SERVICE DESIGN FOR POLICY
in collaboration with Ministry of Manpower Singapore (2016)

One out of five households in Singapore today employ foreign domestic workers (FDWs). Recently, there has been an increasing number of cases of relationship breakdown between the employer families and FDWs before fulfilling the default contract period, i.e. 2 years. 

What are the possible reasons for the relationship breakdowns? 

How can design help to achieve a healthy and long-lasting relationship between the two parties?

7 student groups explored the identified problem for 11 weeks by creating new service concepts and prototypes. New service concepts delve into areas of ‘better matching’, ‘setting of mutual expectations and relevant training programmes’, ‘settling-in and training at home and effective day-to-day communication’ and future possibilities for ‘direct employment’. 

Some of these ideas are now being developed for real-world implementation in collaboration with Ministry of Manpower.