ABSTRACT
In recent years, co-design and participatory methods have gained prominence in academic research and in the media and policy discourses. One can find media articles suggesting how these methods enhance creativity and create better products, and policy recommendations and governmental reports on how to use them to facilitate more inclusive communities. This chapter captures this trend, reflecting on the growing involvement of older people throughout the research process and focusing on understanding lived experiences and perceptions of later life within Age Studies and Science and Technology Studies. Participatory design (PD) is increasingly seen as the ‘appropriate’ approach to create, develop, implement and test technologies with and for older people. Following the ethos of participatory research, this methodology aims to empower users by supporting their involvement in the creation and evaluation of sociotechnical systems designed for them. PD for technology design has been employed in a multitude of ways as it became popularised in human–computer interaction, medicine and the social sciences.
