SDIN · Project

Service Design Methods That Help Companies Innovate Faster Across ICT, Public Services, and Utilities

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Imagine you run a company and want to improve your services — healthcare, telecom, public transport — but your engineers think like engineers, not like customers. SDIN brought together 14 organizations across 7 countries to train a new generation of researchers who sit at the crossroads of design thinking and business management. They built an online toolbox of service design methods and ran four annual conferences to spread these methods. The goal was to give European organizations practical ways to redesign services so they actually work better for the people using them.

By the numbers

consortium partners

countries represented

industry partners in the network

annual public conferences held

total project deliverables

key service sectors targeted (ICT, public services, utilities)

The business problem

What needed solving

Most companies know their services need improving but lack structured methods to redesign them. They hire design consultants for one-off projects or rely on gut feeling, which leads to inconsistent results. What's missing is a research-backed, repeatable approach to service innovation that works across sectors like ICT, public services, and utilities.

The solution

What was built

SDIN produced a freely available online toolbox of service design methods, held 4 annual public conferences sharing results with wider communities, and trained a cohort of interdisciplinary researchers. In total, the project delivered 9 formal outputs over its 4-year run.

Audience

Who needs this

IT services companies redesigning digital customer experiencesMunicipal governments modernizing citizen-facing servicesUtility companies improving customer service deliveryInnovation managers at large corporations running service transformation programsManagement consultancies looking for evidence-based service design methodologies

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Information & Communication Technology

any

Target: IT services or SaaS companies redesigning customer-facing products

If you are an IT services company struggling with customer churn because your digital products feel clunky — SDIN developed an online toolbox of service design methods tested across ICT, public services, and utilities sectors. Their 14-partner consortium with 5 industry members refined these methods over 4 years. The toolbox can help your product teams apply structured design-for-innovation techniques instead of guessing what users want.

Public Services & Government

enterprise

Target: Municipal agencies or public service providers modernizing citizen services

If you are a public service organization facing citizen complaints about outdated, confusing processes — SDIN specifically targeted public services as a key application sector. Their research training produced methods for redesigning complex service systems where multiple departments must coordinate. With 7 university partners contributing design and management research, the toolbox offers evidence-based approaches to service transformation.

Utilities & Energy Services

enterprise

Target: Utility companies improving customer experience and service delivery

If you are a utility company dealing with poor customer satisfaction scores and inefficient service processes — SDIN identified utilities as one of three priority sectors for applying service design methods. Their consortium included 5 industry partners who served as real-world testing grounds for the methods developed. The freely available online toolbox provides structured approaches to rethink how services are designed and delivered.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What does this actually cost to implement?

The online toolbox developed by SDIN was designed to be freely available. However, applying service design methods internally requires investment in staff training and process redesign. Based on available project data, no specific implementation cost figures were published.

Can this scale across a large organization with multiple service lines?

SDIN was specifically designed to address complex service systems spanning multiple sectors — ICT, public services, and utilities. The 14-partner consortium across 7 countries tested methods in diverse organizational contexts. The methods are sector-agnostic, suggesting they can be adapted across different service lines.

What about intellectual property and licensing?

The online toolbox was explicitly designed as a freely available dissemination tool. As an EU-funded Marie Curie training network, the research outputs are generally open-access. Specific IP arrangements would need to be confirmed with the coordinator at Universidade do Porto.

Is there evidence this actually improves services?

SDIN ran 4 annual conferences and produced 9 deliverables over its 4-year duration. The consortium included 5 industry beneficiaries described as innovation leaders in their sectors, who served as application grounds. However, published quantitative impact metrics on service improvement are not available in the project data.

How does this differ from hiring a regular design consultancy?

SDIN combined academic service research with practical industry application across a 14-partner network spanning 7 countries. Unlike a consultancy engagement, this produced a structured, research-backed methodology toolbox rather than one-off design recommendations. The interdisciplinary approach merging design research with management science is the key differentiator.

Who are the industry partners behind this?

The consortium includes 5 industry partners and 2 other organizations alongside 7 universities. These non-academic beneficiaries are described as innovation leaders in ICT, public services, and utilities. The project was coordinated by Universidade do Porto in Portugal, with partners spanning Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and the UK.

Consortium

Who built it

The SDIN consortium brings together 14 partners from 7 countries with a 36% industry ratio — solid for a training network but lighter on commercial partners than a typical innovation project. The 5 industry members and 2 other organizations worked alongside 7 universities, with no SMEs involved. This means the methods were tested in larger organizational contexts rather than lean startup environments. The coordinator, Universidade do Porto, anchored a geographically diverse network spanning Portugal, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK. For a business considering these methods, the absence of SME partners is worth noting — the service design approaches may need adaptation for smaller companies with fewer resources.

UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTOCoordinator · PT
LINKOPINGS UNIVERSITETparticipant · SE
REGION VARMLANDparticipant · SE
IBM DEUTSCHLAND GMBHpartner · DE
UNIVERSITEIT MAASTRICHTparticipant · NL
ALTICE LABS SApartner · PT
EDP COMERCIAL COMERCIALIZACAO DE ENERGIA SAparticipant · PT
UNIVERSITY OF LANCASTERparticipant · UK
POLITECNICO DI MILANOparticipant · IT
TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE KOLNparticipant · DE
KARLSTADS UNIVERSITETparticipant · SE

How to reach the team

Universidade do Porto (Portugal) — contact via university's research office or project website

Order a report on this consortium See UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to apply research-backed service design methods to your business? SciTransfer can connect you with the SDIN research team and help identify which tools fit your specific service challenges.

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