Transform, a long-term advocate for human-centred public services, has been featured in the new Public Design Evidence Review (PDER) published by the Cabinet Office and Policy Profession. Their design work in partnership with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) was selected as one of just 13 case studies helping to demonstrate the potential impact and possible outcomes that can be achieved through design.
The PDER is the most significant review to date of the value of design within UK public services. Over 1,000 designers were surveyed and dozens of design leaders interviewed, to define the role and value of design in public services and settings. The Review marks a significant moment for Transform’s design practice led by Ian Pocock MD Research and Design, validating their human-centred, participatory approach.
The Review highlights Transform’s project’s success, which is a direct result of their participatory methods. Through Transform’s work, in partnership with HMCTS, 25% of immigration and asylum appeal cases are now resolved early without the need for a hearing and there is over 80% uptake in their reformed service design. This was achieved by creating a “platform of participation,” using accessible and collaborative design tools in workshops to bring judges, lawyers, policymakers, and appellants together as co-designers – as a community of design and change. Their accessible design methods enabled changes to policy and judicial rules, helped re-write complex legal language into plain English and dramatically simplified the appeal application from 128 questions down to just 10 – to name just a few design outcomes.
This recognition is built on Transform’s two-decade history of demonstrating design’s value in the public sector. The company’s human-centred methodology has consistently delivered tangible benefits for citizens across government. Through their work with Public Health England, over seven million people have downloaded the Couch to 5k app, starting their paths to sustainable exercise.
They also brought hundreds of veterans’ stories into focus as key ingredients of their design processes, to enable the creation of the UK veteran card, helping former service members access critical support. In the face of a rapid exit from the EU, Transform also co-designed the UK’s first independent trade service in 40 years, protecting the UK market and defending against job losses.
“Being featured in the PDER is a powerful validation of our core belief: that participatory design breaks down silos and builds connection and trust across policy and service ecosystems to create lasting, positive change,” said David Singer, Director of Design at Transform. “This review provides the evidence that our approach not only builds better, more human services, but also delivers significant efficiencies critical to this period of public sector reform”.
PDER is a milestone document that aims to shift the understanding of design in public settings. It moves beyond toolkits and invites leadership from across government and public services to use design to deliver public sector reform that’s more inclusive, open and adaptive. By providing a working definition and model for public design, the PDER gives leaders and civil servants clarity that design can help solve complex, system-wide problems, by building services with, not just for, communities.
Recent Comments