Policy Design

POLICY DESIGN

The main objective of the Policy Design discipline is to recognise the role of design in shaping better policy outcomes for people and for planet and support the required changes to culture, mindsets, skills, tools and processes that enable the development of well-designed policy. 

The Policy Design Discipline aims to:

• Raise the profile and awareness of policy and the important role that good design plays in policy development;
• Provide a platform to talk about elements of good policy design; and 
• Bring attention to examples of policy that have been designed well. 

POLICY DESIGN DEFINITION

Good Design Australia defines Policy Design as a program (either in theory or in implementation or both), which is a combination of:

• A statement of intent that has the potential to make positive impact on people’s lives at a systems level and drive a desired outcome,
• Objectives which have been identified that need to be achieved to bring about the desired outcomes,
• Coordinated actions which have been identified that need to be done to achieve the objectives,
• Resources including funding, people, legislation/rules/governance and others which have been identified as being needed to ‘do’ or implement the actions.

The Policy Design discipline includes the design of policy from large-scale cross-cutting efforts to smaller localised implementations:

1. Public Policy / Government 
2. Not-for-Profit / Non-Government / For-Purpose Organisations
3. Private / Commercial Sector 

The Jury will be looking for projects where a holistic design approach has been carefully considered and can demonstrate either existing or high confidence in potential impact that will improve the quality of life for people and contribute to better economic, social and environmental outcomes.

GOOD POLICY DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS

• Does it start with user needs and/or desired outcomes or impact?
• Does it include participation of the end user in the whole process from start through to evaluation?
• Does it involve decisions, and their consequences?
• Is it intentional and is it designed to achieve a stated or understood purpose?
• Is it well designed and does it represent a thought-through process that embodies a clear sense of how policy outcomes will be implemented? 
• Have the costs and benefits of proposed actions been fully weighed up against the alternatives, including no action/intervention
• Is it clearly communicated, structured and orderly?
• Does it embed policy design principles within the wider policy team?
• Does it advance innovative practices within the organisation?
• Does it move beyond ideas to implementation?