A set of concentric circles representing broadening scope of community assets, from individuals and family to broad societal institutions.
Abstract
As researchers working in different subareas within human-computer interaction, but with a shared commitment to work with communities facing historical inequities, we - the collective authors - have been keen to explore alternative approaches to designing with communities. In particular, we are enthusiastic about moving away from focusing on a community’s needs toward building on its strengths. We see the potential of focusing on assets to enrich HCI work toward social justice, informing designs that could take us beyond the traditional “here and now” fixes that rarely attain sustained impact. However, our varied experiences with assets-based design across contexts (e.g., education, health, humanitarian action, community development, and immigration) have also unearthed two fundamental questions that loom large in the process of translating assets into designs that interact with intersecting systems of oppression: What is the right thing to do? and How do we know we have done it?