Designing with Data, Democratisation through Data

An increasing computing capability is raising the opportunities to use a large amount of publicly available data for creating a new generation of public services. Although it is easy to find some early examples of services concerning control systems (e.g. traffic, meteo, telecommunication) or commercial applications (e.g. profiling systems), few examples demonstrate the use of data as a new resource for empowering citizens. Designing means for enabling citizens to harness the opportunities coming from the use of this new resource, offers a substantial promise of social innovation and democracy.

In other words, open data is (still) virtually a new resource that could become a new commons through engagement of interested and active communities. The condition for open data becoming a new commons is that new practices, new design communities and a new design culture are built around meaningful use of data in product and service innovation. Consequently, infrastructuring and collaborating to a democratic use of data, even among the non-experts, promoting practices of service innovation in public and private institutions and framing design and innovation policies around the use of open data are key.

• We welcome submissions that concern the various design challenges that we are facing in this context. For example:
• How can democratic processes be part of the governance and sustainability of such commons?
• What is the infrastructure that could support new practices within the interested communities?
• How can various stakeholders be engaged?
• What are the processes/tools that could bridge the gap between the various expertises when working with data?

Indicative References:

Bollier, D. (2014). Think like a commoner : a short introduction to the life of the commons. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers.

Manzini, E. (2015) Design when everybody Design, Mit Press.

Dove, G., Jones, S. (2014) Using data to stimulate creative thinking in the design of new products and services. DIS 2014: 443-452.

Ehn, P., Nilsson, E. M., & Topgaard, R. Making Futures. (2014-11-07). The MIT Press

Morelli, N. Aguilar, M., Concilio, G., de Götzen, A., Mulder, I., Pedersen, J., Klitgaard Torntoft, L. (2017). Framing design to support Social Innovation: the Open4Citizens project. Proceedings of EAD12, Design for Next, 12-14 April, 2017, Rome, Italy.