Nordic Baltic Design in Government – Spring Conference 2026
Emerging Streams of Design
📅 10 April 2026
🌐 Online
⏰ 08:00–12:00 CET
The Nordic Baltic Design in Government Spring Conference brings together public servants, designers, researchers, policymakers, consultants, and innovation practitioners across the Nordic and Baltic region.
Hosted by the Nordic Baltic Design in Government community of practice, the event explores how design approaches are evolving in government and how they can help address complex societal challenges.
The 2026 theme, “Emerging Streams of Design,” highlights both impactful cases from across the region and new approaches that are shaping the next phase of public sector design.
Conference Focus
Design has a long history in the Nordic–Baltic region — from participatory design traditions in the 1960s and 1970s to the rise of public sector service design initiatives such as MindLab.
The conference builds on these roots while asking what the next generation of design in government could look like — especially in a context of increasing complexity, digital transformation, and societal transitions.
Programme Highlights
The programme includes talks, workshops, collective mapping, and cross-country sessions exploring three main areas.
Experiential Futures
Futures and foresight approaches are increasingly used in government to support long-term policymaking. A growing approach is experiential futures, where futures are explored through tangible experiences, prototypes, and immersive methods that engage citizens and stakeholders.
Case examples include:
Room 2050 – Finnish Prime Minister’s Office & Expert Panel for Sustainable Development
Center for Preventive Care – VINNOVA & Södersjukhuset (Sweden)
Systemic Design
Systems thinking and systemic design approaches are being used to address complex societal challenges and drive large-scale transformation.
A hands-on workshop led by designers from the City of Oslo will explore systemic design methods through interactive exercises inspired by their well-known “Systems Zoo” workshop format.
Holistic Service Transformation
Public sector organizations across the region are working to deliver seamless, citizen-centred services supported by digital infrastructure, AI, and cross-organizational collaboration.
This session will share lessons from large-scale service transformations, including:
From Crisis to Care: A Better City for Children – City of Reykjavik
A national service transformation case from Estonia
Community and Participation
The event is open to people working with design, innovation, and public sector transformation across the Nordic and Baltic countries.
The broader community aims to:
strengthen collaboration across countries
share practical government design work
develop new approaches for designing democratic and welfare-state futures
deepen impact in addressing complex societal challenges
Participation also offers an opportunity to join the Nordic Baltic Design in Government community of practice.
Read more here: https://medium.com/nordic-baltic-design-in-government/spring-conference-nordic-baltic-design-in-government-0854472c23c3
Sign up here: https://forms.gle/bw2UA6RL5PDfjJda9