The Nexus between Design and Policy: Strong, Weak, and Non-Design Spaces in Policy Formulation

This paper frames the idea of design spaces in policy formulation identifying three types (strong, weak, and non-design) and describing their characteristics on the basis of a three-folded analysis: an exploration in the design literature to understand how scholars are reporting on the connection between design and policy and identifying a debate mainly focused on policy outputs (public services) and policymakers' capacities; an exploration of policy literature to analyse design in policy formulation and depict a focus on processes of policy development; a connection with practitioners’ points of view through a small series of interviews with policy experts covering different roles. The notion of formulating better policies through establishing optimal design spaces is built upon to result in the description of three spaces where design impacts policy formulation, establishing a meso-level of reflection that provides a link between design and policy as theoretical reference for further empirical experimentations.