Confessions of a Participatory Designer: Navigating Values Misalignment in Co-design Practice

Johnson, IG; Hughes, M

doi:10.1145/3789493.3797304

Confessions of a Participatory Designer: Navigating Values Misalignment in Co-design Practice

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Ian Johnson ORCiD

Downloads

Published version [.pdf]

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

In this workshop, we focus on values misalignment as a central problem and use a "confessions" format for collective knowledge-building. The format deliberately creates space for vulnerability and honest reflection that typical academic formats discourage. This workshop emerges from our ongoing research on digital civics, civic technology, and values-sensitive design, representing a critical turn in our work from developing methodologies to questioning their limits and appropriate application—a move we believe is essential for the maturation and continued relevance of participatory approaches. What we have discovered through informal sharing of stories at conferences and in private conversations is both the widespread nature of these challenges and the tremendous relief researchers feel when given space to discuss them openly. These conversations have been valuable and cathartic, creating rare opportunities to feel heard, to recognize that struggles are shared rather than individual failures, and to begin collectively developing more honest and helpful guidance. This workshop extends that opportunity to a broader community of practitioners, creating a brave space for sharing "confessions", giving and receiving advice, and hearing from expert witnesses who can share both best practices and the messy realities of lived experience. Our goal is not to discredit participatory design, for we remain convinced of its democratic potential and transformative possibilities under proper conditions. Instead, we aim to strengthen the practice by acknowledging its limitations, examining when and how practitioners should apply it, and developing more honest, nuanced guidance for navigating its complexities.