Karen Ingerslev and Trine Naldal: Citizens as co-designers: facilitating systemic change at the policy level

© Borgerdesign Aarhus 1

Relating Systems Thinking and Design RSD5 SymposiumOCAD University, Toronto, Canada

October 13-15, 2016PhD Karen Ingerslev and MA Trine Kiil NaldalCitizen Design Aarhus

Citizens as co-designers- facilitating systemic change at the policy level


3 tensions

• Who are the experts?

• The duality of problems

• Plug and play vs. mind shift



What is citizen design aarhus?

• Full scale business case

• We test how to inspire and facilitate systemic change at policy level - with citizens as co-designers

• And with healthcare professionals, civic society, businesses etc.

Our ambition is to change the mindset and thus the values and actions of the decision makers by bringing in new perspectives (building in the empathy)


Tension no.1Who are the experts?

So who is on the design team?

• Citizens?

• Designers?

• Healthcare professionals?


• What if our society was able to contain life’s ups and downs?• What if our society was able to contain young people being both smart and vulnerable?

Søren: The 110% Klara: Living up to Facebook Lea: It isn’t math

The pain according to Our experts


the citizen perspective


The duality of problems

How do we build in the duality of the problem; the pain from a citizen perspective and the pain from a system perspective – into the framing of the problem, insights and solutions?

Tension no.2


Pain from a system perspectiveAnxiety is the diagnosis most people suffer from and that we spend the most money on as society

75 % of all psychiatric or psychological problems debut during the teenage years

• How can we prevent vulnerability among young adults becoming psychiatric disease?


Plug and play solutions vs mind shift

Can we generate mind shift bybuilding empathy and learninginto the solutions, we feed back to the systems – in order to facilitate new typesof actions from the board of directors

Tension no.3


Building in the empathy and new actions


Discussion of the 3 tensions

• Who are the experts?

• The duality of problems

• Plug and play vs. mind shift


Relating Systems Thinking and Design RSD5 SymposiumOCAD University, Toronto, Canada

October 13-15, 2016Karen Ingerslev and Trine Kiil NaldalCitizen design Aarhus

Questions? Comments?Thank you

Government & Nonprofit

Karen Ingerslev and Trine Naldal: Citizens as co-designers: facilitating systemic change at the policy level