Involving the people affected by a proposed project can be challenging. It demands that we make a shift from designing for to designing with. Because it is hard, we often aren't sure how and when to do it, and to ensure that we are able to do it deeply enough.
To ensure meaningful participation, and to respectfully right-size the effort, you may want to bring a design partner into your investment who will have the explicit role of facilitating participatory processes that maximize engagement while creating safe conditions for people to share experiences and ideas.
