TY - JOUR

T1 - Making it better together

T2 - a framework for improving creative engagement tools

AU - Galabo, Rosendy

AU - Cruickshank, Leon

PY - 2022/10/31

Y1 - 2022/10/31

N2 - This research reports on a co-design project to improve creative engagement tools with academics and public sector organisations in the northwest UK. Creative engagement (which is a staple of co-design activities but also used widely outside design) is often supported by tools and resources. However, there is a need to tailor tools for specific contexts to accommodate the skills and practices of creative engagement professionals and the contexts in which they work. While there is a literature examining tools in co-design and to a lesser extent in wider creative engagement activities, there is a lack of research on how tools can be improved. This article presents a framework that enables engagement practitioners to improve the tools they use in their practice. Following a Participatory Action Research approach, three case studies document the application and testing of the improvement framework. The paper discusses the insights and lessons learnt from this process and the impact of the new improvement activities on the practices of the creative engagement professionals. The research outcomes include building improvement capabilities in participants and understanding of how the framework works in practice and how it could be more widely applied to tool improvement within and beyond co-design.

AB - This research reports on a co-design project to improve creative engagement tools with academics and public sector organisations in the northwest UK. Creative engagement (which is a staple of co-design activities but also used widely outside design) is often supported by tools and resources. However, there is a need to tailor tools for specific contexts to accommodate the skills and practices of creative engagement professionals and the contexts in which they work. While there is a literature examining tools in co-design and to a lesser extent in wider creative engagement activities, there is a lack of research on how tools can be improved. This article presents a framework that enables engagement practitioners to improve the tools they use in their practice. Following a Participatory Action Research approach, three case studies document the application and testing of the improvement framework. The paper discusses the insights and lessons learnt from this process and the impact of the new improvement activities on the practices of the creative engagement professionals. The research outcomes include building improvement capabilities in participants and understanding of how the framework works in practice and how it could be more widely applied to tool improvement within and beyond co-design.

KW - Co-design

KW - creative engagement

KW - open design

KW - improvement

KW - redesign

KW - tools

U2 - 10.1080/15710882.2021.1912777

DO - 10.1080/15710882.2021.1912777

M3 - Journal article

VL - 18

SP - 503

EP - 525

JO - CoDesign

JF - CoDesign

IS - 4

ER -