Participants as the experts: A design perspective on transformative research enquire

Transformative Service Research (TSR) proposes change through the improvement of services focused on enhancing the quality of life of both individuals and communities. Current research in the area positions the field of design as an essential tool to create service experiences that enhance well-being because of its transdisciplinary and human-centred perspective, suggesting a transformative by design approach. This poster presents the data collection methods that we strategically combined in a PhD study that takes a transformative design approach to investigate service experiences that affect people’s self-determination and consequently impact their well-being. Premilinary results from the first study are also presented, highlighting potential areas for design intervention based on service users’ needs. The research focuses on the context of services offered through digital technologies that facilitate journeys to work for people with mobility impairments. Commuting to work is one of the many challenges that people with physical disabilities face to gain and maintain employment. Digital technologies can empower people in their everyday mobility dependent activities by providing self-determination strategies to enable services users to have control over their journeys. However, barriers to successful self-directed interactions with technology still occur because of fragmented and disconnected information, which negatively affect users’ well-being. To investigate the mobility experience of service users and how digital technologies enhance or hinder their self-determination during journeys, we selected the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) and collaborative design workshop as methods for data collection. The proposed methodology positions participants in the centre of enquiry to give them a voice where they are considered the experts of their experiences and therefore have the power to raise suggestions, concerns, and propose ideas on how to transform services that support their well-being