Participation as a matter of concern in participatory design

Abstract

This article starts from the paradox that, although participation is a defining trait of participatory design (PD), there are few explicit discussions in the PD literature of what constitutes participation. Thus, from a point of departure in Actor-Network Theory (ANT), this article develops an analytical understanding of participation. It is argued that participation is a matter of concern, something inherently unsettled, to be investigated and explicated in every design project. Specifically, it is argued that (1) participation is an act overtaken by numerous others, rather than carried out by individuals and (2) that participation partially exists in all elements of a project. These traits are explicated in a design project called ‘Teledialogue’, where the participants are unfolded as networks of reports, government institutions, boyfriends, social workers and so on. The argument is synthesised as three challenges for PD: (1) participants are network configurations, (2) participation is an aspect of all project activities and (3) there is no gold standard for participation.

Keywords:

• participation
• participatory design
• actor-network theory
• actor
• matters of concern
• teledialogue

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their appreciation to the participants, the placed children and their social workers. We would also like to thank the editors and reviewers of this special issue for an instructive and interesting learning process. And, not least, we thank the Velux Foundation for funding our work with Teledialogue.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. In Denmark, pedagogues are trained professionals working with all aspects of children’s lives, both inside and outside institutions.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by The Velux Foundation [grant number VELUX33333].