Abstract
ABSTRACT Co-design is intrinsically linked to the notion of empowerment, however little research has focussed specifically on understanding the types, obstacles and sources of empowerment in co-design. This paper combines theoretical investigations with observations derived from co-designed research by academic and non-academic partners to explore these issues, in particular, the role of shared material objects and processes in supporting empowerment during co-design. The paper uses the notions of ‘power over,’ ‘power to’, ‘power with’ and ‘power within’ to tease out different aspects of empowerment, and draws on empirical observations to determine different obstacles and sources associated with each. The study therefore makes a theoretical contribution to the understanding of co-design as an empowerment process and should be useful for design researchers undertaking co-design projects with non-experts.
Highlights
The term empowerment has been widely used in co-design contexts as diverse as community architecture (e.g. Sanoff 2010), community planning (e.g. Friedmann 1992), social innovation (e.g. Manzini 2015) and the Scandinavian tradition of participatory design (e.g. Bødker 1996)
This paper aims to respond to this gap, but from a particular perspective that brings to the fore the role of shared material objects and processes and their contribution to empowerment
We propose that empowerment for those engaged in co-design may come with the development of different capacities:
Summary
The term empowerment has been widely used in co-design contexts as diverse as community architecture (e.g. Sanoff 2010), community planning (e.g. Friedmann 1992), social innovation (e.g. Manzini 2015) and the Scandinavian tradition of participatory design (e.g. Bødker 1996). During co-design, shared material objects and processes arise at the boundaries across different ‘social worlds’ (here defined loosely as the wider contexts within which the different groups of participants operate and which are governed by a set of shared practices, ideologies, norms etc). These objects may arise organically or may be created and injected by experts. This paper draws on existing literature on empowerment with the objective to develop a general framework for exploring empowerment in co-design Starting from this theoretical investigation, the paper draws on empirical observations of co-design in practice focussed on the role of shared material objects and processes as obstacles and sources of empowerment. It contributes to the theoretical understanding and practical work of designers, design researchers and organisations engaged in co-design projects with communities
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