People over process: designing relational services with Virginie Clarke

Can we design services that are genuinely relation, or are we just making bureaucracy slightly more efficient?
In this episode, Joe sits down with Virginie Clarke, a service design lead working at the heart of local government to make services more human by putting people and relationships first.
What you’ll learn:
• How Virginie’s background in performance and theatre helped shape her approach to service design.
• Why holding space, reading the room, and modelling vulnerability are critical facilitation skills.
• What it takes to build trust with people facing complex challenges—and with the staff supporting them.
• How the Havelock project is building something better from the ground up by listening, adapting and acting.
• What it really means to design relational services in practice.

Virginie’s story - pivoting into local government during the pandemic, building a new team, and learning by doing, shows that creating better public services isn’t about perfect plans, but about people, relationships, and staying open to what works.
Join the mission:
• Follow Joe on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/joseph-badman
• Read the latest chapters from our upcoming book: relationalservicedesign.com
• Master the methodology: basistraining.co.uk
• Partner with us: basis.co.uk