Informational Design

This research program aims to improve information processes within and between public organizations. The objective is to facilitate the use of information regardless of its form, provenance or attributes. Organizations have always been first and foremost informational arrangements. The design of information flows is at the heart of their existence and performance. Information has its limits and possibilities but remains the basis for the efficiency and effectiveness of public organizations; thus, it serves the democratic process. In the pre-digital world, existing technologies limited both flows and uses of information. The advent of digital technology has completely transformed the relationship to information. The impacts are notable.

Informational design is defined here from a microeconomic perspective. Such a design is essential to help define the optimal structure of the organization, sustain its viability and success; it also ensures the best possible use of information, the one dictated by business needs and desired by society. The organization is there to facilitate cooperation and collaboration, and the information is at the center of this dynamic.

The work conducted in this research program involves aspects of governance, culture and regulation; therefore, it focusses on informational issues in the digital age, ranging from the creation of information to its utilization.