Navigating the “Policy + Design” Landscape

Abstract

Scholarship from the design discipline and policy sciences has produced rich empirical and theoretical knowledge focused on the intersection of policy and design. Importantly, they use concepts that pair “policy” and “design” in various ways, attaching different meanings. These differences can create confusion, particularly among practitioners not engaged in either body of scholarship or who have access to it. This academic literature is highlighted. Practitioners are more likely to learn about policy and design concepts from search engines like Google. We then analyze “Policy + Design” terms from a Google Search Engine scraping tool and, in doing so, identify four approaches: “policy design,” “design for policy,” “design-in-policy,” and “design policy.” The results are presented through issue mapping, and the content of these results is discussed. Finally, we suggest strategies for bridging the gap between “Policy+Design” academics and practitioners and then provide a preliminary description of these terms.