Design thinking’s implementation in the public sphere: A focus on Aotearoa New Zealand’s public service

The past decade has seen the rise of Design Thinking in organizations the world over, with government agencies being no exception. However, government agencies have a unique purpose and operating environment from their commercial counterparts, an environment further singular to each nation. Therefore, government agencies have unique challenges and opportunities for the successful use of Design Thinking. This beckons the question, how is Design Thinking used in public service settings, and what could this mean for its ongoing implementation? This research poses this question with a local focus on public services in Aotearoa, New Zealand. This article introduces a PhD topic that seeks to understand the unique challenges and opportunities faced by using Design Thinking in Aotearoa New Zealand’s public services through a social constructionist lens and a reflexive approach to thematic analysis, outlining the findings of a survey and semi-structured interviews with local designers and public servants.