Touchpoint – The Journal of Service Design

Touchpoint provides a window into the discussion of service design, facilitating a forum to debate, share and advance the field and its practices. In addition, it aims at engaging clients to listen in on the discussion, learn about the field, and become involved in the development and implementation of service design for their organisations.

The three key audiences of the publication are:

• Service design practitioners
• Client organisations including businesses, non-profits, and public sector/government
• Academia

Touchpoint 15-3 Call for Papers: ‘service design from within’

As the practice of service design continues to gain recognition and traction, a notable trend has emerged: organisations are choosing to build and utilise in-house service design teams rather than relying on external agencies. This shift brings with it a host of considerations, both positive and negative, that merit in-depth exploration and critical reflection.

On one hand, organisations recognise that in-house teams possess deep organisational knowledge, allowing them to align service design initiatives closely with the company’s strategic goals and operational realities. Additionally, maintaining an in-house team can be more cost-effective in the long run, reducing the expenses associated with repeatedly contracting external agencies and providing continuous support for iterative improvements.

However, challenges are also evident. In-house teams must ensure they remain innovative and avoid becoming siloed or stagnant. They need to balance short-term project demands with long-term strategic goals. Integration with other departments is crucial, requiring strong collaboration and communication skills. Furthermore, attracting and retaining skilled service designers can be difficult, especially for smaller organisations or those without a strong design culture. 

By exploring these themes, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the implications of this shift towards in-house service design. We invite the community to reflect critically on these issues and contribute their insights and experiences. How can in-house teams stay innovative and integrate service design thinking into the organisational culture? And in what contexts are the perspectives and impact of an external party still more valuable than in-house efforts? Through this exploration, we hope to uncover whether this trend is ultimately beneficial or detrimental to the practice and our outcomes.

We encourage submissions that provide diverse perspectives, insights, and case studies related to the following themes and questions:

Challenges and strategies

• What are specific challenges that in-house service design teams typically face, and what are strategies to overcome them?
• How can in-house service design teams ensure that their solutions are sustainable and scalable across the organisation?

Impact and differentiation

• What is the main impact of in-house service design teams, and how does their work differ from agency work?
• How can in-house service design teams effectively measure and demonstrate their value to the organisation?
• How is the success of in-house service design teams shared and celebrated?

Collaboration and alliances

• Who are the main allies for service design within organisations, and what are successful strategies to team up with them?
• How can in-house service design teams build and maintain strong relationships with external partners and vendors, and what should these partnerships deliver?

Skills and competencies

• What knowledge and skills should an in-house service designer have in order to successfully bond with stakeholders elsewhere in the organisation?
• What are the key competencies and skills required for an in-house service design team to thrive in a rapidly changing market?
• What are the typical career paths and development opportunities for members of an in-house service design team?

Innovation and culture

• How do in-house service design teams stay innovative and avoid becoming siloed or stagnant?
• What are the most effective ways to integrate service design thinking into the existing organisational culture?
• How can in-house service design teams balance short-term project demands with long-term strategic goals?

Tools and research

• What role does user research play in the success of in-house service design projects, and how can teams ensure they are capturing accurate insights?
• What role does technology play in the effectiveness of in-house service design teams, and what tools are essential?

We welcome contributions from throughout the service design community, as well as those with knowledge and experience in this theme, to contribute to this issue. By doing so, you will be helping service designers make the next step towards an even more mature practice of our discipline.

Regular sections

Besides handing in articles related to this issue’s feature, you are also invited to hand in content for the other regular sections of Touchpoint, which are not related to the theme of the issue:

• Cross-Discipline: Highlighting the connection between service design and other disciplines
• Tools and Methods: Introduction and evaluation of techniques and activities for service design projects
• Education and Research: Insights from academia and research. 

Abstract submission

At the bottom of this page, you find the 'submit an abstract' button. By clicking the button, the abstract submission form will be shown. On the submission form, you will need to fill in, besides your contact information, the following information:

• Category: Please arrange your submission in one of the Touchpoint sections (Feature, Cross-Discipline, Tools and Methods, Education and Research).
• Scope of your contribution: Please indicate the proposed length of the article you would like to write if your abstract is selected. Short article:  700 – 800 words (2 pages in Touchpoint) / Medium article:  1100 – 1400 words (4 pages in Touchpoint) / Long article:  1900 – 2200 words (6 pages in Touchpoint).
• Title: the proposed title of your article with 5-8 words.
• Abstract: the abstract (max. 2000 characters) should outline the objective, the structure and the benefit (three key learnings) of your article for the readers. Please also indicate what existing data or evidence you will refer to or what research will be carried out to support your article.
• Relevance to service design: Brief description (max. 300 characters) on why your article is interesting to service designers and what new knowledge it will bring to the service design discipline.
• Biography: short biography (max. 300 characters) of the author(s) including background, key activities and projects. 

After filling in the form, click on 'Submit'. You should receive a confirmation email with the copy of your abstract in case of a successful submission (please check your spam folder as well).

In case you experience any problem submitting your abstract via the system or don't receive the confirmation email, please send us via email your abstract submission in a Word file following the required fields on the abstract submission form. We will confirm the receipt of your submission per email within a week. 

Language and Tone of Voice

The editorial language of Touchpoint is British English. If you are not a native English speaker, make sure your abstract is proofread by a native speaker before you hand in it.

Touchpoint is a non-academic, rather practice-oriented journal, therefore articles are supposed to be easy in tone, not too academic but rather practical in approach – thus, easy to understand for practitioners, academics as well as laymen interested in service design.

When writing your text please focus on the benefit of your article for the readers – do not only report about project steps but present key learnings that the reader will take away.

Before considering to submit an abstract for Touchpoint, please make sure to check that the PR/Communications/Legal departments of your company and client-side agree with your submission, if relevant. Also note that if the article is approved to be published, authors will need to sign an Agreement for Publication and Transfer of Copyrights. 

Editorial timeline