Theme 2 Intro
Summary
On day two of Civic Design 2021, the program shifted from broad themes to concrete, tactical approaches for advancing civic design in government. The speakers, collaborating closely for months, addressed the community’s highest priorities such as how to advocate for design’s value and gain stakeholder trust across disciplines. The sessions dove deep into accessibility, equity, and systems thinking, highlighting ways to redistribute power and center community voices through equitable research methods. Practical guidance was offered on structuring government hiring and procurement processes to attract quality design services and enhance internal capacities. Additionally, career advice was shared for those aspiring to enter civic design from diverse backgrounds, including students and government workers. The day was rich with personal stories, resources, and actionable methodologies, empowering attendees—facilitated by Bria and others—to embed inclusivity and sustain impact in their civic design work.
Key Insights
-
•
Making the case for design requires shifting mindsets and communicating value to multidisciplinary stakeholders.
-
•
Building trust with stakeholders is essential and can be enhanced by involving them early and often.
-
•
Accessibility and equity should be embedded from project inception, not added as an afterthought.
-
•
Equitable research practices can surface systemic points of intervention and redirect power to communities.
-
•
Sustainable civic design demands ongoing collaboration across geographies, government levels, and disciplines.
-
•
Government procurement and hiring processes must be designed inclusively to secure effective civic design services.
-
•
Augmenting internal government design capacity often includes contracting external design expertise through tailored procurement.
-
•
Career pathways into civic design are diverse, including roles in design, government, and education.
-
•
Personal narratives from practitioners deepen understanding and inspire new approaches in civic design.
-
•
Effective civic design blends tactical tools with mindful, community-centered methodologies to create lasting impact.
Notable Quotes
"Yesterday we saw themes emerge on striving for inclusion, applying equity and sustaining the work over time."
"One of the overwhelming requests has been how to make the case for design."
"We’ll hear multi-disciplinary views on how to build trust with stakeholders."
"We’ll explore tactics to understand systems, points of intervention, and how to redirect power."
"Embedding inclusivity from the start through equitable research practices is essential."
"Many governments need to buy design services to augment their internal capacities."
"Design procurement itself can be designed to get the best responses through inclusive processes."
"Whether you are a student, designer, or government worker, there is advice for getting started in Civic Design."
"Our presenters have iterated on their talks to provide rich resources and new knowledge."
"I encourage you all to ask questions throughout the day and follow up with speakers and cohorts to go deeper."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Ownership of VOC is a hot potato, so we built a coalition with a facilitator to keep it collaborative and effective."
Shipra KayanHow we Built a VoC (Voice of the Customer) Practice at Upwork from the Ground Up
September 30, 2021
"UX design has become very good at serving individuals, but what if we're optimizing for the wrong things?"
Daniel GloydTranscendent Experience (ZX) Design: A Design Framework for Human Connection
August 6, 2026
"Compound effect means good upon good upon good eventually builds to incredibly fast growth."
Erin WeigelUX Lessons from running more than 1,200 A/B Tests
July 10, 2024
"Political parties at the provincial level have their own mandates, which complicates unified service design."
Onur Kocan Ayhan EnsiciUnderstanding the Strategy for Civic Design in a Complex City: Istanbul
November 16, 2022
"Age carries with it obvious visible differences and lived experience, while race often involves less visible but equally impactful structures."
Megan CamposWhat Did I Miss? The Hidden Costs of Deprioritizing Diversity in User Research
March 12, 2021
"Everything everyone knows is only a model. It’s important to get our models out there where they can be challenged."
Jennifer FraserWhat would Emmy Noether Do? Math, Models and Mulling in UX Research
March 29, 2023
"Forget about the tools 100% at the beginning of the conversation and perhaps all the way to the end."
Sofia QuinteroBeyond Tools: The Messy Business of Implementing Research Repositories
March 10, 2022
"Steve invites us to look back at the history of our field so we can keep being difficult and courageous together."
Jemma AhmedTheme 2 Intro
March 26, 2024
"Without having these conversations and understanding each other, we wouldn't understand how this city really ran."
Jennifer KanyamibwaCreating the Blueprint: Growing and Building Design Teams
November 8, 2018
