Engagingdesign - Methods for collective creativity

Research often problematises issues older people face and the development of technologies for older users is regularly driven by this agenda. This paper describes a research programme that positions older people as active participants rather than passive respondents focusing on their preferences and aspirations rather than their impairments. 'Engagingdesign' is a transnational research platform developed by the authors that facilitates creative methods for engaging older people and provides a scaffold for collective creativity. Data collected through interviews and focus groups is transformed through critical artefacts that provide a forum or theatre for conversation through exhibition that in turn becomes the medium and method for further data collection. © 2013 Springer-Verlag