Co-creating an online timebank for inclusive research

Abstract

Participatory and inclusive approaches to research have become more common as researchers recognize the benefits of enabling the meaningful involvement of representative community users in the development of accessible technologies. One of the major challenges in this context is how the involvement of community members can be appropriately supported in project-related activities: payment for time and contributions is a particularly difficult and longstanding issue. This paper discusses the inclusive development of an online Timebank involving community members with intellectual disabilities. The TimeBank is conceived as a tool that enables people to contribute their different expertise on the basis of time, rather than monetary reward. The development process of the TimeBank is described as well as the challenges faced by the research team. There is much potential in the Timebank idea, although considerable further research is needed to establish an accessible, usable, credible and trustworthy resource.