To solve the complex tasks and challenges facing the public sector, it requires intelligent and varied solutions. In Kolding Municipality, we have made design and design thinking at the heart of our approach. In short, it is about putting the human being at the center, asking questions and listening. Indeed, much suggests that it is more efficient to meet individual needs rather than roll out a one-size-fits-all solution.
Our focus on design thinking is not accidental. With an internationally renowned design school and four higher education institutions actively working with design, Kolding Municipality has long been a hub for design research — both nationally and internationally. Add to this our cultural institutions and a dynamic business community, which has created a strong tradition of applying design thinking across sectors and industries.
In 2012, we took an important step and launched a new design-centric vision for our municipality: “Together we design life”. In all its simplicity, it is about applying design thinking to create sustainable solutions and change processes that benefit both the individual and the community.
The following year, we established the Design Secretariat as a development unit within Kolding Municipality's Central Administration, and since then we have been working purposefully to integrate design thinking into several strategic areas and workflows. Today, more than a decade later, we see the approach applied in multiple areas -- from shaping policy and leading change processes to improving everything from waste management and rehabilitation to day care and urban development.
A frequently asked question is whether design thinking replaces all the specialized approaches and disciplines of the municipality. The answer is clearly no. Rather, design thinking is about asking the right questions before solving citizens' challenges, so that we avoid treating symptoms and can get to the heart of the problem.
When we engage in dialogue with citizens, we quickly discover that much of what we thought we knew does not hold — just as we gradually become wiser along the way. It can be frustrating and lead us back to the beginning, time after time, to try new solutions. But that makes the process exciting. Through close cooperation with citizens, we become smarter about how to create sustainable change that benefits both the individual and the community.
We have been working with design thinking in the municipality since 2012, when we adopted a design-centric vision and established a design secretariat in the Central Administration. Since then, a lot of water has passed under the bridge. Here you can get a quick overview of the most important milestones.
