research-article

Understanding Power Differentials and Cultural Differences in Co-design with Marginalized Populations

Authors:

Mustafa Naseem,

Kentaro Toyama,

Panos PapalambrosAuthors Info & Claims

COMPASS '22: Proceedings of the 5th ACM SIGCAS/SIGCHI Conference on Computing and Sustainable Societies

Pages 165 - 179

https://doi.org/10.1145/3530190.3534819

Published: 29 June 2022 Publication History

COMPASS '22: Proceedings of the 5th ACM SIGCAS/SIGCHI Conference on Computing and Sustainable Societies

Understanding Power Differentials and Cultural Differences in Co-design with Marginalized Populations

Pages 165 - 179

Abstract
Supplementary Material
References

Abstract

Co-design collects insights from multiple stakeholders collaboratively making it a powerful method to design with marginalized populations. In the latter context, stakeholders have varying levels of power causing asymmetry and possible suppression of one group over another. Such power differentials can hinder co-design’s effectiveness. Through thirteen semi-structured interviews with co-design facilitators who have worked with marginalized communities in 43 different countries, we discovered that despite efforts to mitigate power differentials, significant disparities in educational and cultural backgrounds, language barriers, and gender imbalances prevent true collaboration. Tools for prototyping, analysis and evaluation often require literacy, advanced training, and resources. When these are inaccessible, co-design fails to materialize in the design analysis, implementation, and evaluation phases. We found this failure occurred with marginalized groups. We also found that experienced facilitators were aware of their own privilege as well as the power differentials of outside stakeholders such as donors, and they prioritized strategies to address them ahead of time.

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cover image ACM Conferences

COMPASS '22: Proceedings of the 5th ACM SIGCAS/SIGCHI Conference on Computing and Sustainable Societies

June 2022

710 pages

ISBN:9781450393478

DOI:10.1145/3530190

Editors:
Engineer Bainomugisha
Makerere University
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Waylon Brunette
University of Washington
,
Nicola Dell
Cornell Tech
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Amit Sharma
Microsoft Research

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3687017
Greenlee ERothrock BKim HZegura EHester J(2024)“The Devil You Know”: Barriers and Opportunities for Co-Designing Microclimate Sensors, A Case Study of ManoomiACM Journal on Computing and Sustainable Societies10.1145/36856952:3(1-30)Online publication date: 16-Sep-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3685695
Crawford KPosada JOkueso YHiggins ELachin LHamidi F(2024)Co-designing a 3D-Printed Tactile Campus Map With Blind and Low-Vision University StudentsProceedings of the 26th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility10.1145/3663548.3688537(1-6)Online publication date: 27-Oct-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3663548.3688537
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