The Importance of Participatory Design in the Federal Government

Although large areas of the federal government focused on design as a practice do not closely involve the citizenry in their design processes, Victor Udoewa, Chief Experience Officer and Service Design Lead, NASA, has taken a vastly different approach to end user design methodology in government. In this episode of the Rosenfeld Review, Victor brings us up to speed on participatory design and its pros and cons. He also explains his radical approach to it—a meta-methodology he’s used in service and system design—and how his radical approach enables people to participate in and influence high-level government design projects. Victor shares his insights around key areas of participatory design, including: • A redefined approach to “radical” participatory design, and how this difference meaningfully distinguishes his work from a socio-human perspective • A focus on his department’s efforts to help develop the economy in support of small businesses • Weighing the impact of “power” in design organizations as they shape methodology from a higher-level perspective • How incorporating end user insights can holistically influence design outcomes despite existing power dynamics that may have previously stunted those opportunities • How methods such as the collaborative design studio can derive a wider range of insights from end users • Demystifying participatory design by bridging the gap between old and new perspectives • Rethinking how information is shared from a socio-economic perspective • The benefits in shifting research from an investigation-based methodology to a more humanistic approach, such as navigating a socio-human system • Rethinking poverty as the lack of relationships from which money flows, and how this parallel can be drawn with information/research initiatives Learn more from Victor’s talk, “Radical Participatory Research: Decolonizing Participatory Processes” at our upcoming virtual conference, Advancing Research 2022 (virtual, March 9-11). Register today! https://rosenfeldmedia.com/advancing-research-2022/