The paper proposes a model - the 4 Es - for delivery of co-design activity over a short timeframe. This is discussed through the context of a case-study around an unConference event in Nairobi with the Fuel from Waste Network

Bardill, A.

Griffiths, W.

Herd, K.

English

Middlesex University Research Repository

Participatory Design in a compressed timeframe, through an unConference format.  Perspectives on Participation @ DIS 2012  Wyn Griffiths, Andy Bardill, & Kate Herd Middlesex University  w.griffiths@mdx.ac.uk  Overview:  The Fuel from Waste unConference – Nairobi May 2011 ‘Sustainable fuel; sustainable jobs; better communities’  “So, we decided to set-up an unConference to produce that inclusive, active, generative, informal atmosphere, in which we could all co-create practical ideas: A ‘doing’ shop, not a ‘talking’ shop (although plenty of talking, to enable the ‘doing’ )... We want this to be an unConference where everyone goes go home with ideas, inspiration, resources and plans to make stuff happen. We’ll publish, share and make it so! To help this happen, we want you to tell us your ‘stories’. You all have a story to tell, and if you share it at ‘Fuel from Waste’, we can weave it into the creative co-design; can let it inspire visitors; can share those stories with the wider world and, hopefully, they will resonate and expand.”  Fuel from Waste Introduction on htt://fuelfromwaste.wordpress.com - Wyn Griffiths  The activity:  Establish (Equality and legitimacy)  and Elicit (Story tell – empower)  -  Demonstrations, exhibition of product and technology and hands-on activities -  Individual vox-pops – video interviews with participants. Their personal details,  their briquetting stories.  -  Attendee map – individual post-its containing ‘name, industry, position’    Elicit (Story tell – empower) and Employ (Story weave – engage and apply)  -  Generative co-creation through creative conversations in small groups – Question: ‘Wouldn’t it be great if…? X10’ – 1 idea per A4 sheet, as many ideas per group as possible.    Employ (Story weave – engage and apply) and Embed (Confirm ownership) -  Review, analysis and sharing of generative work, with unpacking of future activity, to agree the ‘roadmap’ for the future.    Why were you motivated to involve people in a participative manner in this project, and why were people motivated to participate?  The unConference was the culmination of a collaborative research project between Nairobi-based informal industry, an NGO and academia, funded by the British Council. The project was inherently ‘participatory’ (comprising of partnerships between students and artisans, overseen by academics and NGO workers), but this was done over 18 months, with single subject partnerships during the body of the project. To close off the project and generate an appropriate plan for the next stages of work, it was agreed that a ‘forum’ with a generative brief and maximum, inclusive access would be the best way to proceed. The motivation of attendees came from the critical nature of the issues being explored - employment, local environment, personal/community health and deforestation/broader environmental concerns.         What were the key transformative moments within this project? The four headline descriptions in the 4 ‘E’s model highlight the key moments when uncertainty was transformed into belief and engagement. to create reassurance that all participants wconfidence to honestly create and share, and provideon a consensus that would be supported during ongoing activity. The model: Condensed, accessible, equitable and ethical participatory design through 4 ‘E’s:The 4 ‘E’s Stages:  Establish; ElicitTransparency is the guiding principle of the model.  Establish - Equality and legitimacy• Recognise the individual • Record their personal details, opinions• Legitimise their equality of input Elicit - Story tell - empower  • Communicate key, open questions to • Facilitate conversations and record• Share outcomes  Employ - Story weave – engage and apply• Analyse and/or categorise responses in the open forum• Associate individuals’ responses with the categories (organize) • Synthesize into a design/overview/map/plan/etc. as appropriate • Review and refine in the open forum Embed - Confirm ownership • Agree consensus on ‘story’ synthesis• Agree formal use/publication intent• Inform of communications channels details• Recognition of contribution   How did you measure the success of the project’s “outcomes”, if at all? Success has been measured through a variety of qualitative effects:- Continued engagement and activity within the co- Successful initiatives supported by the network, deriving from the unConference.- Media penetration and expansion of network m The activities were designed ere truly and equally valued, give  assurance that the plan was based  ; Employ; Embed      be addressed                  -designed FfW Network.embership and business activity.     - Securing of funding based on the unConference plan (Pending).   Wyn’s questions:  1. Is the single day model valid? 2. Is the single-day model transferable to ‘deeper’ design engagements? 3. Are the interventions more suited/effective at particular stages of the ‘squiggle’ process? Is it better to focus on generative  4. How do you design the outcome format to best represent the activitiesthe requirements of the reporting context? Who’s doing theoutcomes?  5. The model has been designed to be inherently condensed format, does it conform to the standards required in deeper engagements?        stage, rather than the implement needed and  activity? Who’s using the ethical and equitable, but in this ation stage?   

Participatory Design in a compressed timeframe, through an unConference format

https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/download/d1e83bddd2e9d767373e2d13242685d340318defc7a9366b59822e14f2e2a4d0/753866/Perspectives%20on%20Participation.pdf

Participatory Design in a compressed timeframe, through an unConference format

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