Public services in Canada profoundly influence our everyday lives, yet too often they are designed without deeply engaging the communities they intend to serve. As trust in public institutions declines, there is a growing urgency to redesign public services with empathy, inclusivity, and ethical responsibility at the core. Drawing from years of federal public service design experience and the humanistic philosophy of Julien Hébert, this research highlights the critical need to humanize public sector work through participatory, co-design approaches. It calls for a fundamental cultural shift—from top-down, data-driven practices to relational, human-centered innovation.

At the heart of this work is the realization that co-design is not simply a tool for better services—it is a moral stance that fosters deeper trust, accessibility, and collaboration. Embedding humanistic design values into public service practices can bridge the persistent gap between bureaucratic systems and the real-world experiences of citizens. By blending Hébert’s human-centered design philosophy with contemporary co-design frameworks, we can create public services that are not only efficient but also emotionally and ethically resonant—services that genuinely reflect the diverse voices and needs of society.