Design thinking in public management

Design thinking is a relatively new method which changes the way organisations are managed and problems are solved all over the world. Increasingly often it is used also in public management, but its potential has not been well recognised. The outlined proposition of the framework is the first step in that direction. In particular, the strong focus of actions on the human being, cooperation, interdisciplinarity, and creativity create the foundation for generating innovation and long-term change of the organisational culture. All these aspects create grounds for increasing the responsiveness of instruments of public management to its challenges and key problems. A significant constraint of the present analysis is the focus only on selected problems of public management, and certain advantages of design thinking. Expanding the theoretical framework should be one of the next stages of the conceptualisation of the role of design thinking in the public sector. Furthermore, what seems to be particularly necessary are systematic reviews of the literature in all of the described areas, as well as exploratory research, especially concerning the role of design thinking in the evolution of performance management, in shaping dominant models of public management and in preventing and combating social exclusion.