Collaborative design in public services: a problem reframing case

Abstract

Wicked problems require collaborative innovation approaches. Understanding the problem from the users’ perspective is essential. The purpose of the current paper is to identify some critical success factors in defining the ‘right problem’ to be addressed. With this purpose, a case study approach was used and extensive data was collected from citizens, politicians, public servants, and other relevant institutional players, by means of interviews and a focus group. As defined by the Central Government, the problem to be addressed by the research team was to identify which justice services should be made available locally to a small- and low-density community. Therefore, the problem was initially formulated using top-down reasoning. In-depth contact with citizens and key local players revealed however that the lack of justice services was not ‘the issue’ for that community. Mobility constraints and the shortage of economic opportunities had a considerable impact on the lack of demand for justice services. Using a bottom-up perspective it was possible to reframe the problem to be addressed and suggest a new concept to be tested at later stages. The approach followed called attention to the importance of listening to citizens and local organisations with a profound knowledge of the territory to effectively identify and circumscribe a local problem in the justice field. The current paper contributes to expanding the voice-of-the-customer principle, typically associated with quality approaches, to the public policies design by showing how listening to ‘local voices’ can lead to a substantially new definition of the problem to be addressed.