Policy and service design as one - how Germany skips the silos

Theme: User-centred policy design

Policy, digital and operations don’t have to be distant and disconnected. When they work together tightly, policy intent is better met and implementation gaps close. Outcomes for people improve, and government’s impact increases.

Germany shows how it can be done and what works in its context. For the past 3 years, multidisciplinary digital teams have been running dozens of policy discoveries.

Working closely with policy officers in their respective domains for several weeks, small teams, including service designers, inform early-stage policies. Their evidence-based, user-centred work improves laws, regulations and standards - eventually leading to better services.

This case study demonstrates how mandatory digital-ready policy checks and a service standard that requires policy iteration are a game-changer for government ways of working.

Participant takeaways:

• see what service designers could do deep in policy space
• learn how building up minimal mapping and visualisation skills in policy teams benefits everyone downstream
• understand the measurable benefits of having multidisciplinary digital teams permanently supporting policy work
• get an idea of how to get started with this approach in your department or service area
• see what supporting toolkits for policymakers could look like and take inspiration from them

This session is for:

• policy officers who are interested in expanding their toolkit and working more closely with multidisciplinary teams to increase their effectiveness
• digital service team members seeking inspiration to move further upstream, with tips on getting started
• people working on central government or departmental standards - it offers recipes and recommendations to amend rulebooks to integrate policy and service design work