Abstract
This paper reports on an EU research project involving 12 cities in a multi-thematic innovation network. The project supports innovation and the testing of innovative procurement practices, and also generates or improves design capabilities in public administrations. Once local challenges were defined and two solution providers were selected for each city, civil servants worked in Sandbox mode, experimenting in their own urban contexts. This paper focuses on the Sandbox phase, which provided an opportunity for knowledge exchange, inspiration, and the diffusion of design capabilities. Given the extreme difference in local practices, knowledge exchange and shared learning must be accurately planned; it is itself an experimental practice. The project team used a set of design tools to work across different situated practices. A narrative approach highlighted differences in languages, organisational processes, and institutional cultures among the pilots, while also helping to share knowledge and learning across local practices.
Keywords
design capabilities, public administration, public design, experiments
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1410
Citation
Csobánczi, P., Morreli, N., and Neuhoff, R. (2026) Learning design capabilities in public administrations through sandbox experiments: Insights from a 12-City EU network, 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.2026.1410
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Learning design capabilities in public administrations through sandbox experiments: Insights from a 12-City EU network
This paper reports on an EU research project involving 12 cities in a multi-thematic innovation network. The project supports innovation and the testing of innovative procurement practices, and also generates or improves design capabilities in public administrations. Once local challenges were defined and two solution providers were selected for each city, civil servants worked in Sandbox mode, experimenting in their own urban contexts. This paper focuses on the Sandbox phase, which provided an opportunity for knowledge exchange, inspiration, and the diffusion of design capabilities. Given the extreme difference in local practices, knowledge exchange and shared learning must be accurately planned; it is itself an experimental practice. The project team used a set of design tools to work across different situated practices. A narrative approach highlighted differences in languages, organisational processes, and institutional cultures among the pilots, while also helping to share knowledge and learning across local practices.