Theorizing human-centered design doing in public administration

Abstract While human-centered design is increasingly deployed by governments, nonprofits, and philanthropies around the globe, public policy and administration scholars do not have a clear, theoretical understanding of this adoption. In this essay, I consider these events and describe the robust methodological approach unpinning human-centered design or what scholars have termed “inspirational design.” I anchor it within the fields of public policy and administration and consider how pragmatist philosophy enables us to recognize that this is a strategic set of activities worthy of scholarly investigation. Through more intentional consideration of this approach, I argue that scholars should examine design doing, a praxis that combines action and knowledge, as an approach to making programmatic, organizational, and institutional change that both responds to citizens and societal needs and creates more public value.