience improvement cannot be detached from addressing equity; understanding diverse experiences is essential.
-
•
Civic design practices such as systems thinking, stakeholder engagement, and iterative problem framing are central to implementing equity initiatives.
-
•
Redistributing power by involving people with lived experience in design processes is key to creating equitable government services.
-
•
Federal-level policy work and agency-level service delivery efforts are complementary and inform one another in advancing equity.
-
•
Building cross-functional teams, including external equity fellows, enhances capacity to meet executive order goals.
-
•
Engagement models, including learning communities and interagency roundtables, facilitate collaboration and shared knowledge among agencies.
-
•
Respecting both internal agency expertise and the expertise of customers is crucial to effective equitable design.
-
•
Power in government can be used ethically to foster equitable outcomes through responsibility, reflection, and reciprocity.
-
•
Iterative testing and adapting of equity assessment tools and engagement methods help refine approaches under complex government constraints.
Notable Quotes
"Citizen participation is like eating spinach—everyone agrees it’s good, but few actually do it meaningfully."
"Equal solutions still leave some people out; tailoring based on needs actually provides equity."
"The equity executive order calls for a whole-of-government transformation—think about the scale of that."
"Customer experience cannot truly be good if some are left out or excluded, either intentionally or unintentionally."
"We have the responsibility to redistribute our power and include those who have a stake in the work we do."
"We built an equity learning community with 25 virtual sessions, 4 interagency roundtables, and one-on-one consultations with 37 agencies."
"Government isn’t always trusted, so we worked with local partners to connect with underserved communities."
"Reflecting on our power as implementers of policy, we must reciprocate by giving back information and value to those we engage."
"Iterative engagement models mean we test, learn, and adapt rather than seeking a perfect solution from the start."
"Civic designers are in a privileged position; with privilege comes the power to empower the voices of those we serve."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"A regular heartbeat and familiar structure are really important principles to keep a community alive."
Marc Fonteijn Ru ButlerIncrease your confidence, influence, and impact (through a Professional Community)
December 3, 2024
"Our apprentice program is free and intense, combining foundational training with real-world projects over six months."
Victor M. GonzalezPracticing Learners and Learning Practitioners
March 10, 2021
"If you’re not doing anything about accessibility, you’re discriminating against your future self."
Elana Chapman Li Wen Huang Divyen Sanganee Annabel WeinerGetting started with accessibility research
February 20, 2025
"Consumers are clamoring for payment to be embedded in their devices because payment can be a pain point in digital commerce."
Karen PascoeDeveloping Experience Teams and Talent in the Enterprise
June 8, 2016
"A true design system must have a single source of truth in code."
Dawn ResselFull-Stack User Experiences: A Marriage of Design and Technology
June 9, 2016
"I see designers fall back on being the defender of the user like a union boss, but that’s not your only responsibility."
Gretchen AndersonScaling the Human Center
June 8, 2017
"Giving parents something meaningful to do during sessions helps keep them engaged and supportive."
Mila Kuznetsova Lucy DentonHow Lessons Learned from Our Youngest Users Can Help Us Evolve our Practices
March 9, 2022
"Diverse teams create diverse products because we each only understand our own needs."
Sam ProulxAccessibility: An Opportunity to Innovate
November 16, 2022
"One source of truth is the goal, but in reality, even at scale, adoption and consistency vary widely."
Nathan CurtisDesign Systems for Us: How Many One-Source(s)-of-Truth Are Enough?
January 17, 2019