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All Public policy design themed posts
Monitors all round!
Interesting developments on the policy front, which we were asked to comment on in a follow-up article by the BBCs' Mark Kinver (which you can read here).
The Labour Party has announced new plans to provide 'real-time electricity monitors' to all households who request one. Electricity suppliers will be required to provide the displays free of charge to all households.
According to Labour 'the plan could cut UK carbon dioxide emissions by 400,000 tonnes a year by 2010, equivalent to taking about 100,000 cars off the road.'
We'll be keeping an eye on how this one pans out...
Read more...Producer vs. User Centred design?
Interesting article by Eric von Hippel writing in the Harvard Business Review (subscription only so no link to the actual piece I'm afraid).
He outlines some clear shortcomings in the way that large companies and governments fail to respond to user needs in the products they develop, and the way in which innovation in these companies is still 'producer-centred' rather than 'user-centred' i.e driven by what the company thinks is right as opposed to what users know is right. Taking up the 'open source' aesthetic, people are now prepared to adapt, play with and improve products when they doesn't meet their needs.
Read more...