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Deconstructing Community-Based Collaborative Design: Towards More Equitable Participatory Design Engagements

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Harrington, Christina, Erete, Sheena, Piper, Anne Marie·2019·Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
DOI 10.1145/3359318
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Abstract

Participatory Design (PD) is envisioned as an approach to democratizing innovation in the design process by shifting the power dynamics between researcher and participant. Recent scholarship in HCI and design has analyzed the ways collaborative design engagements, such as PD situated in the design workshop can amplify voices and empower underserved populations. Yet, we argue that PD as instantiated in the design workshop is very much an affluent and privileged activity that often neglects the challenges associated with envisioning equitable design solutions among underserved populations. Based on two series of community-based PD workshops with underserved populations in the U.S., we highlight key areas of tension and considerations for a more equitable PD approach: historical context of the research environment, community access, perceptions of materials and activities, and unintentional harm in collecting full accounts of personal narratives. By reflecting on these tensions as a call-to-action, we hope to deconstruct the privilege of the PD workshop within HCI and re-center the focus of design on individuals who are historically underserved.

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  • HCI scholarship has a distinctive role in translating abstract principles into concrete, citizen-centred practices by offering insights into participatory design methods for AI systems and policy, tools to facilitate stakeholder engagement, and socio-technical evaluation.

    “HCI scholarship has a distinctive role here: by offering established insights into participatory design methods for AI systems and policy [87, 103, 183], tools to facilitate stakeholder engagement [97], and socio-technical evaluation [12, 110, 131], it helps translate abstract principles into concrete, citizen-centred practices.”

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Cited by

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Authors
Harrington, C., Erete, S., & Piper, A. M.
Affiliations
  • Northwestern University (US)
  • DePaul University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Publisher
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Published
2019-11-07
Volume
3
Issue
CSCW
Pages
1-25
ISSN
2573-0142 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1145/3359318
OpenAlex
W2985011762
Cited by
612
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 125 · 2025: 117 · 2024: 113 · 2023: 100 · 2022: 84 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 1
FWCI
37.13
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.acm.org/publications/policies/copyright_policy#Background (vor)
Locations
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Science Foundation (IIS-1551574)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management of Technology and Innovation › Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Design Education and Practice
Keywords
participatory design, community-based design, design workshop, underserved populations, privilege, power relations, researcher-participant relationship, personal narrative, unintentional harm, community access

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