Abstract
As public sectors worldwide increasingly adopt design-driven approaches to address complex public service and management challenges, existing research predominantly focuses on citizen-facing experiences while overlooking the critical importance of internal ecosystems as the core of service delivery. This paper examines the Nanhai Bus Station Design Consultation Project in China as a case study, exploring how systematic design interventions originating from within can drive holistic public service innovation through the internal ecosystem. The research conducted in-depth participatory action research through blended research, co-design, and stakeholder engagement methodologies. Addressing challenges such as fragmented internal workflows, ambiguous division of responsibilities, and outdated service facilities, the project developed an integrated suite of design interventions. Evaluation findings demonstrate that these design interventions significantly enhance internal efficiency, staff experience, and passenger satisfaction. The research proposing an ‘inside-out’ public service design paradigm, providing a replicable practical model for sustainable governance and systemic transformation within public transport departments.
Keywords
Public Sector Innovation, Service Design, Internal Management, Collaborative Design with Stakeholder Participation, Public Transport
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2919
Citation
Zhang, L., Liu, Y., Wang, Z., Li, J., and Dong, Y. (2026) Driving Public Service Innovation Through Internal Ecosystem Development: Reconfiguring the Internal Management and Service System of Nanhai Bus Station, 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.2026.2919
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Driving Public Service Innovation Through Internal Ecosystem Development: Reconfiguring the Internal Management and Service System of Nanhai Bus Station
As public sectors worldwide increasingly adopt design-driven approaches to address complex public service and management challenges, existing research predominantly focuses on citizen-facing experiences while overlooking the critical importance of internal ecosystems as the core of service delivery. This paper examines the Nanhai Bus Station Design Consultation Project in China as a case study, exploring how systematic design interventions originating from within can drive holistic public service innovation through the internal ecosystem. The research conducted in-depth participatory action research through blended research, co-design, and stakeholder engagement methodologies. Addressing challenges such as fragmented internal workflows, ambiguous division of responsibilities, and outdated service facilities, the project developed an integrated suite of design interventions. Evaluation findings demonstrate that these design interventions significantly enhance internal efficiency, staff experience, and passenger satisfaction. The research proposing an ‘inside-out’ public service design paradigm, providing a replicable practical model for sustainable governance and systemic transformation within public transport departments.