Make Sense of Evidence

Course summary

Make Sense of Evidence is an applied professional module for public designers who need to bring together varied evidence and establish a clear basis for further design work.

Public designers synthesise evidence about people’s experiences, the systems in which those experiences occur and the intent that public organisations are seeking to deliver. The module develops the professional judgement needed to work with complicated evidence, identify significant trends and produce frames that help teams understand what should be encouraged, discouraged or explored further.

Students apply the practice to a work-based challenge and produce a design brief that records and communicates their synthesis. The module focuses on making sense of evidence; finding and producing that evidence is developed in the companion module, Understand the Problem.

Who this course is for

This module is designed for existing and aspiring public designers who need to synthesise evidence and use it to frame public problems and opportunities.

It is relevant to people designing public policies, services, interactions, communications, operational systems or spaces.

Students must complete Introduction to Public Design before taking this module.

They should also have access to a suitable work-based challenge through which they can apply the practice independently.

What you will learn

How the course works

This is an applied professional module combining classroom learning with independent workplace practice. Students learn through a structured sequence:

• teaching of the concepts, methods and frameworks that underpin the practice;
• public-sector case studies that show how the practice is used;
• short practical exercises using individual tools and methods;
• group application through a realistic scenario developed across the module;
• reflection on learning and planning for workplace application.

Following the classroom component, students complete a two-day independent work-based project in which they apply the skills to a real challenge. They then spend a further day preparing their portfolio entry, completing their project reflection and taking part in a design crit.

Assessment and accreditation

This module is formally assessed. Students submit a portfolio entry demonstrating how they have applied all the skills associated with the practice in a real work environment. The expected professional artefact is a design brief supported by evidence of the synthesis, framing and professional judgements made during the project. Students also complete a project reflection and present their work at a design crit.

A teacher from the Government School of Design assesses the portfolio evidence against the Public Design Capability Framework. Students are assessed on their deployment of the required skills, rather than the scale or overall success of the project.

Students who successfully complete the module receive professional certification jointly badged by the Government School of Design and the Chartered Society of Designers.

Each completed module contributes to the student’s professional portfolio. Students who successfully complete all seven Universal Public Design Practice modules will be assessed for chartered status through the Chartered Society of Designers.