“To get familiar with design-based approaches, we consider that the best way to learn is through action-training formats. As designers, skills and competencies are mostly gained through ‘learning by doing’. Therefore, a classroom is rarely the right place for that.”

In order to contribute to the transformation of practices , SDS is proposing multiple design-centered training opportunities. In terms of training, Strategic Design Scenarios is currently active through:

  • Action-training at INET (Institut National des Etudes Territoriales – National Institute of  Territorial Studies) in Strasbourg (Fr) on Participatory approaches and design of  public services
    Audience: Directors of City/Regional Administrations
    Format: 20 hours (3 full days of action-training)
  • Training courses at Sciences Po Lille (Fr) on Design and public innovation
    Audience: Political Science Master Degree students
    Format: 18 hours (6 x 3hours)
  • Training courses at La Cambre Design School (Be) on Sustainability & design
    Audience: Design Master Degree students
    Format: 30 hours
  • Conferences, lectures and keynotes – Introducing design practices in policy making, Design applied to public innovation, Design of participatory processes, Design and participatory foresight
    Audience: Experts, researchers, practitioners, civil servants, citizens
    Format: 30-120 min

SDS also conducts in-situ action-training sessions with local public authorities as well as national ones. If  you are interested by a training, feel free to contact us.


Our methods:

We offer various methods and formats of training:

  • Interactive and participatory conferences/lectures/keynotes
  • Action-training workshops/sessions
  • Fishbowl conversations
  • Live action-exhibitions
  • Roleplay
  • etc.

List of some conferences/lectures/keynotes conducted by SDS in the last 5 years:

Annual seminar of directors of the City of Agen – Design applied to public innovation and participatory processes | Keynote – Agen, France | November 2019

National Policy Evaluation Days –  Société Française d’Evaluation – Exploring the links between design-based investigation practices and police-investigation practices | Keynote & workshop – Sciences Po Bordeaux, France | June 2019

Annual seminar of directors of the City of Lyon – Design practices applied to public innovation and investigation of public policies through design and police based practices – Conference – Lyon, France | June 2019

Italian Cultural Institute in Brussels  – Design for collaborative cities | Round table with Ezio Manzini, Virginia Tassinari, Alessandro Rancati & Giovanna Massoni – Brussels, Belgium | May 2019

Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) – Rethinking governance and the future through participatory approaches – keynote | Seminar : Engaging Communities In Research – Methodologies for Understanding Today Complex Urban Environments | January 2019

IFAPME – Institut wallon de Formation en AlternanceDesign & innovation applied to the public sector – Training directors – Charleroi, Belgium | September 2018

Let’s talk about design & politics – Introduction to Designing public policy – keynote – at MAD (Fashion and Design Platform) | Brussels, Belgium, March 2018

Euro-metropolitan City of Lille, Housing Department – Public innovation by design – How to apply design thinking approaches to better collaborate with users in housing policies? – conference | Lille, France | March 2018

IWEPS – Institut Wallon de l’Evaluation, de la Prospective et de la Statistique – FUTURAMA – Participatory foresight and democracy – keynote | Namur, Belgium | February 2018

3rd Technology Assessment Conference – Cork – Stimulating conversations about the future in citizen-based participatory processes – keynote | May 2017

EU Parliament – Civic Innovation Network – ” Bridging civic innovation and politics ” – Experts panel | March 2017

Conference-summary on the National Day of the Club EcoQuartier, City of Sciences and Industry, Paris, France | 2017

Home Automation Scenario Building Workshop for AAB Technology, Product Services Systems, Milan Politecnico, Italy  | 2017

Inaugural Conference, French Agronomy Association, Mirabel, France | 2017

Moderator of URBACT roundtable, JERU 2017, National Day of the French National Agency for Urban Renovation (ANRU), Grande Halle de la Villette, Paris, France | 2017

Keynote Pradel AFA (Annual Agronomy Association Congress), Mirabel, France | 2017

Conference NATCONSUMERS, ICLEI Brussels, Belgium | 2017

Moderation URBACT conference, JERU 2017 (National Urban Renov. Symposium) Paris, France  | 2017

Conference Leuven Irish Institute, Leuven, Belgium | 2017

Conference Unusual Suspect Festival, Social Innovation Exchange, London, UK | 2017

Conference and workshop Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Brussels, Belgium | 2017

Workshop DutchGov for 120 civil servants from Dutch Ministries, Brussels, Belgium | 2017

Conference, High Democratic Quality design HackBelgium, Brussels, Belgium | 2017

Conference, research seminar, Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland | 2017

Keynote, FIP-explo research seminar, ANR (French Nat. Research Project), Paris, France | 2017

Sciences Po Lille – Public policy design and innovation – courses shared with F. Jegou | 2nd semester 2016 – until now

INET (Institut national des études territoriales) – Training module : Design of public services and participatory approaches : public innovation | 2017 – 2018 – 2019 – 2020

INET (National institute of territorial policies) – Training module : Design of public policies – Public policies: innovations and interactions – with F. Jegou | 2015 – 2016 – 2017 – 2018 – 2020 

Conference RRI-Tool final event, Brussels, Belgium | 2016

Conference 360 Possibles, St-Malo, France | 2016

Conference and workshop, ESAD Orléans (Design school), France | 2016

Pecha-Kucha, Design Innovation, Charleroi, Belgium | 2016

Conference, Public service design, URBACT REFILL network, Amersfoort, NL | 2016

Conference, Midis de l’innovation, Wallonia Public Service, Namur, Belgium | 2016

Conference REFILL Toolbox, URBACT, Paris, France | 2016

Conference, Ghent city administration, Belgium | 2016

Conference, La Cambre-Horta, (Architecture School), Brussels, Belgium | 2016

LEF Future Center, Utrech, Netherlands – Visualisation as an integral approach in foresight – Dutch Future Society – « An interesting day » – keynote with F. Jegou | november 2015

Museum of Vancouver «  Happy futures : Imagination and Sustainability » – keynote | 2015

Colloque FEAD « Le futur de l’aide alimentaire en Belgique » – keynote –  L’aide alimentaire comme levier d’innovation et d’activation sociale | 2015

Communauté Urbaine de Dunkerque – keynote – Public policy design and promising practices for innovative administrations | february 2015

Conference, UFRJ University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 2015

Keynote Dutch Future Society, Utrecht, NL | 2015

Conference Belgium Social and Economic Committee | 2015

Conference, “Territorial Identity” day, ENSA Nancy (Art & Design College), France | 2015

3 days course at INET (Civil Servants Schools) Strasbourg, France | 2015

Keynote at Immersion in Public Design, Design For Europe, Paris, France | 2015

Keynote at ThinkLife DDays, Paris, France | 2015

Workshop at URBACT Riga City Festival, Riga, Latvia | 2015

Keynote and workshop at RAID 2015, ESSTED, Tunis, Tunisia | 2015

Conference at 4th Informed Cities Forum, ICLEI, Rotterdam, NL | 2015

Conference at PERL final Conference, UNESCO, Paris, France | 2015

Series of 3 lectures at SciencePo, Lille, France | 2015

Conference at Social Enterprises Hub, Athens, Greece | 2015

Lecture at URBACT InfoDays, Paris, France | 2015