Design in the Public Sector hits the Midlands

The West Midlands is to gain its first cohort of public service bodies taking part in our Design in the Public Sector programme.

The training programme, developed by Design Council in partnership with the Local Government Association, helps local authority teams apply strategic design skills to key challenges and better inform the commissioning process. 

The West Midlands cohort is made up of the following local authorities and partner organisations:

• Coventry City Council
• Herefordshire Council
• Shropshire Council
• Staffordshire County Council
• Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service
• Staffordshire Police
• Staffordshire County Council Development
• Spark Burntwood CIC
• South Staffordshire Council
• City of Wolverhampton Council
• Royal Wolverhampton Hospital Trust

During the 120-day programme, the teams will work on challenges ranging from diabetes prevention, to improving outcomes for pre-school children. Staffordshire County Council, Fire & Rescue and Police services meanwhile, will formulate a 'Joint Transformation Programme'. 

Each organisation will bring its own real-world projects to the training programme, where they will be trained to rethink and reframe their challenges and identify fresh, design-led opportunities. Central to this programme is learning how to understand user needs, generate and prototype new ideas, and work collaboratively to develop better solutions at lower cost. 

The cohort kicks off on 7 March 2016, with a design masterclass for local councillors.

In December 2015, an independent panel evaluated the first 18 months of the Design in the Public Sector programme, as well as the multiple service activities it started. You can read the results here.