Shaping Social Innovation in Local Communities

Abstract

Participatory social innovation projects often involve the coming together of design researchers, community development groups, and community members to develop (often technological) solutions to social problems or challenges. "Intermediaries" are specific individuals and organisations who contribute to these projects by translating intentions, values and experiences between design researchers and communities. Previous research has not yet critically examined the role of intermediaries in such projects. This paper does so in a project carried out in rural areas of Europe, which sought to test and develop a technology to support the creation of FM community radio stations in isolated areas. We present the project as a biography of infrastructures to provide an account of intermediaries' interactions during the project's unfolding. We find that how intermediaries shape the social base and ends of the project, and the interpretation of the technology involved, is influenced by their position, goals, and relationships in the process. CCS CONCEPTS • Human-centered computing → Collaborative and social computing; Empirical studies in collaborative and social computing.

When Reality Kicks In: Exploring the Influence of Local Context on Community-Based Design

“…Such dynamics in the power relations can be found more widely in participatory processes, as these processes generally aim to ensure that all actors have a stake in the outcome as well as equal opportunities to influence the corresponding design process [66]. The results also show how attending to the community became increasingly important during and after the lockdown, as was Ammar's role as an intermediary [67] between community, context, and designers. We suggest to acknowledge this importance of community development throughout the collaborative design process.…”

Guiding Principles for Participatory Design-inspired Natural Language Processing

“…Being based on nurturing relations between professional technology designers and members of the various social groups they interact with, PD methods and practices acknowledge that designing digital technologies with non-professionals does not follow a linear model (Callon, 2004;Cibin et al, 2020). Even when formalized (Bratteteig et al, 2012), the design process is disordered and unfinished.…”

“…These dynamics must take into account the goals of the researchers/designers, and of the communities involved, which cannot be completely overturned by the founders. It is evident that in this context the role of the designer/researcher becomes more and more that of an intermediary capable of translating and holding together the interests of the different stakeholders involved, without risking being co-opted and involved only in a token way (Cibin et al, 2020;.…”