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Kara Kane - Head of Profession for Design, GDS

Coming together for international events and active collaboration

Three framed posters for the Helsinki Conference 2024 in a corridor – one showing the logo of the International Design in Government community, one saying ‘Systems change and futures’ and one containing a mission statement: “We want to bridge the gap between the practice of designing services and policies in government and the ideas of systems change and futures.”

The International Design in Government community is getting together in person this year for workshops and a conference in Helsinki in October.

Co-creating the most complete overview of international design in government work

An image of the conference in action on a laptop, there is an international community poster in the background. Kara, Martin, and Clara Greo are seen at the side of the screen presenting during the welcome kick off to the conference.

The International Design in Government ran the first ever 24-hour conference showcasing global public sector service transformation. Find out what the community is up to next!

How the International Design in Government community is coming together again

A group of 4 people with microphones and lanyards are sitting on stools, discussing. 4 more people who look at them sit behind them. There is a wall with graphical applications of logos of ‘Creative Bureaucracy Festival’. All people have lighter skin tones.

The International Design in Government continues to grow and convene — and we’re bigger than ever before. We have over 3,500 members on Slack and regularly have 40 to 50 people joining our calls. The last time we blogged, we …

The International Design in Government community is 5 years old!

Multiple stickers on a laptop computer, the one in focus says: International design in government

As the International Design in Government community turns 5, we look back on what has happened in the last few years and how it continues to evolve.

How designers across government are working remotely

A visual representation of many connected nodes on a computer screen, most of them grouped together in one of five coloured clusters, a headline above the map reads: ‘Prison leavers communities and relationships’

Designers in government have adapted to the new circumstances, altered their ways of working and adopted new tools. For this blog post, we reached out to various service designers from different government organisations to hear how they are working under the changed environment.

User-centred design in local government: where it’s at

Announcement graphic for Local #govdesign Day on 25 November 2019 at Birmingham Council House from 11 to 5 o’clock; supported by Birmingham City Council

Many local councils all across the UK are increasing their design, user research, and content design capability. Designers and design-minded people are improving the public services provided by Local Authorities. We are running a Local #govdesign Day to bring these people together and showcase their work.

International Design in Government community autumn update

Mari Nakano, Design Director at the NYC Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity, presenting in front of a group of people at the International Design in Government Day in Oakland; a poster behind her reads: “The future of government is better design”; the speaker smiles and members of the audience take pictures with their smartphones

Over the summer, the growing International Design in Government community gathered at a few events. In autumn, there will be 2 more events in Europe. In this post, we share what members of community can expect next.