What exists at the intersection of design and democracy? How can design reshape human systems for the better?

This event explores what design can do to address the decline of trust in Australia’s democratic institutions. Design promises to put the citizens at the centre, to shape communities, societies, economies and public systems. Over the past decade, governments around Australia have become increasingly open to experimentation, and have matured their design capability.

But the experience of the past decade also shows the difficulties in getting co-design and citizen-centred design to work well. Designing for society requires an equal measure of relentless optimism and enthusiastic scepticism. But too often, the two seem mutually exclusive. How do we get the best of both worlds?

Join our experienced optimists and sceptics as we unpack the way forward for design for society:

• Nina Terrey, Partner and Chief Methodologist for strategic design consultancy ThinkPlace Global
• Mark Evans, Director of the Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis
• Brook Dixon, CEO of smart city consultancy, Delos Delta
• Our hosts, the Department of Human Services Design Hub

After initial contributions from our speakers, we will move into a facilitated workshop demonstrating the ‘polarity thinking’ technique, followed by a networking lunch.