The attention for applying design-oriented approaches in public administration has increased significantly. Applying design is seen as a promising way to deal with wicked problems and create more responsive policies and services. We aim to contribute to the debate on the value of design
for public administration and the development of the latter into a design science by conducting a systematic literature review into the empirical applications of design. We analyse the goals, processes and outcomes of 92 empirical studies. Based upon this we distil six design approaches, varying
from traditional scientific and informational approaches to innovative, user-driven and thus more ‘inspirational’ approaches. The more traditional (science-driven) approaches still dominate the field. The impact of these types of studies is correspondingly low. We argue that further
developing and refining the whole range of design approaches can foster both the scientific rigour and the societal relevance of a design-oriented public administration.
Summary How did deinstitutionalisation affect the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and people with a psychiatric background? This paper contains a systematic literature review on the consequences of deinstitutionalisation for the target groups, their social network and society at large. PubMed and Online Contents were searched from 2004 till February 2016. Inclusion criteria were (1) article describes (a) consequence(s) of deinstitutionalisation, (2) in Western countries and (3) the target group(s) include people with psychiatric or intellectual disabilities. Sixty-one papers were found and analysed to establish positive, negative or mixed results. Findings The positive effects pertain to the quality of life of people with disabilities after deinstitutionalisation. They learned adaptive skills and receive better care. Negative effects relate to more criminal behaviour by the target groups, victimisation of the target groups and physical health issues. Life for the most severely afflicted people with disabilities deteriorated when they moved to smaller group homes in the community. Mixed effects were also found. It is not clear whether deinstitutionalisation leads to real inclusion in the community. It is equally unclear whether it is cheaper than large-scale institutional care. Only a few studies investigate the effects on family members but some show they are overburdened. Applications Social workers catering for people with disabilities should pay attention to risks for their health and safety and keep an eye on family members. Those who are asked to advise on deinstitutionalisation should consider that this may not benefit the most severely afflicted.
The attention for applying design-oriented approaches in public administration has increased significantly. Applying design is seen as a promising way to deal with wicked problems and create more responsive policies and services. We aim to contribute to the debate on the value of design for public administration and the development of the latter into a design science by conducting a systematic literature review into the empirical applications of design. We analyse the goals, processes and outcomes of 92 empirical studies. Based upon this we distil six design approaches, varying from traditional scientific and informational approaches to innovative, user-driven and thus more 'inspirational' approaches. The more traditional (science-driven) approaches still dominate the field. The impact of these types of studies is correspondingly low. We argue that further developing and refining the whole range of design approaches can foster both the scientific rigour and the societal relevance of a design-oriented public administration. key words design • design science • policy design • public administration • literature review To cite this article: Hermus, M., van Buuren, A. and Bekkers, V. (2019) Applying design in public administration: a literature review to explore the state of the art, Policy & Politics, xx(xx): 1-27,
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