What do designers bring to the table? Identifying key design competencies when designing for societal challenges in the public sector

There is an increasing interest in the public sector for the repertoire of designers and the value it can bring when working on complex societal challenges. However, what constitutes this repertoire is often not articulated clearly, or it is explained in such generic terms that it is hard to draw disciplinary boundaries. Drawing from literature, we identify four competencies—integrating, reframing, formgiving and orchestrating—as distinctive for the discipline of design. Through several examples we show how these competencies feature in the design process, and how these compe- tencies drive different design practices. Although these competencies have to a certain extent always been part of the design discipline, they need to be adapted to the context of complex societal challenges. Hence, we conclude this paper by discussing how these competencies are to be developed and adapted to strengthen the value of the design repertoire when dealing with complex issues in the public sector.