- Nonso Jideofor
- Queenie Tam
- Ghazi Mabrouk
Intermediate
Event organizer(s)
Supported by
Description
In an era where citizens increasingly rely on digital services, governments face the challenge of ensuring these services are accessible, effective, and responsive to real needs. A design thinking approach provides a structured, human-centered methodology that enables public sector professionals to reframe challenges, understand user experiences, and co-create digital services that deliver meaningful impact, particularly for underserved groups.
This course covers key topics including identifying user pain-points, problem framing, ideation, prototyping, testing, and advocating for service adoption, with a strong focus on inclusivity, equity, and continuous improvement. Participants apply these concepts in teams, following a structured, step-by-step project to develop and refine a people-centered digital service prototype.
By the end of the course, participants will be equipped to design, test, and advocate for people-centered digital services that are inclusive and deliver measurable impact.
With the generous support of the Global Gateway initiative of the European Union, this course is offered for free for selected participants.
The course is designed primarily for public sector professionals involved in shaping, delivering, or improving citizen-facing services. It is particularly relevant for service delivery managers, ICT officers, digital transformation leaders, policy analysts, programme or project officers, and innovation managers who can influence the design, implementation, or advocacy of digital services within their organizations.
The maximum number of participants is limited to 35 persons.
Participants should have an understanding of the fundamentals of digital technologies and their role in improving public service delivery and driving development. The ideal participant has prior experience in leveraging digital technologies in citizen services and is seeking methodologies and toolkits to deliver more citizen-centric and inclusive public services for often underserved populations. The course is open to government officials and policymakers from all countries, but priority will be given to those who are from a developing country.
Important additional requirements:
- Applicants must hold an undergraduate degree in a relevant field or have a minimum of three years of experience in above-mentioned areas if they do not hold a university degree.
- Applicants should have experience deploying at least one digital technology in public service projects.
- Possess a fluent level of English.
- Complete the application questionnaire, provide a motivation letter and attach an up-to-date CV.
- Government officials and policymakers from developing countries, particularly women, are encouraged to apply.
- Selection will be conducted by the course organizers, who will consider the above entry requirements along with an analysis of the application questionnaire and the motivation of each applicant.
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Apply design thinking to digital public services – Use the Double Diamond framework to reframe digital service challenges around citizen outcomes.
- Conduct citizen-centered digital user research – Apply observation, interviews, and journey mapping to identify user needs, accessibility barriers, and equity gaps in digital service experiences.
- Translate insights into inclusive digital solutions – Frame problems effectively and co-create innovative concepts for digital services that prioritise inclusivity, transparency, and ease of use.
- Prototype and test digital service designs – Build and refine low-fidelity prototypes through hands-on sprints and user testing.
- Advocate and plan for digital service impact – Present evidence-based digital service recommendations to secure leadership buy-in and enable scalable, citizen-centric change.
This course will be delivered online via Zoom, led by an instructor using PowerPoint slides, short videos, and other creative media. There will be a total of 5 sessions, each lasting 2 hours, with 1 session held each week over 5 weeks. To maximize interaction and engagement, there will be polls and surveys, breakout sessions for brainstorming and discussions, as well as short presentations throughout the course that encourage participants to draw on their specific environments. Throughout the course, participants will work in groups to develop a simple prototype of a digital public service, completing one phase of the project during and after each session. At the final session, participants will present their projects and receive feedback from instructors and peers. Participants will be invited to share their key takeaways from the course with the class.
Timeline of the live sessions:
- Session 1: 18 November 2025 | 13:00-15:00 UTC
- Session 2: 25 November 2025 |13:00-15:00 UTC
- Session 3: 2 November 2025 |13:00-15:00 UTC
- Session 4: 9 December 2025 | 13:00-15:00 UTC
- Session 5: 16 December 2025 | 13:00-15:00 UTC
The pre-class knowledge check will account for 10% of the total score, attendance 15%, active, in-class contributions 25% and the final project 50%. A total score of 70% or more is required to obtain the ITU certificate.
- Pre-training knowledge check: 10%
- Attendance: 15 %
- Active/In-class contributions: 25%
- Group project: 50 %
Week 1 | Session 1: Reframing Public Services through Design Thinking
Topics Covered:
- Welcome and introduction
- Design thinking in digital public services
- Double Diamond Framework
- Case studies of citizen-centric interventions
- Reframing digital public services challenges
- UNDP Digital Standards
Learning Points:
- Get to know instructors and fellow participants
- Clarify the objectives of the course and what to expect in subsequent sessions
- Outline the principles and stages of design thinking for digital public services
- Identify and reframe digital public service challenges from a citizen perspective
- Recognize the role of digital services in improving citizen experiences
Week 2 | Session 2: Human-Centered Research for Citizen-Facing Services
Topics Covered:
- Principles of human-centered research: inclusion, equity, accessibility
- Tools: observation checklists, interview guides, journey mapping
- Conducting interviews and observations
Learning Points:
- Conduct human-centered research to uncover citizen needs and pain-points
- Apply observation, interview, and journey mapping techniques effectively
- Identify accessibility and equity gaps in digital service experiences
- Synthesize user insights to inform problem framing
Week 3 | Session 3: Problem Framing & Ideation
Topics Covered:
- Framing problems into “How might we…?” questions
- Idea generation techniques: brainwriting, co-creation, sketching
- Prioritization: impact vs. feasibility
Learning Points:
- Translate user insights into clear problem statements
- Generate multiple inclusive and feasible solution concepts
- Prioritize ideas based on potential impact and feasibility
- Collaborate effectively in a team to explore innovative approaches
Week 4 | Session 4: Prototyping, Testing & Advocacy Preparation
Topics Covered:
- Building simple prototypes: sketches, mock-ups, wireframes, storyboards
- User testing and iteration
- Tips and tools for advocating prototypes within organizations (storytelling, visualizations, stakeholder mapping, aligning with policy/budget priorities)
Learning Points:
- Develop and refine low-fidelity prototypes of digital services
- Conduct user testing and incorporate feedback into iterative design
- Apply strategies for advocating prototypes within an organizational context
- Translate insights and prototypes into actionable recommendations
Week 5 | Session 5: Presentations and Next Steps
Topics Covered:
- Final project presentations and key takeaways
Learning Points:
- Present a compelling, evidence-based case for a digital service solution
- Demonstrate the full design thinking process from research to prototype
- Communicate actionable recommendations for adoption and scaling
- Reflect on lessons learned and potential impact of the service
Tutors
Registration information
Unless specified otherwise, all ITU Academy training courses are open to all interested professionals, irrespective of their race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, economic status and other diverse backgrounds. We strongly encourage registrations from female participants, and participants from developing countries. This includes least developed countries, small island developing states and landlocked developing countries.
