Radical Participatory Design: Decolonizing Participatory Design Processes
Summary
Have you ever been a part of a participatory process or use of a participatory method only to find that it fell short of any real shift of power dynamics? Have you ever compared notes with another participatory designer only to find out their definition of participatory design is different than your own? Have you faced opposition from your organization in practicing design in a more participatory way? What does it even mean to practice participatory design in the civic space, for people in our society to be engaged in the practice of designing ways in which our societies can flourish? Join us, come into the conversation, and see what Victor Udoewa has to say about such experiences, the different definitions of participatory design and how participatory design can actually be used to reinforce hierarchies. One way he has found to dismantle that system is to practice radical participatory design. He will share what that means, how it looks, and how you can begin moving in that direction along with a direct challenge to our community of designers in regards to our own power.
Key Insights
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Participatory design predates modern history and is intertwined with the history of communities since ancient times.
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Facilitation in participatory design perpetuates power imbalances by centralizing decision-making outside community presence.
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Radical participatory design requires community members to be permanently present, to outnumber professionals, and to own outcomes and narratives.
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Equal remuneration between community members and professional designers is ethically necessary and often requires paying community members more due to opportunity costs.
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True empathy in design consists of intellectual, emotional, and compassionate empathy components, rarely fully achieved without embedding community members.
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Trauma-responsive and pluralistic, asset-based design approaches are more naturally supported in radical participatory design frameworks.
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Power shifts must be sustained and sustainable to evaluate if participatory design is truly radical rather than colonial or tokenistic.
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Community members often already possess design and research skills, which designers can learn from when roles are equalized.
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In participatory democracies, decisions about the degree of direct community involvement versus representative decision-making should be led by the community itself.
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Future-oriented design methods help translate radical participatory intentions into practical, contextually feasible outcomes affected by resources and politics.
Notable Quotes
"Land acknowledgments don’t actually change the allocation of power or resources; they work at the mythological level."
"Empowerment is problematic because when we empower others, we reinforce the hierarchy we seek to subvert."
"Facilitation is powered; power is exercised in the spaces between workshops without community presence."
"Radical participatory design means community members are always present, outnumber professionals, and own the outcomes and narratives."
"The needs of a government of the people should be the needs of the people."
"Empathy is not a single thing but a combination of intellectual understanding, emotional resonance, and compassionate action."
"Communities love to define themselves by their gifts and assets, not by their lacks."
"Community members giving their time sacrifice something far more valuable than paid professionals do."
"Design futures are not always in the future; sometimes they reflect constraints of budget, resources, or political will."
"Let the community lead from the very first step: they will determine goals, participants, and logistics."
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