Service Design For Systemic Change

Course

To deal competitively with the complexity of the production, economic and social models in which we act, companies, public administrations, as well as startups and individual professionals need an expansion of their design, organizational and executive skills.

In this rapidly changing scenario, also the Service Design approach is evolving thanks to the contribution of new trends of research and experimentation, integrating additional extra-disciplinary contributions that are useful in facing increasingly articulated design challenges.

The course therefore proposes an advanced view of the Service Design approach, process, and tools, thus supporting professionals and businesses to adopt a systemic approach that goes beyond the physical and digital singular experience, but includes speculative, strategic, and impact aspects in the design.

Testimonials

Didactics

Training objectives

This course provides training that updates the professional skills and tools of Service Design to meet today’s social, economic, and environmental challenges on both the small and large scale. Indeed, the role of the service designer is no longer intended to be limited to designing effective and desirable service experiences, but rather to strengthen its transformative role able to read, interpret and respond to current and future needs through solutions that consider all elements of the system and its impact on different scales.

Over the course, industry experts and qualified lecturers will address some of today’s most hotly debated issues in service design internationally, sharing approaches, methodologies and functional tools for systemic and speculative design, data-driven service definition, and impact measurement.

The course goal is to provide advanced service design skills for anyone who is already working in the fields of design, marketing, and management, anyone who connects to design issues from a human resources perspective, anyone involved in strategic consulting, and anyone who wants to strengthen their entrepreneurial skills.

Didactic Plan

This course implements a training model that supplements methodological skills with both disciplinary and extra-disciplinary insights to update the basic knowledge of Service Design. Lessons will follow the programme below. 

Didactic Modules

MODULE 1 – Service Design Landscape
The first module introduces participants to the role of Service Design in innovation and transformation processes, reflecting on the evolution of the discipline and its integration with extra-disciplinary approaches.

MODULE 2 – Systems Thinking and Systemic Service Design
The second module explores the connection between Service Design and Systems Thinking, offering theoretical and practical tools to interpret and design complex systems. The goal is to provide a toolkit for mapping interconnections, understanding systemic dynamics, and acting on levers of organizational and social change.

MODULE 3 – Speculative design approaches
The third module provides methods and tools for imagining future scenarios and anticipating the needs and behaviours that characterize constantly evolving contexts and experiences. By working with tools of speculative design and participatory foresight, participants will develop alternative visions and perspectives of transformation, with the goal of orienting design action from a long-term perspective.

MODULE 4 – Service Evaluation Frameworks
This module introduces the core principles of evaluation and its role within service design practice, integrating key evaluation stages seamlessly into the design process.
Participants will learn how to define clear evaluation objectives and questions, conduct stakeholder mapping, and select appropriate data collection methods that mix qualitative and quantitative indicators to comprehensively assess service performance and impact.

MODULE 5 – Impact Evaluation & Theory of Change
This module introduces participants to the fundamentals of impact evaluation, deepening how to assess the social, economic, and environmental outcomes of a service design project. The module also delves into the development of a Theory of Change, as a key method for laying out the steps necessary to achieve impact objectives.

MODULE 6 – Sustainability & Service Impact
This module focuses on methods and tools for assessing the social and environmental impact of service design projects, including aspects of economic evaluation thereof. Participants will explore different methods, such as Social Return on Investments (SROI) and the importance of integrating sustainability into service design processes, through examples of application to real case studies.

It will be possible to further explore the course topics listed above during a three-day immersive design experience at a suggestive location in Milan.

DESIGN JAM – Applied service design for systemic change
This module has been designed as an immersive experience aimed at applying and experimenting what learned online to a real case.

• Day 1 (3h) Exercise launch and scenario building
• Day 2 (7h) Service system design
• Day 3 (7h) Impact framework and final presentations

Title Released

At the end of the Course, an open badge will be issued to the Course in “Service Design For Systemic Change” by POLI.design.

Admission

Requirements

This course is intended for candidates with a high school diploma or degree in Design, Architecture or Engineering, as well as in non-polytechnic disciplines such as Economics, Communication Sciences or Social Sciences for which polytechnic disciplines can offer a significant contribution to previous professional training.

The training offered by this course is aimed at graduates and professionals interested in acquiring specific skills in the field of Service Design. The maximum number of participants is 30.  

To access the selection phase, please fill out the application form at the following link

There are no pre-requisites for application

Deadline for the application: April 10, 2026. There are no pre-requisites for application.

Price

Participation in the “Service Design for Systemic Change” course costs €3.000,00 including VAT.
The course includes both the first part online and the in-person jam event.
It is possible to purchase the online course separately for a cost of €2.300,00 including VAT or choose among 3 modules (1100€ ), 4 modules (1500€), 5 modules (1900€).
It is not possible to pay for the Design Jam alone.

PROMO

n.2 partial exemptions of 50% of the participation fee for the first two candidates who submit an application to enrol in the course. Payment must be made within 10 days of receiving notice of admission to the course, under penalty of forfeiture of the exemption;

BACK TO SCHOOL: -30%
The discount for those who have already trusted POLI.design and Polimi, and wish to return to study and build their future.

FAMILY SUPPORT: -50%
A chance to gift your siblings the encouragement they need to invest in their future.

POLI.NETWORK: -50%
A promotion designed to strengthen the bond and identity among members of the Politecnico di Milano community.

FRIEND TO FRIEND: -20%
An opportunity to gift to a friend to make education the foundation of their growth.

MORE THAN ONE: -15%
A discount for those who want to perfect their skills, for those who continually invest in education, not just once but multiple times. Thus:

• For those who purchase two Courses, the discount is equal to 15% on the participation fee of the least expensive educational path
• For those who purchase three Courses, the discount is equal to 15% on the participation fee of the two least expensive educational paths

BUSINESS BOOST
The discount designed for companies that recognize training as a crucial factor for growth.

The “Business Boost” discount provides a variable reduction on the participation fee for two or more employees in catalog courses. Specifically, the discount amounts to:

• 15% on the participation fee for the second employee’s enrollment
• 20% on the participation fee for the third employee’s enrollment
• 25% on the participation fee for the fourth employee’s enrollment

Companies wishing to enrol at least 5 employees in one or more courses of the Service Design and Innovation Cluster will have access to a customized offer.

EDENRED
Starting today, our Executive Courses are available on Edenred! Enroll in training programs for managers and professionals, and make the most of the welfare vouchers provided by your company! Discover more

Faculty