A workshop on what happens after the prototype: how participatory design moves from compelling academic outcomes into sustained community impact — and why so many promising interventions don't.
Submit a caseParticipatory Design has become a central approach in HCI — strong methods, energising workshops, real prototypes. Yet many projects produce compelling academic insights and then fail to achieve lasting uptake beyond the research context.
Interventions frequently remain localized, short-lived, or dependent on continued researcher involvement.
We frame this as the last mile of HCI: the gap between a participatory design outcome and an enduring socio-technical change. This workshop is built around that gap.
HCI has explored the early stages extensively. The transitions toward adoption, impact, and sustainability remain underexplored — and that's where breakdowns occur.
Engaging stakeholders and surfacing local knowledge.
Co-creating prototypes grounded in real-world needs.
Moving from prototype to embedded everyday use.
Change beyond the funding window.
Continued operation without the original team.
We welcome researchers and practitioners working with participatory, community-based, or intervention-driven approaches in HCI. The workshop hosts 12–20 participants, selected from short case submissions covering the context, intervention, intended impact, observed challenges, and a guiding question for discussion.
Send your case description and any questions to:
ann-kristin.lieberknecht@m-chair.de
Submissions are welcome at any time but strongly preferred before Tuesday, August 4. We review each case on a rolling basis and respond with a decision within two weeks of submission.
For orientation, see an example of a successful case.