Connecting through Information

Abstract

Connecting through Information is a participatory tool for citizens to map their Information Ecosystem. The aim is to foster citizen participation while developing data literacies through design methods. Through the use of Connecting through Information during a participatory session, members of citizen initiatives discuss and reflect on their role in their hyperlocal information ecosystem. Going through the path of expression during the session (current situation, past experiences and possible future, at the end of the session participants have concrete actionable ideas to carry on their goals as an initiative. Connecting through Information is adapted from a framework of information ecosystems for resilience. Through a set of requirements (effective, engaging,and actionable) based on literature on participatory design and design for infrastructuring , the researcher's framework was translated into a citizen tool, and three iterations of the tool evaluated. The final iteration of Connecting through Information was validated in context with citizen initiatives in Delfshaven, Rotterdam.