Institute of Public Administration Australia (ACT) Limited

On today’s Work with Purpose episode, Dr Nina Terrey, Bec Bodel and Professor Brenton Prosser help you learn the ropes of human-centred design.

In today’s complex world, how can the public sector effectively ensure that its policies and programs are centred on the needs of the people they serve? This episode explores human-centered design as one piece to solving this puzzle.

Host David Pembroke convenes class with three leading experts in the design space: Bec Bodel from the Australian Taxation Office, Professor Brenton Prosser from UNSW Canberra, and Dr Nina Terrey from ThinkPlace. Together, they walk through the most important parts of the design process and discuss how empathy, creativity, and strategic thinking can truly make a difference to policy and service delivery for Australia’s communities. Our guests also share practical tips and resources, so you can to hit the books and start your own design journey.

Discussed in this episode:

• The importance of understanding your purpose
• The main steps in a human-centred design process
• Embracing diverse perspectives
• Practical tools and techniques for incorporating design thinking into your work
• Building internal design capabilities in your organisation
• Creating spaces for open and honest dialogue in policy design
• Connecting with like-minded individuals to foster innovation.

Show notes:

• How to empathy map | Nielsen Norman Group
• Expand: Stretching the Future By Design | Book by Christian Bason and Jens Martin Skibsted
• Community-led project | Just Reinvest
• Policy-making through design | The Policy Lab
• Intro to human-centred design | Government of Victoria
• International Design in Government Community
• Don’t Make Me Think | Book by Steve Krug
• Human-centred design program | An outline of National Standards for Out‐of‐home Care
• Government centred design, future-led | NESTA