Design Thinking and Maritime Spatial Planning: similarities, differences and opportunities for design

This paper discusses the idea of reframing the process of Maritime Spatial Planning as a special case of a Design Thinking process, as an opportunity to design digital technologies in support of efficiency and stakeholder engagement. In a preliminary design workshop, a group of Maritime Spatial Planning experts discussed the similarities and differences by referring to the phases of the Double Diamond approach to Design Thinking. The reframing of Maritime Spatial Planning as Design Thinking was helpful for focusing on the phases rather than on the activities themselves. Its main outcomes consisted of a revised journey of a specific implementation of a participative Maritime Spatial Planning, and in a list of design opportunities that will be further refined.