Workshops
Design better public services and processes through practical, people-centered methods.
Our team has spent decades helping teams and individuals solve complex public sector problems. We know how to create impact aligned with your mission even when goals are unclear, rules are rigid, and change is hard!
What to Expect
Our virtual workshops are designed to be practical, engaging, and grounded in real public sector work.
You will learn alongside a small cohort through a mix of guided instruction and hands-on activities. Expect to leave with practical tools to pinpoint the right problems, align your interest-holders, and make real improvements to public-facing services and internal team processes alike.
Public Sector Context
Designed for civic-minded practitioners, these workshops center on real challenges across the public sector. You will work with methods and examples that reflect the complexity of these environments.
Expert Guidance
Workshops are led by experienced practitioners and grounded in real public sector practice. Sessions are thoughtfully paced with light breaks to help you stay engaged and apply what you learn.
Active Learning
Expect a mix of individual reflection and collaborative group work. Participants are encouraged to keep cameras on during interactive portions to support connection and clear communication.
Small Cohort
Each session is capped at 25 participants and led by two instructors to ensure a focused and supportive learning experience. You will have space to ask questions, share perspectives, and learn from peers.
Current Workshops
You will leave our workshops with practical tools to pinpoint the right problems, align your interest-holders, and make real improvements to public-facing services and internal team processes alike.
To add ADVISORY HOURS to your workshop(s), scroll down to after workshops or click into “Learn More” for each workshop.
All workshops run 12–3 pm ET / UTC-5 on Zoom. Each workshop is offered twice.
Are you solving for the right problem?
Practical methods to cut through the noise, identify the root cause, and align your interest-holders around what actually needs to change. Practice applying lessons to a real challenge of your choosing.
Learn to:
Get to the root of a problem, rather than focusing on the symptoms.
Turn vague mandates into clear, actionable goals
Align interest-holders with competing priorities around a shared understanding
Reduce institutional risk by grounding work in the actual challenge
Walk away with:
A proven method for navigating complexity in public sector environments
Hands-on practice applying the framework to a real challenge from your own work
Why it matters:
Jumping to solutions before fully understanding the problem is one of the most common and costly mistakes. Problem Framing will help you build trust, responsibly manage resources, and often make things easier for the people you are meant to serve.
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Explore practical methods to cut through the noise, identify the root cause, and align your interest-holders around what actually needs to change.
Apply lessons to a real challenge of your choosing.
-
Get to the root of a problem, rather than focusing on the symptoms.
Turn vague mandates into clear, actionable goals.
Align interest-holders with competing priorities around a shared understanding.
Reduce institutional risk by grounding work in the actual challenge.
-
A proven method for navigating complexity in public sector environments.
Hands-on practice applying the framework to a real challenge from your own work.
-
Jumping to solutions before fully understanding the problem is one of the most common and costly mistakes.
Problem Framing will help you build trust, responsibly manage resources, and often make things easier for the people you are meant to serve.
Are you reacting to problems or solving them?
Framework to map how challenges connect, prioritize where to focus, and align with your team as you move forward. Practice applying lessons to a real challenge of your choosing.
Learn to:
Distinguish root causes from surface-level symptoms
Map how challenges connect to each other on a single page
Reframe narrow technical problems as broader, mission-aligned opportunities
Build shared understanding across teams with competing priorities
Walk away with:
A clear logic framework for approaching complex civic challenges
The beginning of a challenge map applied to a real problem of your choosing
Why this matters:
Organizations are often torn between the big-picture problems their mission focuses on and the practical realities on the ground. Challenge mapping helps identify tangible opportunities with direct potential for mission-critical impact, enabling better interest-holder alignment and confidence in the actions your team is taking to deliver on your mission.
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Explore a framework to map how challenges connect, prioritize where to focus, and align with your team as you move forward.
Practice applying lessons to a real challenge of your choosing.
-
Distinguish root causes from surface-level symptoms.
Map how challenges connect to each other on a single page.
Reframe narrow technical problems as broader, mission-aligned opportunities.
Build shared understanding across teams with competing priorities.
-
A clear logic framework for approaching complex civic challenges.
The beginning of a challenge map applied to a real problem of your choosing.
-
Organizations are often torn between the big-picture problems their mission focuses on and the practical realities on the ground.
Challenge mapping helps identify tangible opportunities with direct potential for mission-critical impact, enabling better interest-holder alignment and confidence in the actions your team is taking to deliver on your mission.
Do you know what it’s really like to use your services?
Introduces journey mapping, a practical tool for revealing how people experience public services so your team can identify gaps and make targeted, meaningful improvements. Practice applying lessons to a real challenge of your choosing.
