Public Value and Design Studies 2024

Is the design course oriented towards the common good?

Design ≠ public value?

As an educational foundation, we promote the development of design studies. The course plays a crucial role in how design assumes its social responsibility. This is why we are investigating for the second time what contribution design studies in Germany make to the common good. For example, we wanted to know to what extent challenges to social cohesion are addressed. Or to what extent design is generally considered helpful in dealing with tasks in the interest of society as a whole.

In 2022 we asked these questions for the first time. The results of this study are published here free of chargeFrom May 13th to August 02nd, 2024, we wanted to find out whether there have been any changes since then: Has the common good become more important for design studies?

To carry out the project, we are once again working with Professor Dr. Timo Meynhardt, who holds the chair for business psychology at the Leipzig Graduate School of Management (HHL), and his team. The measurability of an organization's focus on the common good is based on his research. The concept of public value is used for this purpose, which asks: "What makes an organization valuable to society?"

As a thank you for participating in the study, we provided EUR 5.000 for an excursion. This sum will be awarded to the course with the highest participation in the study. We are currently evaluating the anonymized questionnaires in order to publish the results free of charge here on the website in autumn 2024 and to determine the winning course. We will inform the course or university in winter semester 24/25.

If you would like to learn more about Public Value, you can find further information here.

What is meant by public value?

Public value is a concept that looks at the interests of society as a whole. It is seen as an alternative to concepts that focus on the interests of individual or few people (e.g. shareholder value).

In recent decades there have also been strong tendencies in international design to primarily serve particular interests. Design therefore plays a part in the current situation, which is characterized by a variety of social challenges: climate change, overexploitation of nature, destruction of biodiversity, questioning of free, constitutional democracy and rejection of rational science, rule-based processes and evidence-based decisions.

We are convinced that design can make a contribution to overcoming these challenges that affect everyone. The public value concept seems particularly helpful for this: it translates the abstract orientation towards the common good into concrete action.

Timo Meynhardt developed the public value scorecard for this purpose. It is based on the knowledge about basic human needs that lead to a satisfied and happy life.

The public value results from the assessment of the public (“public”) – and not from the assessment of experts – on five areas of an organization. Because a course of study also represents an organization, this concept can be applied to design studies. These are the following areas:

  • Task performance and function – Are relevant problems solved?
  • Morals and Ethics – Are moral and ethical values ​​promoted?
  • Cohesion and society – Are coexistence and relationships within and between groups strengthened?
  • Quality of life: joy and aesthetics – Are positive experiences made possible in a special way?
  • Responsibility and resources – Is the action being taken in an economically sensible manner from a social perspective?

As an educational foundation, we are committed to the goal of aligning the development of design studies more closely with this foundation and thereby promoting an orientation towards the common good.