With great pleasure, we would like to invite you for the online IRSPM expert meeting entitled The Potential of Design for Addressing Wicked Issues | Emergent Design-led Strategies in Addressing Wicked Issues on November 20 organized by the Institute of Public Affairs, Jagiellonian University.

We hope to discuss to what extent design offers (new) opportunities to effectively address wicked issues, characteristic for public sector challenges. These involve, for example, climate change, reforming democratic accountability, and as appears to be very urgent these days, coping with pandemic outbreaks, or dealing with (institutional) racism. Breakout sessions aim to:

1. Enhance the methodological rigor and relevance of design methodologies in public management and policy environments;
2. Offer theoretical and empirical explorations of the conditions that support the effective application and integration of design-led approaches within public sector and government;
3. Explore and evaluate the value and impact of labs and design-led approaches to value creation in public service delivery and policymaking (health care, culture, education, social interventions, transportation, safety etc.);
4. Identify and discuss limitations and routes for improvement of design-led approaches for the innovation of public service provision and wider institutional change.

This panel is a continuation of the IRSPM Special Interest Group entitled ‘Design-led approaches to renewing public management and governance’. We very much welcome you to continue the academic discussion around this theme by submitting an extended description of your contribution (e.g. abstract, sneak preview or outline of max 400 words) due September 25th to Dr. William Voorberg (voorberg@essb.eur.nl). Please note that we welcome all kinds of contributions related to design in the public sector context (e.g. papers, prototypes, posters or presentations). Prototypes, posters and projects may be presented also in virtual booths (based on prerecorded YouTube content).

To offer all our participants a suitable and convenient timeslot across the time zones, the agenda will be divided into morning and evening sessions (CEST) with some side events taking place all the time. Further details about the program and web platform depend on the contributions of our participants.

Note there is no conference fee. For further information, please contact Dr. Mateusz Lewandowski mateusz.lewandowski@uj.edu.pl.

Hope to see you in November!

Mateusz Lewandowski