The non-participatory patient (or plurality in participation?)

Reference: Sanin, J. (2020). The non-participatory patient. In ServDes.2020 – Tensions, Paradoxes, Plurality. RMIT University, Melbourne Australia. 411-421

Abstract: This paper discusses tensions and paradoxes of codesign paradigms and calls for more plural approaches to participation in order to establish collaborations with non-participatory users. It builds on research experiences in the field of design for wellbeing to challenge assumptions about user participation and introduce the concept of ‘the non-participatory patient’. This conceptual figure is used to represent those users who do not engage with codesign activities, or those who engage, but contribute in ways that contradict expectations of designers and industry partners. It is argued that most service design projects are not able to account for the needs and preferences of non-participatory users, who are most of the time excluded from design processes and outcomes for being considered as disengaged or disobedient. These experiences make evident the need for collaborative tools, techniques and formats beyond those traditionally used in codesign, and able to bring more plurality into service design.

My notes: An advantage from the Covid-19 pandemic is conferences moving online. Organisers are still figuring out how to run online conferences. In 2020, most conferences kept charging very high registration fees and basically hid their content behind paywalls and youtube unlisted videos. We can only hope that moving forward, conference organisers will see the new opportunities of online conferences. Imagine, for example, charging a $10 fee to get the proceedings, live webinars, and a thematic catalogue of pre-recorded presentations. I can imagine hundreds perhaps thousands of students, academics and professional designers joining these events. 

Anyway, moving on to Juan Sanin's ServDes2020 paper, like many other papers of this conference I found it refreshing and insightful. Juan questions some of the most pervasive assumptions behind participatory design calling for adopting the word in plural "participations" to think in more sophisticated and ethical ways about who participates, why, and how.