Strategic Design Scenarios is a design lab, created in 2003 in Belgium by the designer François Jégou. Strategic Design Scenarios is part of the pioneer movement of “public policy innovation by design”, along friends in Europe such as La 27e Région in France, The Mindlab in Danemark or Nesta in the UK. SDS is therefore very active in publishing, teaching, training and lecturing about the practice of design for policies.
We are non-partisan design activists working for the common good. SDS applies its expertise exclusively on societal issues and in particular: sustainability (food, energy, water, housing, etc.), democracy (citizen participation, local governance, etc.) and social justice (juvenile justice, social care, child protection, gender equality, economic justice, etc.). We work almost exclusively for the public sector (or with private actors working themselves with the public sector).
We work at micro and macro levels, in the present but also in the far future. SDS is active on multiple projects all over Europe and on multiple levels of governance and policies. We work both on EU research projects (such as H2020, Horizon Europe, etc.) and operational EU programmes (such as URBACT or Urban Innovative Actions) but also at national, regional and local levels (ministries, regions and cities).
We do consultancy (problem-setting & problem-solving), action-training (in order to empower civil servants & elected officials on how they can use design as a public innovation approach) and research and creative foresight.
[In that section of the website you will find downloadable content about the key personnel of SDS. Mini-bios, Curriculum vitaes (Europass résumés, pictures…]
SDS IS WHAT EU CALLS AN ‘AGILE STRUCTURE’
The first step that we do in front of a new challenge is to constitute an ad-hoc partnership in the circle of close collaborators and round of structures with complementary competences to better serve the different and specific purpose of projects. This means that we rarely work alone. We work together with sociologists, urbanists, experts of policy evaluation, behavioral scientists, foresighters, and of course other designers.

François Jégou / Director / Senior designer and researcher / @sds_lab
EN
Designer by training and founder of the Brussels-based design lab Strategic Design Scenarios, François has 30 years’ experience in research, consulting and training on strategic design, participative scenario building and development of new product-services-policy system.
He is professor of strategic design at La Cambre, Brussels, trainer for civil servants at the National Institute for Territorial Studies (INET) in Strasbourg and Centre National de la Fonction Publique Territoriale (CNFPT), and co-founder of DESIS network of design for social innovation and sustainability. François also regularly teaches in various schools such as Politecnico of Milan (IT) but also l’Ecole de Design Nantes Atlantique (FR) and Sciences PO (FR).
As Validated Expert for the European progammes URBACT and EUI, François is supporting transfer of practices between European cities in sustainable food transition, urban regeneration or social cohesion. François has a large experience as researcher on transition processes, citizen participation and foresight as partner of various H2020 and Horizon Europe exploring sustainable lifestyles, energy transition, future of innovation or adoption of Responsible Research and Innovation.
FR
Designer Industriel de formation, François Jégou est fondateur de l’agence de recherche sur les modes de vie durables Strategic Design Scenarios basée à Bruxelles. François a 25 ans d’expériences de recherche, d’intervention en tant que consultant pour des entreprises et des pouvoirs publics et de formation sur les questions de modes de vie durables, innovation sociale, développement de systèmes complexes products-services-policies, la construction participative de scenarios prospectifs. Il intervient sur les processus de transitions écologique locaux au travers différents projets de développement, de prospective et d’évaluation des Agenda 21 en France et en Belgique ainsi que comme partenaire de multiples projets de recherche européens sur l’innovation sociale, la transition vers le développement durable des territoires, le futur de l’innovation ou la construction de processus délibératifs sur les nanotechnologies.
Francois Jégou coordonne des réseaux de villes européennes URBACT (Sustainable Food in Urban Communities ; REFILL Usage temporaire des espaces vacants ; BIOCANTEENS ) et intervient comme partenaire de divers projets de recherche européens H2020 sur l’innovation sociale, la transition vers le développement durable des territoires, la recherche et l’innovation responsable, la transformation des pratiques d’usage de l’énergie, le futur de l’innovation ou la construction de processus délibératifs sur la science et la technologie en Europe.
François est professeur de design à La Cambre, Bruxelles, Design manager du Laboratoire des Usages et Pratiques Innovantes de la Cité du Design de Saint-Etienne et co-fondateur du réseau international DESIS d’écoles de Design pour l’Innovation Sociale et le Développement Durable. Sa dernière publication : Social Innovation in Cities fait le point sur comment les plus de 500 villes qui ont pris part aux réseaux thématiques URBACT font évoluer leurs processus de gouvernance pour mieux collaborer avec les citoyens et les parties prenantes locales.

Christophe Gouache / Senior designer & researcher / @sds_lab
EN
Designer and researcher at Strategic Design Scenarios since 2012, Christophe studied industrial design and responsible innovation, earning his Master’s degree from L’École de Design Nantes Atlantique in Nantes, France. His work focuses on public policy design, sustainable and social innovation, participatory democracy, creative participatory foresight, and public service design. He has contributed to various public policy design and public innovation projects with local authorities and ministries, as well as action-research projects at the European (H2020), regional, and local levels.
