Reconfiguring data power: participatory design with third-sector organisations at the local level

Despite Third‑Sector Organisations (TSOs) routinely collecting data for their services, limited resources often prevent them from taking advantage of data sharing and reuse. These constraints place TSOs in a weak position, where other actors control relevant data, digital infrastructures and access rights. Such control reflects forms of data power that shape how micro and small TSOs (MS-TSOs) participate in Participatory Design (PD) and co-creation aimed at imagining social innovation around data sharing and reuse. When MS‑TSOs engage in PD, their involvement can be overtaken by actors with stronger influence over data processes. In this paper we argue that the collaborative nature of PD can help local TSOs work together to rethink how data power operates and how its effects might be challenged. This paper examines these issues through a case study on data reuse and sharing, involving MS‑TSOs in the prototype design of a platform for sharing data. The analysis shows how participation in co-creation can contribute to reshaping power relations, offering MS‑TSOs renewed agency.