Abstract
Civic participatory design is widely practiced as a means of engaging communities in addressing complex public challenges (Sanders & Stappers, 2008; Wacnik, Daly, & Verma, 2024). However, a persistent gap remains between participatory ideation and actual implementation (Teal et al., 2022). This study addresses that gap by introducing a systematic facilitation framework with systemic orientation, which guides participants from exploration to execution readiness. Through a ten-session civic Living Lab designed as a real-world participatory setting involving residents, parents, and officials, focused on school route safety in South Korea, the study tested the use of intentionally sequenced facilitation tools referred to as “toolflows” and a final reflective mechanism called the Journey Archiving Board. Unlike one-time workshops, this Living Lab was structured to connect citizen-generated ideas with institutional review and potential implementation by local government and schools. Several proposals developed during the sessions were later considered within community safety campaigns and educational programs, extending the outcomes into tangible policy actions. Qualitative data from observations, interviews, and session artifacts show that participants demonstrated increased confidence, strategic thinking, and ownership throughout the process. The findings highlight the importance of facilitation not only as a dialogic technique but as a design practice capable of structuring cumulative civic learning and action. The study offers a replicable model for facilitating transitions from civic imagination to actionable public solutions.
Keywords
Systemic facilitation; Participatory design; Living lab; Public engagement
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.1073
Citation
Kang, H.,and Lee, Y.(2025) Systemic Facilitation for Execution in Process-Centered Living Labs, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.1073
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 7 - Service Design for Public Services and Policies
Systemic Facilitation for Execution in Process-Centered Living Labs
Civic participatory design is widely practiced as a means of engaging communities in addressing complex public challenges (Sanders & Stappers, 2008; Wacnik, Daly, & Verma, 2024). However, a persistent gap remains between participatory ideation and actual implementation (Teal et al., 2022). This study addresses that gap by introducing a systematic facilitation framework with systemic orientation, which guides participants from exploration to execution readiness. Through a ten-session civic Living Lab designed as a real-world participatory setting involving residents, parents, and officials, focused on school route safety in South Korea, the study tested the use of intentionally sequenced facilitation tools referred to as “toolflows” and a final reflective mechanism called the Journey Archiving Board. Unlike one-time workshops, this Living Lab was structured to connect citizen-generated ideas with institutional review and potential implementation by local government and schools. Several proposals developed during the sessions were later considered within community safety campaigns and educational programs, extending the outcomes into tangible policy actions. Qualitative data from observations, interviews, and session artifacts show that participants demonstrated increased confidence, strategic thinking, and ownership throughout the process. The findings highlight the importance of facilitation not only as a dialogic technique but as a design practice capable of structuring cumulative civic learning and action. The study offers a replicable model for facilitating transitions from civic imagination to actionable public solutions.