Having a rich understanding of what people think, feel, and believe is vital to good design work. Beyond listening to what people say and observing what they do, we gain valuable insight by inviting them into the design process and paying attention to what they make and how they make it. Participatory design is about designing with people—not just for them.

In this half-day course, we will introduce you to the concept of participatory design and how it can be useful in the development of products, services, and programs and for team collaboration. We will explore theory and practice, experiment with participatory methods and approaches, and discuss how, when, and why to employ them.

Through presentations, discussions, exercises, and activities, we will cover topics including:

• The role of participation in human-centered design projects
• The utility of different participatory methods and approaches
• Considerations and implications of inviting greater participation
• Applications and constraints of participatory design in government

You will leave this course with a practical vocabulary, critical awareness, and basic set of methods to facilitate participatory design activities at your organization. You’ll explore a range of tools and techniques that invite different forms of engagement and input from the users and stakeholders of your work.

We welcome anyone and everyone to this introductory course—with or without previous design experience—to join us for this course. Having a basic familiarity with human-centered design is helpful but is not a prerequisite.

Online courses use Zoom for Government for audio and screensharing and Mural as a collaborative, online workspace. You do not need to create accounts or download any programs in order to access these technologies. More information and instructions will be shared prior to the course.

Course formerly known as “Participatory Design”