Designers move more and more in the direction of
Service Design, in which frequently a participatory or
co-design approach is used to involve service
providers in the design process. The designerprovider
relationship in such Service Design
processes differs in four aspects from traditional
client-relationships: The relationship is 1) more
dynamic and interactive, 2) based on collaboratively
evolving ideas and ambitions, 3) focusing on the
process of innovation, rather than on the outcome,
and 4) frequently based on extrinsic motivation for
innovation or on fuzzy starting points. Designers
experience difficulties in persuading service
providers of the importance of such a collaborative
approach, while providers are not familiar with this
kind of approach and their organizations are not
ready for such a kind of collaboration. This paper
positions designer-provider relationship in Service
Design processes in literature and describes a
research proposal for the development of an efficient
and effective participatory design intervention that
stimulates collaboration between designers and
service providers.