Public Services by Design is a mentoring service for public service providers who want to develop and deliver more effective, efficient, and customer focussed services. The Design Council has now extended the opportunity to apply for match funding to include applications received before the end of January. If you are interested in applying and would like some further information, please contact the Programme Manager, Pauline Shakespeare, directly on 020 7420 5275 or or go to www.designcouncil.org.uk/publicsector. Applications must be received by the end of January 2012.

The problem

When persistent challenges can’t be solved by government alone, design is the means to stimulate innovation, solve some of society’s problems, and grow the economy by creating new markets and business opportunities.

If you are looking to transform your service delivery challenges into opportunities, the Design Council can help.

We are looking to work with organisations who want to use design to innovate and enhance their public services in the following areas:

• Children’s & young people’s services
• Adult social care
• Shared services & management
• Community budgets and localism

The idea

We are seeking to work with organisations who are ambitious and fast-paced, with clearly defined outcomes, who can complete the programme within a six month period and are ready to submit an application.

We receive a high number of applicants for limited places on the programme. Therefore, we apply strict criteria when reviewing all applications.

Use the following checklist to determine your suitability for the programme:

• A specific project or service that could benefit from a design approach
• Clear project objectives
• Commitment to the scheme in terms of time, resources and senior level engagement
• A desire to provide services which are more customer-focused

To download an application form, click here.

What we need

Public Services by Design delivers tangible, measurable and long-lasting benefits for public service providers. It introduces service providers to design management tools and principles which will help their project delivery teams replicate and scale projects over the longer term.

Public Services by Design helps limit risk - the service uses prototyping, a design approach that enables improvements and changes to be tested and refined at lower cost before major investment is committed to piloting and delivery.

It’s also an inclusive service - it uses a ‘whole organisation approach’ that cuts through every layer of your organisation from Heads of Service to frontline staff, and across silos to encourage cross-departmental collaboration. That way, the whole team benefits through the development of new skills, improved performance and new ways of collaborative working. In addition, the visual emphasis of the design process allows ideas to be shared rapidly and regularly with everyone involved.

After the service, each organisation becomes part of the Design Council CABE’s alumni programme; a network of innovative leaders and teams in the private and public sectors. This will give you the opportunity to link into the wider networks and services of Design Council CABE.

Tags

design, innovation, transformation, training, coaching, metoring, funding

Design Council extends match-funding offer for public sector mentoring