Abstract
This paper examines how design is conceptualised within design and policy literature in public-sector contexts, contributing to the expanding discourse on design for policy. Despite the growing adoption of design approaches in governance, robust evidence of their contribution remains limited. Using a qualitative meta-synthesis of 24 publications spanning design studies, policy design, and public administration, the study identifies four interrelated logics through which design is conceptualised in policymaking: systems learning and reflexivity; legitimacy and relational effectiveness; structuring and coherence; and adaptation and delivery. These logics are reframed as epistemic, relational, systemic, and operational dimensions of contributive capacity that describe how design may strengthen policymaking across micro-, meso-, and macro-levels. The study proposes a preliminary multi-level conceptual framework to guide future research, acknowledging that while design is increasingly integrated in policymaking practice, systematic evidence of its contribution remains limited.
Keywords
Design for policy, policy design, conceptual frameworks, policymaking capacity
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.764
Citation
Lee, A. (2026) Mapping design’s contribution to policymaking: A framework for understanding design’s roles across policymaking levels, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.764
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Mapping design’s contribution to policymaking: A framework for understanding design’s roles across policymaking levels
This paper examines how design is conceptualised within design and policy literature in public-sector contexts, contributing to the expanding discourse on design for policy. Despite the growing adoption of design approaches in governance, robust evidence of their contribution remains limited. Using a qualitative meta-synthesis of 24 publications spanning design studies, policy design, and public administration, the study identifies four interrelated logics through which design is conceptualised in policymaking: systems learning and reflexivity; legitimacy and relational effectiveness; structuring and coherence; and adaptation and delivery. These logics are reframed as epistemic, relational, systemic, and operational dimensions of contributive capacity that describe how design may strengthen policymaking across micro-, meso-, and macro-levels. The study proposes a preliminary multi-level conceptual framework to guide future research, acknowledging that while design is increasingly integrated in policymaking practice, systematic evidence of its contribution remains limited.