An Inquiry on Co-design Methodology for a Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive Public Sector

Exploring the potential of co-design methodology to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in public sector services, this doctoral research emphasizes the need to integrate vulnerable communities into service development processes. The main objective is to understand whether and how co-design and participatory design methods can address DEI challenges, enhance public service delivery, and effectively involve vulnerable communities and public administration in the definition of public services. The research process started with a literature review, defining the concepts of social diversity, equity, and inclusivity. At the same time, the state of the art in the context of co-design and participatory design methodologies was analyzed with respect to the public sector. A selection of case studies of socially relevant practices was conducted to assess the implications and effectiveness of participatory and co-design practices together with a variety of vulnerable categories. The analysis of the case studies highlighted the numerous gaps in the services provided by public administration for many communities, which led to the development of bottom-up services that would fill in the gaps and cater to the needs of disadvantaged citizens. Moreover, it emphasized the social relevance of participatory design and co-design approaches in developing solutions for their specific needs. This research serves as a starting point for a future investigation into how the use of such co-design practices with citizens from vulnerable groups can be relevant at the level of public administration; how the public administration itself can adopt such methodologies to provide citizens with the services they need and ultimately what is the role of the designer in this process.