ABSTRACT
Co-design has decades of history in different disciplines and traditions. Its relevance has been recognised in multiple domains, including in the promotion of gender equality in higher education institutions, while its use in this context still remains quite limited, and not embracing its full potential. This chapter discusses the divergent origins of co-design and elaborates on how it has been co-cultivated for addressing gender equality in higher education institutions in the RESET project. The co-cultivation has derived inspiration from traditions such as participatory design, critical design, and speculative design, as well as from futures-making and anticipation traditions. In the empirical part, we describe the design research relying on qualitative data collection and analysis methods that we have carried out. Several co-design methods have been empirically explored in a participatory manner in the context of the promotion of gender equality in higher education institutions. Empirical co-design experiences are presented, as well as co-design principles aimed at serving gender equality work. The principles emphasise: 1) providing a safe place to explore and articulate controversial and power-laden topics in co-design; 2) encouragement for critique, questioning, and exploring alternative futures, values, and agendas in co-design; 3) fostering broad, inclusive, and genuine participation in co-design; and 4) advocacy of participatory infrastructuring for sustained social change in co-design. These principles provide a novel contribution not yet elaborated in the extant co-design literature.
