Summary
Most efforts at advancing research to be more inclusive focus on methods or methodologies or participation. Though helpful, those efforts have unfortunately not been sufficient for inclusion and we continue to be constrained by stronger forces which go to the root of what research means and the definition of inclusion. To be fully unconstrained and reach true inclusion we must learn to let go. Do we have the ability to do that? Let's talk about that. Join us for a half-hour of becoming undone, joyfully.
Key Insights
-
•
Diversity in research teams does not inherently guarantee inclusivity or counter systemic oppression.
-
•
Awareness of power and identity positionality often leads to feeling stuck without clear action steps.
-
•
Our ways of being deeply shape our epistemologies and methodologies in research.
-
•
Colonial Western ways of being emphasize objectification and individualism, limiting emancipatory knowledge production.
-
•
Indigenous knowledge systems, like those of the iBio people, view knowledge as relational and emergent from relationships.
-
•
Songs and oral traditions can serve as valid research methodologies tied to indigenous ways of knowing.
-
•
Systems of value influence which knowledge is considered legitimate or beneficial, often marginalizing community knowledge.
-
•
Immigrant communities bring preserved ways of being that produce measurable health and social benefits.
-
•
Positive deviance in communities reveals untapped local wisdom that can guide effective interventions.
-
•
Radical participatory research requires researchers to relinquish control and let communities define methods based on their own ways of being.
Notable Quotes
"If diversity alone made research inclusive, then police could never be anti-black because they include black officers."
"Whiteness isn’t about color; people of all colors can reinforce white supremacy."
"Awareness leads to feeling stuck because we don’t know what to do or don’t feel empowered to act."
"Our ways of being are roots that grow into ways of knowing, doing, and methods, all nourished by systems of value."
"In Western modernity, if something is not an object, it is not real research or real knowledge."
"For the iBio people, knowledge is relational, not objectified, emerging from relationships like songs."
"Songs become methodologies—the way you identify who is at the door is through the song they sing."
"Colonial ways of being, knowing, and valuing will never produce emancipatory methodologies."
"Community-rooted wisdom like the Mexican 'guana' practice reduces postpartum depression without traditional research."
"Will you learn to let go? Better yet, will you let go?"
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"New ideas and changes to business trajectories rank pretty far down at only 18% of business leaders seeing it as a value of design."
Mike OrenWhy Pharmaceutical's Research Model Should Replace Design Thinking
March 28, 2023
"The Echo Look failed because it missed key motivators like self-expression and companionship by focusing too much on AI."
Cheryl PlatzEmbrace Your Fun Factor: Game Development Best Practices for Product Design
January 9, 2026
"At Sage Sure, we build paved roads so people can choose to drive on them or carve their own path."
Rachael Greene Alison DavisBuilding a Design Ops Practice that Really Works (Most of the Time)
October 2, 2025
"Research leadership is about adding value to the entire organization, not just your small corner."
Gregg BernsteinOpportunistic Research with Gregg Bernstein
July 11, 2019
"I got my PhD so I could get a seat at the table."
Kristen Honey"Let’s Talk About Data and Crisis”: Public Digital Service Delivery = Open Data + Human Centered Design
November 18, 2021
"We built tools that integrate naturally with existing workflows, not the other way around."
Neema MahdaviOperationalizing DesignOps
November 7, 2018
"Accessibility is not just one person’s responsibility; it must be distributed through the whole product team."
Sam ProulxDesigning For Screen Readers: Understanding the Mental Models and Techniques of Real Users
December 10, 2021
"The researchers' role includes coaching, mentoring, and leading research efforts, not just doing research ops."
Smitha Papolu Nova Wehman-Brown Melissa Schmidt Adam MenterTheme 3 Discussion
June 4, 2019
"Before design operations was a thing, design managers had to do everything, from recruiting to career ladders."
Jose CoronadoFrom Zero to Hero
September 8, 2022
