2006 Participatory Design Conference

Jul 31 – Aug 5, 2006
Web site: TBA

Participatory design (PD) is a diverse collection of principles and practices aimed at making technologies and social institutions more responsive to human needs. A central tenet of PD is the direct involvement of people in the co-design of the systems they use. The PD Conferences have been held every two years since 1990. Theme of the PD Conference 2006, to be held in Trento, Italy, from July 31 to August 5, 2006 is Expanding Boundaries in Design.

The theme of the 2006 conference, "Expanding Boundaries in Design" focuses attention on the multiple contexts in which design takes place and on an expanding range of possible design outcomes.

While participatory design principles and practices are most often applied to the design of technical systems and artefacts, increasingly there is both the need and the opportunity to focus PD approaches on other domains, such as physical environments, organizational practices, and IT-enabled services. Likewise, the contexts in which PD is practiced has grown to include teams of globally distributed designers and practitioners; actor networks that span organizational, expertise, cultural and linguistic difference; and activity areas beyond the workplace, such as domestic and leisure.

Finally, PD has a significant role to play at various stages of design, from initial concept development, to system configuration, to implementation, to integration within the context of use, and ultimately to ongoing design in use. This year’s theme recognizes that we have an opportunity to expand our community, our design focus and the sites for action by bringing the principles of informed participation and social good to an even wider audience.

The upcoming conference will bring together a multidisciplinary and international group of researchers, software developers, social scientists, designers, activists, practitioners, users, citizens, cultural workers and managers who adopt distinctively participatory approaches in the design of artefacts, systems, services, environments and technologies. We are inviting submissions for a diverse set of session and contribution types.

Research Papers: (maximum 10 pages) Research papers should report on completed research which furthers topics in Participatory Design. Research papers will be published in the ACM International Conference series (Deadline for submission: January 16, 2006)
Exploratory papers: (maximum 4 pages) Exploratory papers should present ideas that could benefit from discussion with members of the PD community. These papers may include work-in-progress, experiences of reflective practitioners, and first drafts of novel concepts and approaches. (Deadline for submission: January 16, 2006).
Interactive workshops: (2 page proposal) Half day and full day sessions on topics that include methods, practices, and other areas of interest and that support an interactive format where active participation beyond presentation is solicited. Workshops will take place on August 1 before the start of the paper sessions. (Deadline for submission: January 16, 2006)
Tutorials: (2 page proposal) Half day and full day sessions for teaching conceptual frameworks, methods/techniques, and novel approaches. The tutorials will take place on July 31 before the start of the paper sessions. (Deadline for submission: January 16, 2006)
Doctoral consortium: (2 page proposal) Full day session taking place on August 1 before the start of the paper sessions. (Deadline for submission: January 16, 2006)
Art installations: Artists/designers working in the field of visual,installation, and performative arts are invited to submit a project that explores how participant’s interactions can become part of a piece of art or performance. This session will be held at the Museo d’arte contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto. (Deadline for submission: January 16, 2006)