British Council Mexico: Designing The Creative Policy Programme

RCA & British Council Mexico: Designing The Creative Policy Programme

The Royal College of Art worked with the British Council Mexico to design a week-long programme based on the principles developed within the RCA’s Service Design Programme. The programme was intended to help managers and civil servants innovate within public administration to build the socio-cultural and economic potential of Mexico’s creative economy.

Dr Nicolás Rebolledo Bustamante, Tutor and Policy Lead in Service Design at the RCA, was Principal Consultant to the Creative Policy Programme. The RCA has been developing new methods and tools for designing public services, conducting research on the importance of service design in policy making. It takes a people-centered perspective, believing that design bridges the gap between policy-level thinking and front-end service delivery.

Theory and Practice: Tackling Real and Relevant Public Problems

Co-creating it with the local team, the programme resulted in a week’s immersive onsite experience with a two-day briefing followed by a two-day intensive programme. The programme used a combination of theory and practice, focusing on real and relevant public problems outlined by the Ministry of Culture. Participants were directors and senior managers of the public institutions related to the Federal Ministry of Culture of the Mexican Government.

The Programme: Intensive Onsite Experience

The initial two days consisted of a briefing: four challenges for the creative economy. Participants worked in teams based on their interests, disciplines and experience, allowing for a multidisciplinary approach. The teams considered the government’s priorities, combining these with their own interests. They framed the challenges as questions, including: access and accessibility, capabilities and professionalisation, cultural richness, and models for sustainability.

Participants were:

• Introduced to the concepts of creative economy and public innovation.
• They learnt and practiced how to propose, discuss and evaluate solutions.
• Using design principles, they mapped stakeholders and brainstormed ideas, identifying and defining problems.
• With each exercise, the facilitator introduced its theoretical basis and shared resources.
• The groups prototyped their solutions and gave presentations, receiving and offering feedback from the other groups.

Innovative Mindset: Tools and Skills for Future Utilisation

The programme gave participants the space to think and practice with a set of frameworks and tools that would help them use design and creativity to innovate within the constraints of their relevant sectors. With the methodologies and skills learnt and practiced during these sessions, as well as ways to adapt the frameworks for different contexts, participants would then utilise this innovative mindset to go on and apply in their own workspaces.