Christophe is a trainer at the Institut National des Études Territoriales (INET) in Strasbourg, France, and at the Centre National de la Fonction Publique Territoriale (CNFPT) in La Réunion. He taught “Design and Public Innovation” at Sciences Po Lille for many years and now lectures at L’École de Design Nantes Atlantique and Sciences Po Paris. He also serves as a Lead Expert for URBACT networks of European cities, including Active Citizens (on participatory democracy and citizen engagement) and currently Breaking Isolation (combating social isolation). Occasionally, he delivers training for the European Institute of Public Administration and recently worked as a member of an expert group for the Joint Research Center of the European Commission on the future of democracy.
He is the author of several articles and co-author of multiple publications on topics such as public policy design, democracy, and foresight.
FR
Designer et chercheur chez Strategic Design Scenarios depuis 2012, Christophe a étudié le design industriel et l’innovation responsable et a obtenu son Master à l’École de Design Nantes Atlantique, Nantes, France. Il se concentre sur la conception de politiques publiques, l’innovation durable et sociale, la démocratie participative, la prospective participative créative et la conception de services publics. Il travaille sur divers projets de conception de politiques publiques et d’innovation publique avec des collectivités territoriales et des ministères, ainsi que sur des projets de recherche-action au niveau européen (H2020), régional ou local.
Christophe est formateur à l’Institut National des Études Territoriales (INET) (Strasbourg, France) et au Centre National de la Fonction Publique Territoriale (CNFPT) à La Réunion. Il a enseigné le « Design et l’innovation publique » à Sciences Po Lille pendant de nombreuses années et intervient désormais à l’École de Design Nantes Atlantique et à Sciences Po Paris. Il est également Lead Expert de réseaux URBACT de villes européennes (Active Citizens sur la démocratie participative et la participation citoyenne) et actuellement Breaking Isolation (lutte contre l’isolement social). Il dispense également, occasionnellement, des formations pour le compte du European Institute of Public Administration et a travaillé récemment en tant que membre d’un groupe d’experts pour le Joint Research Center de la Commission européenne sur l’avenir de la démocratie.
Il est l’auteur de plusieurs articles, et co-auteurs de plusieurs publications, sur le design de politiques publiques, la démocratie ou encore la prospective.
Downloads
CV_Europass-Gouache_EN [english]
CV_Europass-Gouache_FR [français]
Downloads
EUROPASS Curriculum Vitae [français]
Curriculum Vitae [english]
STUDENTS & YOUNG DESIGNERS
“Strategic Design Scenarios behaves also as a teaching opportunity between research and professional worlds receiving permanently young creative students coming from design schools and universities worldwide…”
François jégou
looking for an internship?
For internship questions, requests & applications please email christophe[at]strategicdesignscenarios.net More info about internships here. We have no vacancy at the moment. Next internship period will run from March 2027 to August 2027.
See below for the students, who came to SDS from all over the world (Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia) for more than 20 years!
At the moment, we have the pleasure to host LEOPOLD SLENCZKA FROM GERMANY and ZOE TALLOURD FROM FRANCE!
Agnes Chiara
Alberto Solazzi
Aldo Olivero
Alice Conquand
Animesh Asthana
Anne Schön
Antonio Palumbo
Arlon Stok
Blanche Dujardin
Cathelle Denoue
Charles Assier
Charlotte Schoeffler
Chloé Bousquet
Chloé Vermeulin
Christophe Gouache
Christopher Santerre
Cléo Fauvarque
Dasha Spasojevic
Deniz Orçun D’Angelo Delfin Ahmedi Elena Fichera
Elin Tobias
Emilie Bourgeot
Emma Livet
Eve Lerouge
Fiona Mazubert
Fiora Noël
Gaetan Mazaloubeaud
Giulia Durante
Giuseppe De Francesco
Jeanne Riot
Juli Mata
Karine Aboudarham
Khushboo Balwani
Lotte Boury
Louise Roussière
Margherita Brun
Margot Landry
Marie Ange Dubreuil
Martin Lefebvre
Mathieu Grosche
Mathilde Cahill
Maureen Lois
Michael Schnell
Milan Kieffer
Milo Sognos
Nannan Li
Nicoletta Crisponi
Nicoletta Spagnolo
Nolwenn Huver
Paola Paleari
Paul Juin
Pauline Moussier
Perrine Boissier
Petra Salaric
Raphaelle Agostini
Roberta Motter
Ruby Yu-Rung Jeng
Sabina Verma
Sabrine Bibollet
Sara Girardi
Selam Mebrahtu
Seojeong Moon
Serena Nardin
Thibaut Métivier
