Service Design For Systemic Change

Course

In a rapidly evolving world, organizations need to strengthen their ability to plan, design, and evaluate in order to stay competitive and create meaningful impact. Service Design, seen as the design and management of complex systems involving multiple actors, plays a key role in this process. The Executive Course in Service Design for Systemic Change combines systemic thinking, cross-disciplinary approaches, and impact assessment to help professionals lead transformation and anticipate future needs. Below are the learning goals:

• Explore the contemporary Service Design landscape, integrating insights from Systems Thinking, Speculative Design, and Impact Evaluation. 
• Learn tools and frameworks to move beyond traditional design practices and create meaningful, high-impact solutions in complex contexts.
• Engage critically with global debates and perspectives in Service Design. 
• Apply practical methodologies to design systemic and speculative solutions that respond to emerging challenges. 
• Build Theories of Change, design evaluation frameworks, and use qualitative and quantitative indicators to measure impact effectively. 

 The Executive Course combines online lessons, practical exercises, and real case studies, providing advanced skills to drive change across different organizational contexts. It is modular, allowing participants to choose between three options: 1) attend the full program (including an optional in-person Design Jam); 2) join the online component only; 3) or select individual modules based on their learning goals. Main topics include:

• The role of Service Design in innovation and transformation
• Systemic approaches and Systems Thinking 
• Speculative design for future scenarios 
• Evaluation and impact assessment methods to measure economic, social, and environmental value. 

Testimonials

Didactics

Didactic Modules

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.
The online classes will be held on Wednesdays from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., over a period of six weeks. The in-person Design Jam will take place from Thursday, June 18th to Saturday, June 20th, for a total of 17 hours.

Module 1 | Hours: 3
Service Design Landscape
An overview of 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 | Hours: 3
Systems Thinking and Systemic Service Design
A focus on 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 | Hours: 3
Speculative Design Approaches
A deep dive into 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 | Hours: 3
Service Evaluation Frameworks
An introduction to 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 | Hours: 3
Impact Evaluation & Theory of Change
A focus on 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 | Hours: 3
Sustainability & Service Impact
A focus 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
An opportunity to further explore the program topics during a three-day design experience at a suggestive location in Milan. This non-mandatory 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

Upon completion of the training program, participants will receive the open badge for the Executive 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. 

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

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

Price

The course fee varies according to the learning experience you select.

• Full expecience, including both online classes and the in-person jam event: €3.000,00
• Online course only: €2.300,00
• 3 modules box: €1100
• 4 modules: €1500
• 5 modules: €1900

Design Jam alone isn’t available. 

PROMO

PARTIAL EXEMPTIONS
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. 

EARLY BIRD: -10%*
The promotion for those who have clear ideas, know which educational path can enrich their future, and can’t wait to get back to the classroom.

*The promotion is subject to spot availability.

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.

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

Furthermore, companies that purchase more than one Course for two or more employees in the same calendar year can access an additional 10% discount on the total. 

The fee reductions listed above are not cumulative. 

EDENRED
Starting today, our Executive Courses and Advanced Training 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