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Participatory design processes can entail involving individuals, groups, and communities in joint inquiry to deliberate on their current situation, imagine alternative futures, and forge possible collaborations. Relational sensitivity – drawing attention to relationships in a given situation – is important when staging (i.e., organising and designing for) and facilitating joint inquiry. It is a valuable concept with which to illuminate and discuss contingent circumstances that may arise and, more generally, to support participation in joint inquiry. 

This PhD thesis explores and develops views of and a vocabulary for discussing relational sensitivity so as to support practitioners in staging joint inquiry. The thesis includes both a literature review and practice-based studies, applying a research through design approach to discuss relational sensitivity. The practice-based studies examine two participatory design processes: the collaborative designing of a communal space with university students, and the development of shared practices and rituals in a co-working space with professionals from the public sector. The practice-based studies also include nine design experiments in which situations for joint inquiry have been staged in academic contexts and in a museum. Through the literature- and practice-based studies, the thesis addresses two research questions: “How can relational sensitivity be understood when staging situations for joint inquiry?” and “How can the study of relational sensitivity inform practitioners when staging situations for joint inquiry?” Research methods include the use of field notes, journal notes, collective analysis, audio- and video-recordings, and questionnaires.

The results include three perspectives from which to understand relational sensitivity when staging joint inquiry: sensitivity to self (e.g., reflexivity, self-awareness, and embodied awareness), sensitivity to intersubjective dynamics (e.g., attunement and responsiveness to group dynamics, affect, emotions, values, trust, and power dynamics), and sensitivity to materiality and process (e.g., the roles of materials, artefacts, and activities in reflection, social cohesion, and diverse contexts, and the role of the body in power dynamics). While relational sensitivity is primarily discussed in relation to practitioners – i.e., those staging joint inquiry – this thesis also discusses the importance of cultivating participants’ awareness of the self and others when staging joint inquiry to collectively support participation.

Overall, this research contributes to the research fields of innovation and design and of participatory design by developing knowledge of relational sensitivity and its role in staging situations for joint inquiry. It provides insights into how practitioners can develop, discuss, and study their relational sensitivity and support participants in participatory design processes.