CoDesign for Public-Interest Services

This book integrates the concept of public interest services within the discipline of design for services while simultaneously refining and deepening the related concepts of participatory design, co-design, and co-production. To do so, it presents a detailed case study comprising a set of co-design experiments conducted within a particular community of residents in Milan. Further, it describes the methods and tools of participatory and service design tested within an extended programme of co-design sessions, while closely examining the study's outcomes in the form of a collection of everyday services that continue to evolve in different ways, intersecting with the public sector or giving rise to new social enterprises.

Drawing upon this experience and further studies, the book analyzes in detail the process of infrastructuring a set of resources and actors within a specific context and timeframe by means of design for services and participatory design, identifying ten steps from the first meeting with a community of active citizens to the implementation stage, and focusing on service legacy and legitimacy. Given its coverage and depth, the book will appeal to all practitioners, researchers, and students interested in the application of co-design within the public realm.

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