Marzia Mortati – författare

This open access book examines how the adoption of Design Thinking (DT) can support public organisations in overcoming some of the current barriers in e-participation. Scholars have discussed the adoption of technology to strengthen public engagement through e-participation, streamline and enhance the relationship between government and society, and improve accessibility and effectiveness. However, barriers persist, necessitating further research in this area. By analysing e-participation barriers emerging from the literature and aligning them with notions in the DT literature, this book identifies five core DT practices to enhance e-participation: (i) Meaning creation and sense-making, (ii) Publics formation, (iii) Co-production, (iv) Experimentation and prototyping, and (v) Changing organisational culture. As a result, this book provides insights into enhancing tech-aided public engagement and promoting inclusivity for translating citizen input into tangible service implementations. The book triangulates qualitative analysis of relevant literature in the fields of e-participation and DT with knowledge from European projects experimenting with public participation activities implying experimentation with digital tools. This research aims to bridge the gap between theoretical frameworks and practical application, ultimately contributing to more effective e-participation and digital public services.

The book provides a snapshot of a hot topic – the systemic nature of innovation and its relevance to design – with a trifold perspective: the academic level – the literature on innovation studies and design is often neglected and a clear connection between the two topics taken for granted; the research level – collaborative models are currently considered great opportunities for transforming consumption, production and distribution of goods, but a clear scholarly discourse is still forming; the political level – the European Commission and the OECD are devoting much effort to understanding and measuring the impact of design in innovation processes and firms and a clear contribution would greatly support this path. Thus the book provides an informed, historical and nuanced perspective to the relationship between design and innovation to contribute to all three levels and to propose a point of view that goes beyond aesthetics and meanings.