Course Topics
In the course students will learn about and engage in hands-on experimentation with the emerging filed of policy design and the more established field of service design. Particular attention will be given to how policy and service design can interact and together contribute to socio-ecological transformations by creating synergies between institutional visions and ambitions and people's everyday life –including transformative grassroots initiatives. On one hand we will explore "policy making as designing" focusing on what kind of design tools and approaches can support opening policy making to creative inquiry, co-creation and effective communication. On the other hand, we will experiment with how service design can contribute to social innovation and innovation in the public sector. To do so, the course will focus on the topic of the 15-minute city which has recently emerged as a possible pathway towards socio-ecological transformation (e.g. reduction of CO2 emissions, inclusiveness, solidarity). The concept brings attention to spatial-temporal proximity of people to essential urban services as well as to relational proximity i.e. more caring relationships between people and between people and the environment. In the course, we will critically analyse policy visions and documents which focus on or relate to the 15-min. city, learn from case studies and empirically –individually and collectively– explore the status of the 15-min. city in the Bolzano area and beyond. Hence, we will experiment with service design approaches and methods (e.g. system and actors mapping, journey maps and user stories, scenario building, co-design and role playing) to design proposals for collaborative and proximity services which can support caring urban communities. To have real-life insights and experiences in policymaking and in the use of service design for public sector and social innovation, we will collaborate with the Municipality of Bolzano. Working in this way, the course will provide students with the conceptual and methodological knowledge and the practical skills to use design as an instrument for addressing strategic challenges of eco-social transformation.

Teaching format
Lectures, fieldwork, workshops, in-class exercises, inputs from invited guests.

Educational objectives
Knowledge and understanding Students of the Master in Eco-social Design will have developed their own individual project practice and will be able to: - develop creative solutions and processes - making complex problems tangible through design, visualization and storytelling - developing prototypes or delegating their development Applying knowledge and understanding Students will be able to make tangible ideas, reports and projects, such as sketches, visualisations, mock-ups, models, prototypes, interventions and prototype events. Making judgements Students will be able to: - take responsibility for the development and management of projects and activities - compare and evaluate concepts, practices and projects in their various contexts - judging independently and critically requirements, needs and potential of an environment, and of a group or community, as well as the contribution of a project to local and regional economic cycles and to increasing solidarity relations Communication skills Students will be able to: - communicate convincingly in different ways and with different audiences - present projects convincingly Learning skills Students will be able to working independently to learn according to different situations and in a personal way through the development of prototypes, models, mock-ups and the feedback they provide.

Assessment
The assessment will be based on: Final design proposal in the form of a service storyboard. Documentation of the design process with attention for problematisation and contextualisation of the proposed service at different levels (i.e. institutional and grassroots level). Oral presentation of the project during the exam. Assessment for NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS will be based on the service storyboard, documentation and oral presentation of the project during the exam. Non-attending students need to be able to thoroughly present the research and design process that lead to the service proposal, including the contextualisation of the service at different scale levels (policy/institutional – everyday/grassroots). Also non attending students need to produce and file the documents mentioned above.

Evaluation criteria
The final evaluation will be based on: - Analysis of the topic, policy and local context, - Application of acquired knowledge and methodologies to the conceptualisation of the "design space" and service concept, - Contextualisation of the design process and outcomes at different scale levels (i.e. policy/institutional – everyday/grassroots), - Quality and originality of the service concept and project artefacts (workshop materials, service storyboard and documentation), - Project communication and storytelling, - Active participation to the course and progress made during the course as demonstrated in class and by the project documentation and outcomes.