In the lead-in to Service Design Day taking place on June 1, 2020, the Service Design Network is releasing the results of the global survey, Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on the Service Design Sector conducted during the week of April 21-28, 2020.

Executive Summary:
The COVID-19 outbreak has levelled a devastating blow to businesses, governments and communities across the world. As organisations grapple with the effects of this ongoing pandemic, the Service Design Network felt it critical to reach out to the service design community to understand their experiences as we move ahead towards an uncertain future. What are leaders' primary concerns(?) What changes are being seen and felt to business(?) What strategies are in place to stabilise operations(?) These are a few of the questions our April 21-28 global survey looked to answer.

Close to 100 respondents participated in this research, sharing insights and perspectives that will help individuals and organisations to understand and learn from the actions being taken by their peers. The SDN, in turn, will use this knowledge to better inform our project work and develop the right opportunities that support the community now and long into the future.

General Respondent Statistics

• 25 countries are represented by this survey
• Close to 45% of respondents work within the “private sector/agency consultancy” category
• The largest sector of respondents hail from organisations that employ a maximum of 10 employees at their location
• Over 50% indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic has harmed their business
  Close to 45% of respondents anticipate their business to improve in the second half of the year

Key Findings:

• Loss of project work, lack of acquisition of new projects and unpaid invoices were the leading changes seen to businesses
• Contingency measures that organisations have already taken or plan to take to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis include the suspension of investments, scaling back business and reducing staff
• Long-term strategies being employed to stabilise business for the future s include reducing costs and diversifying into new areas of business
• Over 50% of respondents believe that outside of financial assistance that community exchange is the best support organisations can receive to help manage the potential challenges ahead

For the full report, please find it here.