15. June 2022
author:
Martin Jordan
Enhancing public administration with design
Design is frequently misunderstood in and by the German administration. It is not always clear what is meant by the term, what design means in practical terms and what benefits it has.
This has been changing for a few years now, and designers are now not only working at DigitalService and, through the Tech4Germany Fellowship program, temporarily in ministries, but also in German cities, at public digital service providers and at the Bundesdruckerei. There, designers work on various levels of complexity – from visual communication and human-machine interactions to the systemic design of organizations and applications.
With only a few dozen designers spread across all levels of administration, Germany lags far behind other countries. In many European countries, hundreds of designers are employed by ministries and authorities to make administrative services clearer, easier to understand and simpler for everyone. In some countries – such as the UK – there are even several thousand with highly differentiated roles.
Martin Jordan
works as Head of Design at DigitalService. Previously, he was Head of Service Design at the Cabinet Office in London for over six years. There, at the Government Digital Service, he pushed forward the digital transformation of the British administration and its administrative services. In his private life, he loves porridge. His goal is to compete in the Porridge World Cup at some point and win the Golden Spurtle, the Scottish stirring spoon.
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