Learn to:
Map experiences from the perspective of the people your program serves
See services as part of a person’s full path toward a goal, not just a transaction
Know when and why journey mapping is the right tool
Get started on your own journey map with confidence
Walk away with:
A foundational understanding of journey mapping as a strategic practice
A visual tool for communicating the human reality of service delivery to leadership and partners
Why this matters:
The challenges of delivering public services can be so complex that we forget about the experiences of both the public and those serving them. Journey mapping makes that experience visible and actionable, helping you better shape experiences that are consistent with the goals and values of your service and organization.
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Explore journey mapping, a practical tool for revealing how people experience public services so your team can identify gaps and make targeted, meaningful improvements.
Practice applying lessons to a real challenge of your choosing.
-
Map experiences from the perspective of the people your program serves.
See services as part of a person’s full path toward a goal, not just a transaction.
Know when and why journey mapping is the right tool.
Get started on your own journey map with confidence.
-
A foundational understanding of journey mapping as a strategic practice.
A visual tool for communicating the human reality of service delivery to leadership and partners.
-
The challenges of delivering public services can be so complex that we forget about the experiences of both the public and those serving them.
Journey mapping makes that experience visible and actionable, helping you better shape experiences that are consistent with the goals and values of your service and organization.
One-on-one advisory hours extend the workshop experience and deepen your learning by helping you apply methods to your specific context, challenges, and team. Each set includes 3 hours of live, interactive, tailored 1-on-1 engagement with a member of our team.
This is for the practitioner who is ready to move from concepts to more concrete action and wants a thought partner with real public sector experience.
This version of Advisory Hours is only available as an add-on to a workshop. Each participant can purchase up to 5 sets of Advisory Hours (15 hours total) for each workshop they attend.
To learn more about standalone Advisory Support options, contact us at hello@civicdesign.co.
One-on-one advisory hours extend the workshop experience and deepen your learning by helping you apply methods to your specific context, challenges, and team. Each set includes 3 hours of live, interactive, tailored 1-on-1 engagement with a member of our team.
This is for the practitioner who is ready to move from concepts to more concrete action and wants a thought partner with real public sector experience.
This version of Advisory Hours is only available as an add-on to a workshop. Each participant can purchase up to 5 sets of Advisory Hours (15 hours total) for each workshop they attend.
To learn more about standalone Advisory Support options, contact us at hello@civicdesign.co.
Frequently Asked Questions
The pricing and refund policies apply to both sets of dates currently offered and may change for future classes.
If you have questions or specific process requirements because your employer will be covering your participation (as a government employee or otherwise), email us at hello@civicdesign.co. We’ll do our best to accommodate your payment process and hold a spot in a class if we know your payment is underway.
Technology & Access
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We are committed to inclusive delivery and will work with you to ensure full participation. Please communicate any accommodation needs in the checkout form or email hello@civicdesign.co before the session.
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All sessions are hosted via Zoom. You will need a stable internet connection and a device capable of running Zoom’s desktop or web client. We will use common word processing and Zoom’s chat feature for "heads-down" activities.
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While not required for the workshops, we strongly encourage participants to have cameras on during collaborative exercises to help build rapport with instructors and peers and maintain non-verbal communication.
Preparation & Materials
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Every session is three hours long (12 - 3 pm ET), including scheduled light breaks to prevent screen fatigue.
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We keep preparation light. You will receive reflection prompts prior to the session to help you arrive ready to contribute, but there is no time-intensive "homework" required.
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Before the workshop, participants will receive a welcome email with worksheets and an overview of what to expect. Anything shared during the session will also be available to you afterward.
Privacy & Logistics
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No. To maintain a safe and private space for candid peer-to-peer discussion, we do not record our sessions.
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We don’t currently offer discounts. However, we offer a limited number of free seats to those seeking learning experiences but are unable to pay. If this applies to you, email us at hello@civicdesign.co for details on our lottery process.
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Cancel for a full refund or reschedule (subject to availability) up to 7 days before the class start. Transfer your registration to another participant up to 3 days before the class. To cancel or transfer, email hello@civicdesign.co.
What We Bring
The Civic team brings decades of hands-on experience teaching and applying human-centered design across federal, state, and local government. As co-founders of Civic and alumni of The Lab at OPM, we have collectively trained thousands of civil servants, led cohort-based learning programs, and guided public-sector teams from problem framing through implementation, drawing on deep expertise in research, co-design, and building lasting design capacity within complex government institutions.
All of our workshop content is developed under the direction of Patty Beirned and taught by a mix of Civic team members. Patty is a design and innovation leader with over 20 years of experience building learning programs and creative capacity across civic, healthcare, and educational institutions. As a faculty member at Parsons School of Design (where she helped launch the MFA in Transdisciplinary Design) and former Principal Design Strategist at The Lab at OPM, she brings a rare combination of academic rigor and applied public-sector expertise to every curriculum Civic delivers.
Interested in Custom Learning?
Email us at hello@civicdesign.co! We offer customized versions of our workshops and more! Let us know if you are interested in a session for a particular group and/or a version of the class tailored to you and your context.
Questions?
Email us! We will get back to you within one business day.