From quantitative to
qualitative collection

Here it is presented how the design process, with direct involvement of citizens, is developed via Participatory design. The process consists of reflexive expressions, creative elements and joint evaluations that come to represent ideas and visions for the foundation of the future.

Design process

From problem formulation to solution, a study was carried out with the aim of gathering information about the behavior of young people in Danish society. A questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data and revealed areas of concern as well as different behavioral patterns among young Danes based on age.

The research and the project followed a pragmatic approach, where the context contributed to meaningful democratic creation and development tracks.

This was facilitated through a participant-oriented design process with two workshops, one of which focused on young people's previous experiences with democratic engagement.

The participants were challenged to identify relevant problems and generate ideas through reflection on their democratic experiences in the broad states.

The project resulted in design insights that formed the basis for potential development for the project and for young citizens. It has been a learning process and has supported the analysis of future positions.

Questionnaire survey

The questionnaire survey is used to analyze the social and individual phenomena in the context of democratic behavior and experiences (Olsen, 2006).

In this phase, a research-based questionnaire is sent out to the target group.

This aims to investigate how young people engage in democracy today.

What experiences do they have with democratic engagement? (e.g. are they members of a political party/youth party, are they active in associations, have they participated in demonstrations, etc.)

What type of democratic content are young people most attracted to? (informative, social, entertaining, or other)

The answers are linked to demographic questions, in order to understand which segments form based on age and democratic behaviour. Behavioral insights are thus generated, which the target group is asked to qualify and decide on in the next phase.

See here the result among all target groups

Participatory Design

Generative Tools as design research is a process in which the users are highly involved through deliberation, explicit indication of pre-understanding and discussion of the possibilities together, which leads to one or more joint decisions about future scenarios.

Next, the young people are involved in reflecting on the insights, as well as sharing experiences of getting involved in democracy and identifying the issues that concern them.

Here, the young citizens are directly involved in influencing the development process by activating their memory, experiences and knowledge. Possibilities are discussed together and scenarios are prepared for possible future decisions.

Reflective expression process

Participatory processes are an experiment in the form of reflection exercises, via engagement, to a productive conclusion. It is therefore that participatory design is the primary and most important methodological approach to this project by creating a democratic design process where citizens drive the development.

This type of process can be facilitated via different Toolkits or Toolboxes, by creating reflections through visual elements, fictional stories, brainstorm sessions, mind map development and other exercises.

Development processing takes place via interaction with tools that drive the thought process, it creates the "making sense" by framing the exploration traces, enact, expressing feelings, opinions and attitudes, tell, as well as by testing the future hypotheses, consciously or unconsciously ( Sanders & Stappers, 2014, p.6-7; Simonsen & Robertson, 2013 p.150)

Workshop 1

The first part of the workshop challenges the participants to think about democracy, from what they define as relevant and valuable in their subjective opinion, as well as via the way they themselves participate in democracy and what motivates them.

The second half of the workshop examines how the Democracy Fitness concept can be processed and used as a tool to improve the everyday situations that the young people themselves have reflected on and pointed out.

Collage methods have been designed to give the participants some visual materials and tools to create conversations and reflections about experiences, feelings and the challenges of democracy and participation.

Workshop2

Workshop 2 focused on idea generation.

In the first phase, they have three rounds to present their ideas on the subject of "democracy and participation". This takes place via a Side-Map that inspires idea generation exercises, where the participants explain what democracy and participation are to them, how they see it, and why.

Association Brainstorming is designed to generate a variety of connections, new concepts and ideas. This is achieved by exteriorizing all associations and thoughts relating to the concept of "participation", both conscious and unconscious. This process is also called floral association and primarily leads to common subject associations, which often move far away from the original subject.

The abstract relationship between problems and images will bring the relevant values behind the aesthetic visual to connotative contexts, abstract to each individual's subjective interpretation. That form of narrative will become a less fictional narrative, where a fictional narrative from visual reflections will bring some core values to the problems encountered along the way, their possible future vision and thus express new ideas.

Throughout the exercises, the participants must together define the guidelines of the problem, which the ideas the Collage exercise contributed with. To facilitate that process, there are several columns to frame challenges and ideas, inspired by Tassoul's (2009) model Taking Inventory, which will challenge the participants to think realistically and challenge the underlying problems that are in their situation. These components are important to guide the participants to take part in the deliberative design thinking, as well as to create some thoughts and feelings about the problems, provide inspiration and create valuable resources.

A selection of situational images in the form of possible solutions is presented to the participants in order to analyze the main problem and ideas in the context.

The exercise has been designed to generate ideas and problems for the concrete solutions. The visual solutions give the participants the opportunity to see with their subjective eyes how the concept could be linked together in reality, discuss which situation it can visually answer, how the situation is relevant or is challenged in the context.

Inquiry-reflection

On the whole, the process has given a relevant insight into the democratic reality Danish young people find themselves in. For example, they experience challenges regarding participation in democratic conversations at the workplace or conversations with their families if they are over 18 years old. The study also sheds light on how inaccessible political parties are to the ordinary citizen.

The results point to challenges related to a lack of desire to engage democratically through the classic political channels. It also turns out that the young people want the approach to democracy to appeal to the whole society to a greater extent and that it is generally more community-oriented, rather than cultivating division between different parties, as it seems to be today.

Is it time to see parties and politicians with different eyes? Are political parties able to represent the diverse society we live in today?

This study's framing has been relevant to understanding which democratic tools and initiatives can be developed going forward. But it also opens the eyes to how little young people feel represented in the existing political system. Can the digital world accelerate the change of the political system and turn it into an archaic framework for young people's attitudes and opinions?