Abstract
Navigating ethical considerations in participatory design is complex and ever-changing. The Co-production Project explores the use of co-production methods (co-discover, co-plan, co-design, co-deliver, co-evaluate) via a case study of women’s health in Aotearoa New Zealand. Based in an Arts and Design University, ‘academic ethics’ influence the project in tangible ways that are often procedural and prescriptive, with a focus on productivity. However, co-production methods — underpinned by principles of power-sharing and prioritisation of relationships — call for softer and less tangible considerations aligned with an ethics of care. These tangible and intangible ethical considerations are frequently in tension with each other while also being responsive to indigenous cultural requirements. Through our practice-based project we’ll demonstrate how taking time to create conditions conducive to participatory approaches gives us cause for early and cautious optimism.
Keywords
ethics of care; procedural ethics; co-production; participatory research
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.652
Citation
Muller, A., and Brown, A. (2024) Head and heart — An ethical tightrope, in Gray, C., Ciliotta Chehade, E., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2024: Boston, 23–28 June, Boston, USA. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.652
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Research Paper
Included in
Head and heart — An ethical tightrope
Navigating ethical considerations in participatory design is complex and ever-changing. The Co-production Project explores the use of co-production methods (co-discover, co-plan, co-design, co-deliver, co-evaluate) via a case study of women’s health in Aotearoa New Zealand. Based in an Arts and Design University, ‘academic ethics’ influence the project in tangible ways that are often procedural and prescriptive, with a focus on productivity. However, co-production methods — underpinned by principles of power-sharing and prioritisation of relationships — call for softer and less tangible considerations aligned with an ethics of care. These tangible and intangible ethical considerations are frequently in tension with each other while also being responsive to indigenous cultural requirements. Through our practice-based project we’ll demonstrate how taking time to create conditions conducive to participatory approaches gives us cause for early and cautious optimism.