Master in Fine Arts in Transdisciplinary Design
Campus Griebnitzsee
DFG-Research Training Group "WIPCAD"
University of Potsdam
Department of Economics
and Social Sciences
August-Bebel-Straße 89
14482 Potsdam, Germany
Office: Campus Griebnitzsee, House 7,
Room 3.07.211-15
"Design-Led Public Service Innovation. Solving wicked problems through design thinking and social entrepreneurship"
MFA, Transdisciplinary Design, Parsons the New School for Design
BA, Business, University of Washington
12/2012 - 07/2015
Research Associate, Centre for Digital Cultures, Innovations-Inkubator, Leuphana Universität
Working Group “Hybrid Publishing Lab"
2012
Teaching Assistant, Sustainable Every Practices, Parsons the New School for Design, School of Design Strategies
2011-2012
Teaching Assistant, Laboratory 1 and 2, Parsons the New School for Design, School of Design Strategies
2014
Exhibition, "Commons Box", Some Things in Common, Parsons Paris
Symposium, Offline Networks Unite! Transmediale, Berlin
Transform Symposium, Parsons Paris
The Post-Digital Scholar: Between Open Access Piracy and the Public Sphere, Leuphana Universität
Open Knowledge Festival Berlin, Global State of Open Access
Workshop, Transmediale BWPWAP, Open Education Resources Workshop, 2013
2013
Workshop, Urban Conflicts and Contacts, Humbolt University Summer SchoolWorkshop, Achtung! Design Cities Berlin
2012
Finalist, EDF Design Challenge 2050
Public Workshop, Amplifying Creative Communities, DESIS Lab, Parsons Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability Lab
2011
Public Workshop, Food Fights: Rethinking Food Distribution Systems in the South Bronx
2010
Exhibition, The Critical Gift of Design, Aronson Gallery, Parsons the New School for Design
Innovation is at the core of public sector reforms around the globe. Design and design thinking is increasingly becoming recognised as a distinct human-centered approach to dealing with wicked problems as well as a force to drive creativity and innovation within the public sector. This dissertation explores emerging case studies where design and civil servants interface to address wicked policy fields, and asks why are design-led approaches of value to public administration?
Various institutional arrangements ranging from public-private partnerships, government labs and innovation units serve as testing beds to prototype or improve public sector services, to become more responsive to societal needs through participatory engagements between government and civil society. Empirical analysis with focus on ethnographic field research, comparative case studies, and expert interviews to understand the inherent challenges and opportunities in the conception of public sector innovation. How do designers approach these seemingly intractable policy fields as their subject matter; and to what extent do the 'designed outcomes' have an effect on Public Administrations?
