Periodic Reporting for period 1 - REWORLDING (Reworlding: Repositioning Participatory Design to Tackle Socio-Environmental Challenges)
Berichtszeitraum: 2024-01-01 bis 2025-12-31
The REWORLDING Doctoral Network addresses the growing societal need for inclusive and participatory responses to socio-ecological challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. These issues are experienced differently by communities, organisations, and individuals, often leading to societal polarisation that slows down collective action.
REWORLDING develops and advances Participatory Design (PD) methodologies that enable dialogue and collaboration across societal groups and between human and more-than-human actors (e.g. plants, rivers, ecosystems). By amplifying underrepresented voices and creating participatory spaces for engagement, the project seeks to bridge fragmented perspectives and support more inclusive socio-environmental transformations.
The project is structured around four interconnected pillars: Retracing, Reconnecting, Reimagining, and Reinstitutioning. Through these pathways, REWORLDING identifies existing practices of socio-environmental care, develops knowledge for interdisciplinary collaboration, links participatory design approaches to real-world contexts (e.g. energy transitions, farming, social housing), and explores ways to embed research outcomes in long-term institutional practices.
Situated within the broader context of the European Green Deal, Horizon Europe missions, and Open Science principles, REWORLDING contributes to the development of socially robust, democratic, and ethically grounded responses to ecological challenges. Social sciences and humanities perspectives are central to the project, enabling critical reflection on values, power relations, and cultural interpretations shaping environmental issues.
Overall, REWORLDING aims to develop participatory tools, methods, and training that support collaboration across societal divides and contribute to more resilient and inclusive socio-ecological transitions.
REWORLDING develops and advances Participatory Design (PD) methodologies that enable dialogue and collaboration across societal groups and between human and more-than-human actors (e.g. plants, rivers, ecosystems). By amplifying underrepresented voices and creating participatory spaces for engagement, the project seeks to bridge fragmented perspectives and support more inclusive socio-environmental transformations.
The project is structured around four interconnected pillars: Retracing, Reconnecting, Reimagining, and Reinstitutioning. Through these pathways, REWORLDING identifies existing practices of socio-environmental care, develops knowledge for interdisciplinary collaboration, links participatory design approaches to real-world contexts (e.g. energy transitions, farming, social housing), and explores ways to embed research outcomes in long-term institutional practices.
Situated within the broader context of the European Green Deal, Horizon Europe missions, and Open Science principles, REWORLDING contributes to the development of socially robust, democratic, and ethically grounded responses to ecological challenges. Social sciences and humanities perspectives are central to the project, enabling critical reflection on values, power relations, and cultural interpretations shaping environmental issues.
Overall, REWORLDING aims to develop participatory tools, methods, and training that support collaboration across societal divides and contribute to more resilient and inclusive socio-ecological transitions.
During the reporting period, the REWORLDING consortium established its governance structure, recruited DCs, and implemented the first stages of its interdisciplinary research and training programme.
Within the Retracing track, a lecture and workshop series introduced doctoral candidates to participatory design theory, ethnographic observation, ethics in participatory research, and open science practices. Activities included the international workshop “Giving a Voice to Nature” at the Participatory Design Conference, which explored how design research can involve non-human actors in sustainability transitions.
The Reconnecting training programme provided doctoral candidates with methodological skills in Participatory Action Research, co-design, ethnography, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Workshops addressed topics such as multivocality in research, collective learning, co-design prototyping, academic communication, and research valorisation.
Within the Reimagining track, a summer school hosted by ETH Zürich brought together doctoral candidates, supervisors, and invited practitioners for an intensive programme combining lectures, design studios, and collaborative workshops. The programme explored design and spatial practices as tools for imagining alternative socio-ecological futures and strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration within the network.
In addition, network meetings and collaborative workshops enabled doctoral candidates and supervisors to exchange research insights, develop shared methodological resources such as the Capability Field-kit and Toolbox, and coordinate future training and dissemination activities.
Together, these activities have established the methodological and collaborative foundations of the REWORLDING network and supported the development of doctoral research projects addressing socio-environmental challenges across Europe.
Within the Retracing track, a lecture and workshop series introduced doctoral candidates to participatory design theory, ethnographic observation, ethics in participatory research, and open science practices. Activities included the international workshop “Giving a Voice to Nature” at the Participatory Design Conference, which explored how design research can involve non-human actors in sustainability transitions.
The Reconnecting training programme provided doctoral candidates with methodological skills in Participatory Action Research, co-design, ethnography, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Workshops addressed topics such as multivocality in research, collective learning, co-design prototyping, academic communication, and research valorisation.
Within the Reimagining track, a summer school hosted by ETH Zürich brought together doctoral candidates, supervisors, and invited practitioners for an intensive programme combining lectures, design studios, and collaborative workshops. The programme explored design and spatial practices as tools for imagining alternative socio-ecological futures and strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration within the network.
In addition, network meetings and collaborative workshops enabled doctoral candidates and supervisors to exchange research insights, develop shared methodological resources such as the Capability Field-kit and Toolbox, and coordinate future training and dissemination activities.
Together, these activities have established the methodological and collaborative foundations of the REWORLDING network and supported the development of doctoral research projects addressing socio-environmental challenges across Europe.
REWORLDING contributes to methodological innovation in participatory design and socio-environmental research through the development of new research tools, training approaches, and collaborative practices.
One key outcome is the Atlas of Synergies, a digital and physical repository documenting participatory and observational practices that reveal interdependencies between human and more-than-human actors. Using a shared documentation template, the Atlas enables researchers to systematically record and exchange methods for studying socio-ecological relationships and has already been expanded through workshops and conference contributions.
The project has also produced several research reports documenting collaborative research with communities, civil society organisations, and public institutions. These outputs provide empirical insights into participatory and regenerative approaches to socio-environmental transformation and contribute to ongoing academic and societal debates.
In addition, the project developed a Socio-environmental Impact Toolkit, designed to support researchers in reflecting on and communicating the societal impact of their work. The toolkit provides practical guidance on documenting collaborations with stakeholders and understanding the institutional conditions that enable or hinder societal impact.
Beyond research outputs, REWORLDING is embedding its approaches in higher education and doctoral training programmes at partner universities. The project also engages with policy actors and local communities through case studies and collaborative activities addressing issues such as energy transition, water governance, and cooperative practices.
Together, these outputs extend the state of the art in participatory design by integrating more-than-human perspectives, interdisciplinary collaboration, and societal engagement into research and training for socio-ecological transformation.
One key outcome is the Atlas of Synergies, a digital and physical repository documenting participatory and observational practices that reveal interdependencies between human and more-than-human actors. Using a shared documentation template, the Atlas enables researchers to systematically record and exchange methods for studying socio-ecological relationships and has already been expanded through workshops and conference contributions.
The project has also produced several research reports documenting collaborative research with communities, civil society organisations, and public institutions. These outputs provide empirical insights into participatory and regenerative approaches to socio-environmental transformation and contribute to ongoing academic and societal debates.
In addition, the project developed a Socio-environmental Impact Toolkit, designed to support researchers in reflecting on and communicating the societal impact of their work. The toolkit provides practical guidance on documenting collaborations with stakeholders and understanding the institutional conditions that enable or hinder societal impact.
Beyond research outputs, REWORLDING is embedding its approaches in higher education and doctoral training programmes at partner universities. The project also engages with policy actors and local communities through case studies and collaborative activities addressing issues such as energy transition, water governance, and cooperative practices.
Together, these outputs extend the state of the art in participatory design by integrating more-than-human perspectives, interdisciplinary collaboration, and societal engagement into research and training for socio-ecological transformation.