Fostering Design Culture

The public sector is entering a confident new era of delivery. From council-led housing schemes to authorities acting as master developers for new garden communities, there is a newfound belief in the leadership of the public sector. With this more active role comes an increase in the design ambitions of authorities, as well as greater responsibilities to deliver good quality outcomes that work for local communities.

This Practice Note explores how design culture can be articulated and nurtured within public commissioning organisations. Drawing on learnings from a year-long placement in Transport for London, it explores what design excellence means in practice and how this can be translated into replicable processes and quality design outcomes.

The Practice Note draws together insights from a series of facilitated team sessions and uses these to produce advice to help build design culture within the public sector. It is accompanied by a series of practical facilitator notes which can be adopted or adapted by authorities.

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