Critical Participatory Design: Reflections on Engagement and Empowerment in a case of a Community Based Organization Mamello Thinyane Karthik Bhat United Nations University institute on United Nations University institute on Computing and Society Computing and Society Macau – S.A.R Macau – S.A.R China China [email protected] [email protected] Lauri Goldkind Vikram Kamath Cannanure Fordham University Carnegie Mellon University New York Pittsburgh USA USA [email protected] [email protected] 1 ABSTRACT KEYWORDS Participatory Design (PD) methods serve a dual purpose of Participatory design, democratic engagement, empowerment, facilitating the achievement of superior design artifacts by ICT for development connecting the designers and developers with their end-users, as ACM Reference format: well as catalyzing democratic engagement and empowerment of the end-users. These complementary goals of engaging and M. Thinyane, K. Bhat, L. Goldkind, and V.K. Cannanure. 2018. empowering individuals, who not only use the designed Critical participatory design: reflections on engagement and products but are also affected by these artifacts, have proven empowerment in a case of a community-based organization. In elusive to achieve in most cases. In this paper, we discuss a PD Proceedings of ACM Participatory Design conference, Hasselt and engagement with the staff of a community-based organization Genk, Belgium, August 2018 (PDC’18), (CBO) towards developing a technology tool supporting their https://doi.org/10.1145/3210586.3210601 homeless outreach services. We undertake a critical qualitative inquiry, using a Situational Analysis analytic strategy to analyze 1 INTRODUCTION the data reflecting on the complex dynamics of democratic The engagement of users in the design of solutions and engagement and participation, as well as empowerment in PD. artifacts can be motivated from the technology and political The paper further unpacks the varied dependencies and relations perspectives. From the former, including users in the design between the elements and the discursive constructions prevalent process leads to better and more effective products due to the in the situation of a PD session. It also presents a mapping of the incorporation of user-specific requirements and insights in the various PD activities against levels of critical reflection. design process, and from the latter, involving users in the design process empowers users and allows them to gain better CCS CONCEPTS ownership of the developed artifacts [1]. Considered in the • Human-centered computing → Interaction design → context of information and communication technologies and Interaction design process and methods → Participatory development (ICTD) engagements, the role of the users in the design; conceptualization and implementation of solutions can be framed along the continuum from passive recipients of technology solutions, to co-creators via participatory methods, 1 Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal through to the empowered stage where users actively drive the or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or development of the solutions and technology artifacts [2]. distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned Despite the recognition of the importance of end-user by others than the author(s) must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. participation in solutions development, and the recognized goal To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, of empowerment of the end-users, the lack of success in requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from achieving these two goals of effective participation and [email protected]. empowerment is bemoaned by some researchers [3]. PDC '18, August 20–24, 2018, Hasselt and Genk, Belgium Participatory Design (PD), as a field, grew out of the © 2018 Copyright is held by the owner/author(s). realization of the need to include and involve the public in Publication rights licensed to ACM. ACM ISBN 978-1-4503-6371-6/18/08…$15.00 decision-making and planning. Over the years it has taken https://doi.org/10.1145/3210586.3210601 various forms and conceptualizations including PDC '18, August 20–24, 2018, Hasselt and Genk, Belgium M. Thinyane et al. public/community consultation, cooperative design, collective also measured a direct relationship between participatory design resource approach, and more recently co-design and co-creation and project success highlighting the critical role of people's [4]. As a design approach, it has been used extensively in various participation [10]. Some of the benefits achieved through PD fields including product and services design, architecture, urban [11] are: that local people tend to make better decisions in planning, program design, and software development. It has also context, increased citizen participation provides additional seen great developments in new techniques and methods for resources, citizens contribute and feel a sense of belonging user engagement: techniques that target specific types of users, around the problems they find relevant, and citizen-driven such as novice users, elderly, and special needs children; to the technology allows for local control over better maintenance after increasing use of technology tools to support the various stages deployment. of the design process. Despite the variety in tools and techniques, the purpose of PD remains primarily for [5]: probing 1.2 Critical Participatory Design the participants and encouraging engagement, priming the Critical Participatory Design can be considered as the participants for immersion in the design process, gaining an infusion of critical theory perspectives into PD - which would understanding of the users’ current experiences and context, and entail exploring issues of hegemony and emancipation in the generating ideas and concepts. Besides the concern with the design and development of artifacts [12]. However, a large body methods and tools of user engagement, the PD discourse has also of literature on critical design focuses more on the role of been dominated by the consideration of the politics, as well as (critical) artifacts, that emanate from the design process, to the nature of participation and user engagement. In this regard, challenge the assumptions, preconceptions and the ‘givens’ the interaction and power dynamics between not only the end- about the role of products in everyday life [1], [13], [14]. In this users and the designers, but also between the individuals and the research, we adopt the critical theory lens to explore and unravel technology become of great importance in understanding the the complexity of interactions between the various effectiveness of PD techniques towards facilitating the stakeholders/participants within the situation of PD sessions. achievement of the participation and the empowerment The research is therefore concerned with the power interactions /emancipation goals. between the participants with the aim of unpacking the In this paper, we reflect on participatory design sessions multiplicity of perspectives, and amplifying the ‘minority’ views undertaken with a community-based organization (CBO) and ‘marginal’ positions in the process of designing the towards the implementation of an information-management and technology artifacts [15]. operations-support system for their organization. Over a series Critical Theory (CT) has always had as one of its core of six sessions of engagement between the CBO and the motivations the reduction of domination and oppression and researchers/developers, we highlight the considerations that expansion of freedom in all its varied forms [1]. In this regard, have shaped the engagement with this CBO towards achieving CT provides and holds a strong alignment with the key increased participation/engagement, and greater empowerment perspectives in PD – having user’s democratic participation and of the end-users, who in this particular instance are the CBO empowerment as the core of PD practice. Notwithstanding this staff. The next two sections expound on Participatory Design clear moral and political claim, empowerment and democratic and Critical Participatory Design, discussing mechanisms for participation in PD processes are wrought with varied increased user engagement as well as the (theoretical) complexities. In their review of literature on PD, Ertner et al. formulations of user empowerment through critical reflection. identified different ways in which empowerment has been This section is followed by a reflection on the specific case study enunciated and articulated in practice, corresponding to the of the CBO in this research, which is expounded on through the following categories [16]: specific user groups, direct democracy, use of Situational Analysis instruments. The paper concludes user’s positions, researcher’s practice, and reflexive practice. The with a discussion of critical reflexivity within the processes of specific users groups and direct democracy categories are largely PD as well as the consideration of the barriers and facilitating concerned with empowerment as an outcome of the PD strategies for increased democratic participation and processes and practice. In our research, the interest is empowerment. particularly on empowerment of the participants during the PD processes,