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
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Making the case for design requires shifting mindsets and communicating value to multidisciplinary stakeholders.
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Building trust with stakeholders is essential and can be enhanced by involving them early and often.
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Accessibility and equity should be embedded from project inception, not added as an afterthought.
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Equitable research practices can surface systemic points of intervention and redirect power to communities.
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Sustainable civic design demands ongoing collaboration across geographies, government levels, and disciplines.
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Government procurement and hiring processes must be designed inclusively to secure effective civic design services.
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Augmenting internal government design capacity often includes contracting external design expertise through tailored procurement.
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Career pathways into civic design are diverse, including roles in design, government, and education.
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Personal narratives from practitioners deepen understanding and inspire new approaches in civic design.
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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
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Sheri Byrne-HaberAccessibility at Scale
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"If you skip iterative testing, you risk building features nobody really wants."
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"Companies had to relearn their customers during COVID because behavior had fundamentally changed."
Janelle EstesUX Research Trends
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"Collaboration without ego is key to building the right product, not just what one's own interests are."
Craig Brookes Andreas Huebner Morgan Quinn"Just Make it Look Good" and Other Ways We're Misunderstood
June 11, 2021
"Half of the service design professionals do not feel connected to their peers, which is significant."
Marc Fonteijn Ru ButlerIncrease your confidence, influence, and impact (through a Professional Community)
December 3, 2024
"Research ops allows me to indulge my geeky planning spreadsheety side as well as my people-loving supportive side — Saskia, Delivery."
Kate TowseyThe State of ResearchOps: More Than Just Theory
June 20, 2019
"Psychological safety is the foundation; without it you get a culture of transaction and silence."
Alla WeinbergDesign Teams Need Psychological Safety: Here’s How to Create It
September 9, 2022
"We have over 30 contracting teams spread across roughly 10 vendors all working on parts of the veteran experience landscape."
Shawna Hein Kevin HoffmanCreate a Cohesive Civic Design Practice Across Agency, Vendors, and Contracts
November 17, 2022
"Being comfortable with discomfort is key — if someone tells me I'm wrong, I'm okay with that."
Tricia WangSCALE: Discussion
June 15, 2018
