Application of participatory design to facilitate social innovation concept with third sector organisations

Abstract

Local and regional development has emerged as prominent areas of focus within the realm of Social Innovation research. In this context, Participatory Design is a valuable approach to address the specific needs of local communities, enabling the engagement of local stakeholders in the creation of Social Innovation. Third-sector organisations are an actor which is often widely involved in the Participatory Design aiming to facilitate Social Innovation in the local contexts. However, in the existing research, this actor mainly plays the role of partner or co-designer alongside other participants in co-designing innovations to benefit the wider communities in which the third-sector organisations operate. However, the involvement of these organisations as main co-designers and beneficiaries of innovative results remains largely unexplored in the current literature. This leads to the limited reflections on what it means to conduct a Participatory Design process with and for third-sector organisations in the delivery of Social Innovation.

This study aims to a better understanding of the application of Participatory Design for the facilitation of Social Innovation concepts with and for third-sector organisations. To achieve this aim, four Participatory Design case studies were initiated and conducted, involving micro-small size third-sector organisations operating locally within the geographical area of Dundee City in Scotland. The key finding of this research is identifying common needs among third-sector organizations, including fostering collaboration with local stakeholders and securing funds, essential for addressing interconnected challenges like resource scarcity and skills deficits. These identified needs form the foundation for outlining the value of Participatory Design for third-sector organizations.

The study provides both theoretical and practical contributions. First, the dissertation contributes to the existing body of knowledge by proposing a Participatory Design framework for the creation of Social Innovation, which places third-sector organisations in the centre of the design process, making this social actor both the co-designer and the beneficiary of the results of PD. The framework provides a set of guidelines that can be adopted to conduct participatory design with third-sector organisations and can serve as a canvas for researchers. Second, as a tangible result, the research presents a total of five collaboratively designed innovative concepts that address the existing needs within the third sector and have the potential for further implementation.

Date of Award	25 Feb 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Abertay University
Sponsors	Northwood Charitable Trust
Supervisor	Stefano De Paoli (Supervisor), Andrew Reid (Supervisor) & Iain Donald (Supervisor)