Service design identifies what processes, people, and tools are needed to reach the desired state of customer experience. Rooted in a deep understanding of the user, service design practices take a holistic approach by understanding and synchronizing the employee experience and the customer experience. Service design is a growing skill set within government shaping the way people interact with the government and bolstering all aspects needed to support those experiences.
We create safe and experimental spaces for service designers to learn, network, and evolve. This is a free community open to any public sector service designers that are curious and want to grow. In addition to supporting government service designers, we present and share many different methodologies, including Liberating Structures, Game Storming, Participatory Design, Behavioral Design, Equity-centered Design, Design Futures, Inclusive Design, Systemic Design, and much more.
The Service Design in Government group brings together practitioners to learn and share as a community of practice. This group will bring together all levels of service design talent from federal, state, county, and municipal governments.
How AI is showing up in service design conversations right now with Lisette Baylor (July 29)
This talk offers a practical way to think about AI in service design, especially for government teams doing a lot with a little. The speaker will walk through three simple mindsets from IDEO U's Prototyping with AI course: Director (knowing what you want AI to do), Curator (reviewing and shaping what it gives you), and Craftsman (getting comfortable with the tools without getting locked into any one of them). The big idea is that AI should support the work, not take over the thinking and that teams can start experimenting in small, safe ways considering public impact or risk.
Bio: Lisette Baylor is a service designer, facilitator, and educator focused on building capacity and implementing human centered design across government, healthcare, and innovation consulting. She is currently on the teaching team supporting a global community of learners and leaders in the AI in Design Thinking course at IDEO U. Her work helps teams use emerging technology in practical, responsible ways that keep people, trust, and real-world impact at the center.
We meet twice a month--one time for a speaker/training and one small group discussion as part of the Lab Series. Each month The Lab Series provides a space for an inclusive community of service designers to openly ideate, troubleshoot, and experiment with old and new activities and methods. Check out our upcoming meetings below.
January 28 [LAB]: Intentional Gathering with Susanne Wiggins
March 11 [LAB] Atlanta Government with Mariama Ndiaye
Mark 25 [TALK] German Digital Service with Anja Alburg and Sonja Wilczek
April 15 [LAB] Small group discussion
April 29 [TALK] Bring Clarity to Complex Services (Without Service Mapping) with Ayesha Moarif
May 13 [LAB] Ontario Innovation and Service Design Group
June 10 [WORKSHOP] When words are not enough: Drawing complexity with Patricia “Patsy” Kambitsch
June 17 [BOOK TALK] Designing for (and from) Relationality with Michal Osterweil
June 24 [WORKSHOP] Designing for (and from) Relationality with Michal Osterweil
July 15 [TALK] Small group discussion
July 29 [TALK] How AI is showing up in service design conversations with Lisette Baylor
August 12 [LAB] A Case Study: HCD AI Workflow with Nate Byrnes
August 26 [TALK] Thinking like a coalition designer (with an org design lens) with Lucy Ellis
September 16 [LAB] Expert's Blindspot: Integrating behavioral science into the design process (Case Study from Estonia) with Heleyn Tammsaar
September 30 [TALK] Systems Practice for Social Impact with Katy Mamen
October 7 [LAB] Building capacity for HCD with public-serving institutions with Aaron Wilson-Ahlstrom
October 21 [TALK] Co-creation methods for service design with Danielle Agnello
November 4 [LAB] TBD
November 18 [TALK] [TALK] Futures with KARLA Paniagua
December 2 [LAB] TBD
December 16 [TALK] TBD
Check out our speakers page to view a full list of past speakers/facilitators from 2021-2025.