Design-led approaches to societal challenges
Loneliness, the housing shortage, shortages in care: these are societal challenges that no single organisation or simple step-by-step plan can solve. They call for collaboration and new ways of thinking and working. That is why more and more governments are joining forces with designers. Together, they bring in different perspectives, imagine new possibilities, experiment in practice and find ways to break open systems that have become stuck.
For three years, De Publieke Ontwerppraktijk (PONT) explored what helps collaborations like these move forward. In our workshop, we develop knowledge and tools for anyone looking for more effective ways to tackle societal challenges.
Public Design Practices
The Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science wants to make better use of creative thinking to tackle complex societal challenges. To support this, the Ministry launched De Publieke Ontwerppraktijk (PONT), a three-year programme for design in the public domain.
A design-led approach can help build support and lead to policies that are both more effective and easier to put into practice. Civil servants and designers work together by empathising, imagining possibilities, learning and testing ideas in the real world. The focus shifts from systems to how people actually live.
During its first two years, PONT focused on gathering and sharing knowledge. We closely followed eighteen public design practices and supported them where needed, asking one central question: how can a design-led approach work effectively within a political and administrative context?
Project Description Header 3 From knowledge to practice
We shared what we learned from these public design practices through publications and learning programmes. PONT also developed practical tools for collaboration, freely available to anyone looking for more effective ways to tackle societal challenges.
In 2026, the programme’s final year, the focus shifted from developing and sharing knowledge to putting it into practice and testing what works. Together with its partners, PONT launched three Public Design Coalitions. In each coalition, several organisations use a design-led approach to tackle the same societal challenge. By bringing together their knowledge, perspectives and strengths, they explore how they can achieve greater impact together.
