The co-design participatory power pyramid

Abstract

This paper presents an innovative co-design participatory power pyramid, which foregrounds how people living with dementia (PLWD) are (and can be) in volved in co-design projects. The pyramid provides a scale of participant involvement in co-design activities based on the premise that design is a process that encompasses a series of interlinked activities, actions, and thinking that, when combined, result in a designed outcome. The co-design participatory power pyramid has been created to define and better understand the spectrum of co-design projects when working with PLWD. However, it is anticipated that the framework will be applicable to other co-design research practices. The pyramid makes explicit the differences between co-de-sign projects labelled as ‘to’, ‘for’, ‘with’ and ‘by’. The paper provides examples to high-light how the framework is an appropriate tool as it encourages self-empowerment in collaboration and independence in action that are perceived to be aspirational in co-design activities.