The Design Group is the first gold award winner in Service Design at iF Design Award 2016.

“Government 3.0 Citizens Policy Design Group” was recognized internationally as a model of public administration where citizens directly participate in public policy making process.

The Gov 3.0 Design Group was selected as a gold award in the discipline named “Service Design” at iF Design Award 2016, one of the world’s three largest design awards events. This gold award is one of the most prestigious awards in the field of design, often matched with the Academy Awards in the film industry. This year’s award ceremony was held at BMW Welt in Munich, Germany on February 26, 2016.

The discipline, “Service Design,” is a newly added category in this year’s iF Design Awards ceremony. The Gov 3.0 Design Group is the first and only gold award winner in this new category, recognized as a worldwide success in a policy decision making model engaging citizens in the process.

Created in 2014 jointly by the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Korea Institute of Design Promotion, the Gov 3.0 Design Group presents a new approach to policy making process where citizens have a chance to design policies that are closely related to their everyday lives. The Group is composed of about seven members who are the combination of citizens, service designers, and government officials. As one group, they visit various sites related to policies they make, and engage in diverse joint activities to find out latent needs of people.

In 2015, not only central government agencies but also local governments supported the activities of the Design Groups around the nation in earnest, making over 1,500 people to take part in the activities and leading to a total of 248 policy design projects.

As one example, a Gov 3.0 design group of the Incheon Metropolitan City came up with a policy to renovate abandoned houses in old towns of the city and use them as community centers where people in the same community can enjoy coffee together or take care of each other’s toddlers.

Minister Hong, Yun-sik of the Interior stated, “The activities of the Gov 3.0 Design Group will gain more active support from the government as a globally renowned model of people-centered public administration, and the government’s efforts to promote Korea’s government innovation will continue to strengthen at home and abroad.”