Design prototyping for policymaking

Design has an increasing role in the development of public services and policies. The implementation of policies is now considered a matter of design, especially in the field of public services. Moreover, design has been slowly entering the process of policymaking. Meanwhile, policy scientists’ promoters of Policy Design have started to analyse design discipline’s approaches on the design of policies. Among design activities, prototyping has been recognised as a valuable instrument for policy, also aligned with the new experimental approach in the public sector. However, it is still unclear how prototyping could intersect formal administrative and bureaucratic structures, including their traditional processes for policy analysis and experimentation. This research identifies frameworks for prototyping drawing on relevant authors in design-related disciplines in Europe. Then it characterises these diverse perspectives and suggests the benefits of design prototyping for policy analysis, to communicate, explore, evaluate and refine policy options before decision making.