Can design become a tool for participatory policymaking?
Restructuring Public Participation in Urban Governance: Designing a digital and information-led framework
Tanaya Lal, Induja Menon, Priyank Jaiswal, Ishita Yadav
Classroom Project
B.Des 2018
Strategic Design Management
student portfolio︎︎︎
Through this systems design project, we designed a framework to empower urban citizens and enable their participation in local governance activities. The framework has 2 key elements -
Our inquiry began with exploring how we could make the city a sustainable system, where we concluded that urban governance had a far-reaching impact in achieving this goal. We focused on human-centric systems of local governance that are inclusive and sparked collaboration between the government and citizens. If technology can be made accessible, it can amplify the voices of people from all backgrounds. In the urban context, collective belonging and shared responsibility is considerably low in comparison to rural areas due to a lack of community. Hence, designing for inclusivity becomes crucial for effective governance and flourishing communities.
- An omnichannel digital platform (available via kiosks, smart-phones, manned computer systems) that simplifies technology in local governance.
- A human element (‘Nagrik Bandhu’) that connects citizens to a digital platform to encourage participation & collaboration while spreading awareness, education and sensitization.
Our inquiry began with exploring how we could make the city a sustainable system, where we concluded that urban governance had a far-reaching impact in achieving this goal. We focused on human-centric systems of local governance that are inclusive and sparked collaboration between the government and citizens. If technology can be made accessible, it can amplify the voices of people from all backgrounds. In the urban context, collective belonging and shared responsibility is considerably low in comparison to rural areas due to a lack of community. Hence, designing for inclusivity becomes crucial for effective governance and flourishing communities.
Our initial perception of sustainability revolved around its environmental aspects. However, while mapping subsystems of the city and the feedback loops therein, we discovered that social and economic factors significantly influence sustainable systems. We also saw how COVID-19 accelerated the rapid spread of technology. This clarified that the future is digital, and digital adoption in the outreach of public services is imminent. Bridging the gap between people and technology is the need of the hour and in this Digital Age, the relevance of empowering people with the right ‘tools’ cannot be overlooked.Our project outcome, iNaagrik can be projected as a model service under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM). It can be adapted on a large scale by various cities and involve the stakeholders of governance in a continuous conversation with the public they serve. This framework can be adapted as a digital product to be replicated across states to ensure easy adaptation and standardisation.
This project helped us envision the socio-political impacts of design and strategy on a macro scale. It helped us understand design from a systemic perspective and made us zoom in and out while looking at problems as a whole and a sum of its parts.
->What are the sources of your insights, your influences and inspirations?
INSPIRATIONS
This project helped us envision the socio-political impacts of design and strategy on a macro scale. It helped us understand design from a systemic perspective and made us zoom in and out while looking at problems as a whole and a sum of its parts.
->What are the sources of your insights, your influences and inspirations?
- United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities.
- Existing models of sustainable and equitable governance systems like the e-governance model in Estonia and the Center for Civic Design in the USA.
- Introduction to Systems Thinking by Daniel H. Kim and projects presented at the RSD Symposium.
- Constitutional provisions for public participation and the Community Participation Law. Grassroots level public participation frameworks as seen in Area Sabhas and Urban Local Bodies in India.
INSPIRATIONS
- United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities.
- Existing models of sustainable and equitable governance systems like the e-governance model in Estonia and the Center for Civic Design in the USA.
- Introduction to Systems Thinking by Daniel H. Kim and projects presented at the RSD Symposium.
- Constitutional provisions for public participation and the Community Participation Law. Grassroots level public participation frameworks as seen in Area Sabhas and Urban Local Bodies in India.