EDITORS LETTER

Hand-in-hand with the maturation of service design as a practice has been the growth of in-house service design roles. While the pioneering early work of service designers often took place in an agency context, more and more, organisations are choosing to build internal capabilities rather than rely on outside expertise and support.

This shift in the centre of gravity of our practice has resulted in some of today’s best work being produced by in-house teams. At this year’s SDN Awards, both professional category prizes — ‘Commercial’ and ‘Non-Profit’ — were won by in-house teams: Absa Bank (South Africa) and the Ministry of Manpower (Singapore), respectively.

In-house service designers operate as integral parts of their respective organisations, carrying a deep understanding of their cultures, processes and long-term goals, and enabling them to craft appropriate solutions. On the other hand, the external or agency service designer brings a fresh, outsider perspective, drawing on broad industry experience and specialised expertise. While the in-house role typically excels in creating sustained impact and cross-organisational collaboration, external service designers are often better-placed to deliver rapid, high-quality outputs, but may lack the deep organisational insights necessary for successful implementation or long-term integration.

In this issue of Touchpoint, we take an in-depth look at the in-house role. And not for the first time! Just over nine years ago, Vol. 7 No. 2 of this journal looked at in-house service design, demonstrating that the trend is nothing new.

Whether you’re an agency-side service designer contemplating a move in-house, or you’re working in-house and looking for inspiration from peers across our industry, I hope you find compelling insights in the pages ahead.

– Jesse Grimes for the editorial board

To read the full issue as a digital and printed copy, please visit our page here

--