Applying human-centered design to public problems

As part of the GovLab’s regular Ideas Luncheon Series (see posts on previous speakers like Panos Ipeirotis, John Tolva and Brian Behlendorf), Jesper Christiansen of the Danish Government Innovation Unit – The MindLab – spoke at our January 22 Ideas Lunch. 

Jesper is Research Manager at MindLab, currently directing research and reflection across  multiple innovation projects underway there. An overarching theme of these projects is the human-centered design (HCD) approach that MindLab takes to transforming policy development and public service systems.

First developed in user-interface design and human-computer interaction, the core of HCD is listening to the needs and perspectives of the user. When applied to the design of software products, emphasizing the needs of users has been shown to lead to improvements in usability. HCD has also been applied to the design of physical objects and extended to the promotion of innovative solutions.