People first: Innovating e-government

Christian Bason, MindLab (Denmark)

MindLab:Co-creating to tackle ”wickedproblems”.

“We haven’t got the money, so we’ve got to think!”

Ernest Rutherford

Value of public sector innovation

Productivity

Serviceexperience

Outcomes

Democracy

Co-creation:

The innovation of valuable new solutions with

citizens, not for them.

Involving citizens in innovation is about findingideas that have a betterchance of working for them.

Professional empathy

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Rehearsing the future

”’Employer-funded capital pension’. I don’teven know what that means. And if I don’tknow what that means, how can I beconfident that I know what any of the otherstuff means? I am already worried.”

Dennis, 21 User of online tax site

From digitally incompetent to digitally self-reliant

”I knew that the activity in my company would bechanged within a very short period of time, so I wanted to change my company code. I was awarethat I would call it crowdfunding, but I did not know what this would be in company code terms. What I do is some type of financial transactionservice, but I really could not find it.”

Owner of online shopsUser of company registration site

From confusion to clarity whenregistering a new business

Four principles forcitizen-centred digital design

#1The The The The purposepurposepurposepurpose must must must must bebebebe clearlyclearlyclearlyclearly communicatedcommunicatedcommunicatedcommunicated

#2The system has to handle the The system has to handle the The system has to handle the The system has to handle the complexitycomplexitycomplexitycomplexity, not the , not the , not the , not the useruseruseruser

#3The solution The solution The solution The solution shouldshouldshouldshould start start start start withwithwithwith peoplepeoplepeoplepeople’’’’ssss ownownownown contextcontextcontextcontext

#4The The The The involvedinvolvedinvolvedinvolved authoritiesauthoritiesauthoritiesauthorities needneedneedneed to to to to collaboratecollaboratecollaboratecollaborate

“Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones.”

Herbert Simon (1969)

Design as innovation driver

ChallengingChallengingChallengingChallengingRe-imagining problems and opportunities

Human Human Human Human Understanding drivers of behaviour and change

ExperimentalExperimentalExperimentalExperimentalPrototyping as a vehicle for learning

ConcreteConcreteConcreteConcreteVisualising to enable cross-cutting dialogues

Changing interactions at three levels

Citizen

Organisation

System

The redesign challenge

The leadership challenge

“My staff don’t question the new insights we gained from involvingcitizens. But they question the consequences for our organization”.

Head of DivisionDanish central government agency

Policy Press2010

mind-lab.dk/en

christianbason