This thesis is a part of the final semester service systems design in close collaboration with the Rockwool Foundation. The foundation conducts independent research about the challenges facing the Danish welfare society. By doing so, they generate knowledge about possible new solutions. The foundation consists of two units: one focusing on research (Rockwool Foundation Research) and one focusing on interventions to explore possible new initiatives (Rockwool Foundation Interventions). Throughout this thesis, we have been looking for possible new interventions for the well-being of young people in collaboration with the Rockwool Foundation Interventions (RFI).
RFI focuses on creating new initiatives for mental health issues among young people. They do so because more and more young people get in touch and are diagnosed in psychiatry with stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD, or autism. The Danish welfare state’s current solutions are neither socially nor economically sustainable; therefore, RFI focuses on radically different solutions that focus on creating better circumstances for well-being in the first place. This project is to solve the mental health issue, but it is also a means to create steppingstones for system innovation. In this thesis, the vision for Danish society is to shift from the welfare state to a relational state was adopted. A relational state suggests moving away from a hierarchical model of policymaking to a model where social systems transform themselves in distributed networks. The relational state has a particular focus on strong relationships and building capabilities.
This master thesis focuses specifically on exploring how to achieve better circumstances for well-being in and around the Danish primary school. The research aims to answer whether co-design is the appropriate approach for the exploration phase of such systemic challenges. Moreover, this thesis aims to provide insights on how service design tools can play a role in co-creation sessions. In the spring of 2021, two service design students explored the danish primary school system through a series of co-creation sessions with multiple actors who take part in this system. The thesis concludes with six specific design briefs to be explored by RFI in the remainder of 2021. The recommended approach to explore the design briefs is to continue with future scenarios as a tool and to involve actors with various roles in and outside the school system.