The Role of Participatory Design in Constructing the Virtual Knowledge Commons

Abstract

The main goal of this chapter is to demonstrate how purposeful participatory design can be used to construct a virtual knowledge commons that both serves and is defined by communities. Other than the proposition that participatory design is a technique to guide participation within a community, the chapter also explores how this technique can be used to nurture and sustain a shared knowledge commons in the virtual environment. To this end, the conditions and consequences of the virtual environment are discussed, illustrating how with participation, the virtual commons is possibly sustainable. The chapter also raises the role of cultural institutions and examines a number of contemporary examples, resulting in a preliminary spectrum of participation by which practices of participation in the virtual knowledge commons by cultural institutions can be mapped. More research and fieldwork needs to be done to refine this model and generate exemplary practices for policy development and best practices in cultural institutions.