When Service Meets Digital: Designing Better Public Services
In this interactive workshop, participants will experience how municipalities can collaboratively design better digital public services. Using a real-life example, they will first evaluate existing city services through a structured UX/UI testing session and identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement. Building on these insights, participants will work in interdisciplinary teams to develop and prototype their own digital service concepts using proven service design and co-creation methods. The workshop combines hands-on usability testing, rapid ideation, prototyping, and peer feedback, providing practical insights into human-centered digital transformation in the public sector. No prior experience in design or technology is required.
This workshop will be held in german.
Date and time: Wednesday, October 28, 2026. 13:00-16:00
Venue: Zukunftswerk at Luisenforum
Kirchgasse 6
65185 Wiesbaden, Germany
Note, workshops are not included in the conference ticket price.
Facilitator
Georg Nikolaev
Project Lead
Zukunftswerk, City of Wiesbaden
Georg Nikolaev is the project manager of Zukunftswerk Wiesbaden—the innovation lab of the state capital Wiesbaden for digital participation, smart city initiatives, and civic engagement. He has been working in public administration for six years and supports projects related to digital transformation and innovation. His goal is to make digitalization understandable, practical, and accessible to everyone, and to create new perspectives for the city of tomorrow through creative formats.
Facilitator
Svenja Bickert-Appleby
Founder
New Order Design
Svenja Bickert-Appleby is a consultant, designer and researcher from Wiesbaden, Germany, and the founder of New Order Design. She works at the intersection of design, governance and social transformation, where she helps organizations, institutions and political bodies understand how design decisions shape society and how strategic design can be embedded into long-term structures. Svenja also serves on the Advisory Board of the Design Council Germany (DDC e.V.), contributing to the advancement of design in civic and public contexts.
