Using living labs to engage communities and stakeholders in the development and knowledge exchange of urban health and sanitation solutions in the Global South

Tsekleves, Emmanuel and Pickup, Roger and Roy, Manoj (2024) Using living labs to engage communities and stakeholders in the development and knowledge exchange of urban health and sanitation solutions in the Global South. In: DRS2024: Research Papers :. DRS2024 Boston: Design Research Society Conference 2024 . Design Research Society, USA. ISBN 9781912294626

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Abstract

Engaging communities and stakeholders in developing user-centred urban health solutions, whilst linking the research to their own development, pose major challenges for design researchers working in the Global South. In a number of circular sanitation projects in a community school in Ghana, we co-designed and installed an anaerobic digester delivering electricity and sanitation improvements. To enhance impact we developed and pilot-tested a Living and physical Lab design approach. One project focussed on hand hygiene. We introduced students to ‘making the invisible visible’ by visualising microbes from their hands and assessing handwashing effects. Our findings suggest that visualisation of microbes not normally apparent to school children raised their awareness and prompted communication to peers and family. Building change agent capacity through community engagement like Living Labs can promote sustainable development in the community. Design researchers should further explore schoolchildren’s potential as home and community change agents.