Long-term participation in design processes: exploring the engagement of non-expert users in open spaces

Over the last decennia, we are witnessing a rise and spread in open spaces (e.g. Fablabs, maker spaces, Living labs and City labs).  The aim of these open spaces is setting up design processes to challenge existing modes of innovating, experiment with materials and with organising collectives.  Although these spaces provide people with easy access to (technical or social) infrastructures, the issue of engaging non-expert users within these spaces remains pressing. This PhD research project follows the approach of Participatory Design (PD), which states that everyone who is affected by the design should be involved in the design process. By investigating two open spaces, this PhD research project explores how to achieve the long-term engagement of non-expert users in design processes.  

The findings of this PhD research are based on insights from six different projects taking place in the open spaces of FabLab Genk or De Andere Markt. The first part of this thesis comprises of two chapters that both stress the importance of combining different, complementary strategies for engaging non-expert users in an open space. Furthermore, these long-term design processes ideally start from shared values and visions, emphasising the need to build relationships. This relationship-building is mainly carried out through backstage work (i.e. more informal activities like coffee meetings and complementary to the frontage design activities like co-design sessions). Investments in this backstage work also affect both the roles of the designer and participants in the design process. Therefore, the next three chapters of this thesis address the relational qualities and the different, overlapping roles of the designers in both the backstage- and frontstage activities of these long-term PD processes. Comparable to the second part of the thesis, the final part contains two chapters that explore which various roles participants take on in these long-term design processes,  especially in the backstage work.

This PhD research provides an understanding of the importance of backstage design activities and the relational qualities of the designer in setting up long-term PD with non-expert users. Furthermore, it offers open spaces insights for setting up long-term processes with non-expert users. This PhD research concludes with a plea for more attention to backstage designers and making the essential backstage work extra visible, as it is an indispensable part of the design process.