Public servants learn the power of human-centered design
In our latest InnovateUS workshop, 97 public servants across the country joined public policy and design expert Virginia Hamilton to learn about using human-centered design to better solve problems in the public sector.
Hamilton, a Designer in Residence with the Federation of American Scientists and a Strategic Advisor with the Partnership for Public Service, leads the Gov21 program, an innovation training program for leaders in the federal government. She previously served as the regional administrator for the Department of Labor, where she oversaw workforce and unemployment insurance programs across eight states and four territories. Hamilton also spearheaded the Customer Centered Design Initiative, which trained over 2,000 workforce development professionals in human-centered design.
In the virtual 90-minute training, participants learned how to use design thinking for public problem-solving. Hamilton’s presentation introduced the five key phases of the human-centered design process:
- Empathize
- Define
- Ideate
- Prototype
- Test
Using real-world examples, Hamilton provided strategies for using human-centered design to improve government services for those who most need them.
“Human-centered design is a way to solve problems. Instead of focusing on the law and regulations, we are really focusing on people. We resist the urge to immediately come up with solutions and we spend time finding out what the problem is,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton emphasized the importance of starting with people first when solving your problem and defining what you truly want. She explained that when asking to implement certain projects or programs, it is important to let customers or intended beneficiaries speak for themselves.
In small breakout rooms, participants were given the opportunity to discuss with other public servants about what intrigued or concerned them about using human-centered design in government. Based on feedback received after the workshop, participants expressed how much they had learned from this experience.
“I really enjoyed meeting the people in my breakout room. We all work in vastly different fields but we all had similar experiences and thoughts on how to implement Human-Centered Design to improve our work environments,” said a participant from California over 20 years into their career.
After the breakout session, participants engaged in an open Q&A with Hamilton for specific advice on how to solve public problems in their field. One participant explained how their agency is thinking through how to stabilize housing when there are mass eviction filings happening across the state. He asked Hamilton how to best target their approach, especially when some of their stakeholders have faced traumatic experiences accessing government services.
Hamilton stressed that agencies need to always start with asset mapping, and to fully understand power dynamics before jumping into an approach. She also emphasized the importance of prototyping before investing in expensive and time-consuming programs.
“Make solutions personal. Show how the hypothesis can make money or be more efficient. Build prototypes in the beginning before investing your money. We don’t prototype and test enough in government at all,” she said.
One public servant early in her career asked Hamilton how to stay motivated after her idea was turned down. Hamilton advised the participant to go to their supervisor with facts and insights from customers, not just their opinion on what they think would work.
“If [your proposal is] informed by customers and it’s done well with some rigor, it’s going to be better than anything anyone has,” she said.
Almost 90% of participants said they would recommend this training to a friend or colleague 88% shared that they are likely to use what they learned in their work. Here is what some of our participants had to say:
“I enjoyed the training and found the information useful and informative. I have many colleagues in public service who could benefit from this training. Great information with real examples.” -California participant, Advanced Career (20+ years)
“It is great to discuss these topics with great speakers and others from across the country.” -Massachusetts participant, Mid-Career (10-20 years)
“Human-Centered Design (HCD) needs to be the ‘center’ for any organization who is in customer service. No matter what role you’re in, everyone is in customer service. Virginia does an excellent job leading this workshop. Hearing about her experiences and knowledge in HCD are helpful to start implementing and thinking along these lines.” -Colorado participant, Mid-Career (10-20 years)
A recording of this workshop is available here. To sign up for another one of our Spring 2023 workshops, click here.
Want to join our list of state partners? Host a workshop of your own? Drop us a line at hello@innovate-us.org
