73
Government Leaders Trained
44
Projects Emerged
1
National Policy Launched
THE CHALLENGE
In 2019, ATÖLYE—alongside IDEO and Palmwood as part of the kyu Collective—partnered with the UAE Government to pioneer and cultivate a new way of working rooted in human-centered design. The ambition was bold: to reimagine the role of design in government and build internal capacity to deliver innovative, people-centered services at scale. The project began with the design and delivery of a hands-on leadership development experience for a cohort of civil servants. What began as a leadership initiative for the UAE government evolved, as the city of Dubai set its sights on becoming the best city to live in by 2040. The focus shifted to embedding design thinking across ministries, aligning with the city’s ambition to lead in innovation and quality of life.
Inspired by the Dubai Government’s ambitions, ATÖLYE evolved the program to empower Dubai’s leaders to drive change from within, connect across silos, and deliver measurable public sector innovation—sparking transformation that would inspire change nationwide.
THE TRANSFORMATION APPROACH
Design Gov empowers public sector leaders to reimagine government through the lens of design—grounded in ATÖLYE’s transformation philosophy of experiential learning, systems thinking, and community-powered change.
The program blends design practice with leadership development, guiding participants through immersive learning modules, real-time challenges, and strategic capstone projects. It is not a linear course—but a living experience. Government leaders learn by doing: prototyping policies, co-creating with citizens, and reflecting on their evolving roles as changemakers.
Facilitation is adaptive and emergent, tailored to the complexity of public sector systems. Participants develop creative confidence, stakeholder empathy, and collaborative muscle—transforming not only what they do, but how they think and lead. ATÖLYE’s role spans from strategic design to hands-on delivery, embedding the capacity to continue this transformation long after the program ends.
“We are so happy to see a project like this in the government, something that will actually change human beings and change the lives of humans.”
“I was able to redesign myself as a human, as a mother, as a director, as someone who would contribute to the UAE government. I feel that I am going to build myself through design.”
"This is something new and different."
"This bootcamp widened my views, my understanding. It made me stretch more into the world and see how collaboration and empathy would work..."
"We can design the relation of the governments with each other. We can now design anything."
"We had to travel within to learn to be better creative leaders as well."
"I really learned how to ask the right questions."
"We see this as a movement that brings as many people along as possible. It's purpose is to connect the people who serve with the people they serve."
THE IMPACT
Building on insights from the initial cohort and in-depth stakeholder research in 2023, the program was strategically redesigned to drive transformation at three levels—individual, organizational, and government-wide. It cultivates design-driven leadership, enhances innovation capabilities, and equips participants to tackle strategic challenges in real time. Since its launch, Design Gov has trained 73 government leaders, supported the emergence of 44 innovation projects across ministries, and directly contributed to the development and implementation of one national policy.
These outcomes are a testament to the program’s ability to embed design as a core practice within government—enabling tangible results while fostering a growing ecosystem of leaders committed to shaping a more innovative, people-centered public sector. As the program scales and additional cohorts complete their journey, the vision is not only to expand this ecosystem but also to progressively upskill the client team—ensuring they take full ownership of the program and sustain its impact over time.
THE COMMUNITY LENS
At its core, Design Gov is a model of radical collaboration. Through its role within the kyu Collective, ATÖLYE convened a global network of designers, facilitators, and public innovators to co-create a program that goes beyond traditional consultancy.
Each cohort represents a micro-community of changemakers—diverse in background, united in purpose. By cultivating this ecosystem, Design Gov nurtures not just individual transformation, but a ripple effect across government systems. This community-powered approach ensures that every participant, facilitator, and partner becomes part of a shared mission: to build a more innovative and human-centered public sector—together.
Project Team
Project Team 2019
Team Members:
Aslı Sevinç Daver, Kerem Alper, Nazlı Cangönül, Onat Vural, Ali Özgür Arslan
Project Lead:
Mert Çetinkaya
Community:
Özgür Önurme (videography), Murathan Sırakaya (video editing), Mischief Makers (facilitation), DSIL (learning design, facilitation)
Project partners:
IDEO, Palmwood
Project Team 2023/24
Team Members:
Samar Abu Rahmeh, Gülnaz Ör, Yasemin Arın, Engin Ayaz, Atalay Akpınar, Mariana Ribeiro
Project Director:
Mert Çetinkaya
Project Lead:
Nadia Muijrers
Community:
Mischief Makers (learning design, facilitation), Casimir Morreau (learning design, facilitation), Anna Várnai (coaching, facilitation), Bassam Huneidi (coaching), Haya Farah (coaching), Farhan Rao (coaching)
Project Partners:
Dubai Design Lab
Project Phases
2019 Design & Piloting
Seeding the vision and designing the program for UAE Government leaders.
2023 Refinement & Expansion
Updating and redesigning the program for Dubai Government leaders, as well as designing the outreach, recruitment and selection processes.
2024 Full-Scale Execution
Leading the end-to-end program operations; from outreach support, participant recruitment and selection, program team curation and management, to program delivery and facilitation.
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