A designer at the Cour des comptes

How I got into the Cour

Completely by accident. Coming back from San Francisco, still inspired by the startup scene, I simply wondered what would happen if you mixed design methodologies with how the government works. I wrapped up that reflection by writing an article called “I asked the President for an internship in design.”

After reading that article, Adnène Trojette reached out to introduce me to the Cour des comptes and explain how design could play a role there.

I have to admit I didn’t really know this institution before that meeting. The role of the Cour des comptes is to ensure public money is spent properly and to inform citizens. Wherever public money goes, the Cour and the regional chambers audit its use in complete independence and inform citizens by publishing reports.

Talking with Adnène, I started to understand how design could fit into this work. Meeting Patricia Amarger, head of the data division, and Ted Marx, communications director, sealed the deal on my internship.

Civil servant designer

I really enjoyed this meeting of two worlds. The design world, largely unknown to administrative staff, and the government world, largely unknown to designers. These two worlds have everything to gain from meeting, but the designer has to adapt to an environment that’s a little different from what they’re used to.

“This isn’t Google”

Until then I was used to startup working conditions: organic fruit baskets, Nerf guns in open spaces, and colorful couches. But at the Cour, they warned me on arrival: “This isn’t Google.” It’s more like gilded ceilings, oak libraries, and Napoleon paintings.

I felt like I was working at Hogwarts, and strangely, the weight of this cultural heritage reinforced my conviction that design had a place in this old institution. The goal wasn’t to shake up the Cour and rethink it with agile methods, but to try to understand how it works in order to support certain projects through the digital transition.

The designer and hierarchy

For the first time I had to deal with a very pronounced hierarchy, which was a bit complicated at first. I have to admit that the signs of hierarchy are very present at the Cour, and finding yourself face to face with a jacket covered in medals can be quite intimidating.

So I learned to adapt my work and my language depending on who I was speaking to. This very present hierarchy has the power to slow down a project or make bad decisions. Design therefore has an interesting role to play since it tests and takes user feedback into account. Its choices are justified by data and validated by usage rather than relying on a single personal opinion.

But this internship clearly changed my view of hierarchy. The people who set the Cour’s broad directions know how to govern. I mean they’re obviously very competent, but above all capable of making major decisions with impressive clarity and intelligence. They then manage to implement these decisions with firmness or subtlety depending on their respective temperaments.

During this internship, I was lucky enough to spend time with people who’ve learned to lead an administration, and I have to admit that watching them work taught me a lot.

Explaining your work

I was still a student, so it was with little experience that I had to explain the role of design. It’s not an easy profession to understand, and in this particular context I had to work twice as hard to explain what it could bring.

I would say that the subject wasn’t the object but the use, that it wasn’t what it looked like but how it worked. Through examples like gov.uk or the 27e Région, I showed how design could adapt to the public sector and how it put the user at the center of its methodology. I also explained how it transforms complex information into simple information, which could apply to the Cour’s published reports.

All these explanations were very well received, and it was clear that by getting to know each other better, these two worlds had everything to gain from working together.

Design’s missions

In the spirit of open public data, you can easily think of the reports as a massive database. Design’s role is to make it understandable for citizens. They must also be able to take ownership of it, share it, improve it, and reuse it.

Design therefore operates in a citizen-centered approach, supporting new uses arising from the publication of reports, but must also question what form reports will take in the digital age and the era of network effects.

The designer can also play an internal role, drawing on the practices of magistrates and administrative staff to design tools that make their work easier. For example, if a magistrate is writing a report on youth employment access, they should be able to find out if another magistrate has expertise in that area.

Depending on the profiles, many tools are imagined and proposed. Design makes them real through an understanding of the needs and practices of administrative staff.

My internship at the Cour unfolded along these two axes. But now I’m going back to school for my final year, heading toward a new course. I’m now convinced that the world of design must meet the world of public administration. By understanding each other’s work, they can come together to improve the services provided to citizens.

I have excellent memories of this internship and I want to thank everyone I worked with.

Are you a designer interested in this topic? Why not apply to the Cour?