I started Stakeholder Design in 2006 in the belief that the ‘double diamond’ principle of design then starting to be used by commercial organisations could also be used by the public sector to improve services and support the wider community. I designed the site as a ‘calling card’ showing the kind of work that might be done in the future by a local authority director of innovation.
Since then, the focus of my work has expanded but the original thesis – that people can either be beneficiaries or victims of design – remains particularly true of our public services. It is for that reason that I decided to focus on using design to reduce disadvantage rather than extending advantage.
It has been a great honour to work with some of the most marginalised people in our community to design services that they want to use, and which cost less to administer than the ones that were failing them. This work led to the award of a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts for “services to the field of inclusive design.”
Whether you are a charity wanting to raise your profile or find new ways to achieve your objectives, a local authority wanting to become more understanding of customer need, or a socially minded organisation wanting to improve internal culture, Stakeholder Design has the tools to help.