配置 and 設置: placement, installation, and establishment
Compare assigning staff to departments, installing a sign, and establishing a committee while keeping the overlap between 配置 and 設置.
配置 focuses on the assigned place
In this comparison, 配置 (はいち) focuses on where people or objects are placed. Identify the person or object and the place assigned to them.
“責任者は経験を考慮して職員を各部署に配置した。” says that the manager assigned employees to departments based on their experience. The sentence describes their departmental assignments.
設置 can install a facility or establish a body
設置 (せっち) can refer to installing a facility or establishing a body. “入口の横に新しい案内板を設置しました。” describes installing a new sign beside the entrance.
In “大学は地域研究のための委員会を設置しました。”, the university established a committee for regional research. The object of 設置 is a committee, so the word is not limited to physical objects such as signs.
One task can involve both perspectives
Putting up a sign involves both what is installed and where it is placed. 配置 and 設置 can therefore describe different aspects of the same sign-related task.
The distinction here is the assigned place versus the thing made available or established. Do not turn the words into mutually exclusive categories or replace this contrast with character order or removal of a facility.
In “大学は地域研究のための委員会を設置しました。”, what is established, and must it be a physical facility?
Show the answer and why
A committee for regional research is established. 設置 refers to establishing a body in this sentence, so its object cannot be limited to a physical facility.