“We live in a plural world”: a framework for rapid interdisciplinary and community engagement

Abstract

Designing effective products and services requires a sensitive understanding of the people for whom you are designing. There are a number of established approaches for achieving this, all of which are predicated on notions of community participation in research and development work. However, such participatory approaches are often deemed to be too specialized and time-consuming to be used at scale. Taking the opportunity generated by four concurrent RiseWise secondments in Guimarães, Portugal, we developed, trialled, and evaluated a framework for working together across disciplines and levels of experience, and with a local community of older adults. This chapter details this work and makes two key contributions. In describing our approach to engaging with a diverse group of older people through their local community association, we first provide a framework for inclusive and efficient community involvement. Secondly, we reflect on the experience of consolidating approaches and knowledge across disciplines within the research team, and on the impact that working closely with the community had on the research team.