Browsing by Author "Cowan, Janene"

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    Dakota County Human Services Research and Transportation Planning: Strategic Action Plan
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2014-03) Mathison, Arlene; Baas, Gina; Cowan, Janene; Douma, Frank; Narvaez, Guillermo; Garry, Thomas
    Transportation is essential to a full life: providing access to jobs, school, medical care, recreation, and other basic needs. Those who can afford and are able to use personal vehicles do not experience significant barriers to getting where they need to go. For those who cannot drive a personal vehicle, the story is very different. Dakota County engaged a team from the University of Minnesota, led by the Center for Transportation Studies, to conduct collaborative stakeholder engagement, data collection and analysis, emerging practices research, and strategic planning in order to assist County government with identifying strategic opportunities to facilitate improved transit and client transportation services in Dakota County. The work was conducted from October 2013 through February 2014. This report summarizes the results of the research and engagement activities, and outlines seven recommendations for the County to improve the coordination, availability, accessibility, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and safety of human service transportation.
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    Integrating Design Thinking Practices into the Public Sector
    (Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, 2012-08-20) Cowan, Janene
    This paper argues that design thinking is well suited for addressing wicked problems in the public sector because many of the methods used in design are closely aligned with existing public sector strategies. An in-depth analysis of user centered, collaboration, and creative thinking practices found in the public sector and design thinking compares what the different strategies set out to achieve and how they impact problem solving. From this comparison, I identify areas where these strategies can converge to create new integrative ways of working that produce more innovative results. The integrative practices introduced provide a framework for applying design thinking to the public sector.