Participatory design and Research Methodology
Practical approaches to negotiate people, power and spatial justice
Design with communities, not just for them
Architecture school teaches us to perfect the outcome. In the real world, outcomes depend on process: who is consulted, how data is collected, and who holds power. Too often, field research is extractive — we take information from communities and give nothing back.
PDAL is a hands-on lab where you learn to design with communities, not just for them, using open-source tools and methods tested in Indian and international projects.
Sometimes the best solution to an urban problem isn't a building.
8:00 - 10:00 PM IST
Live interactive classes
Certificate
On successful completion
Interactive sessions
With industry experts
Class recordings
Access to all live sessions
International instructors
London & Warsaw
Portfolio output
A published zine or resource pamphlet
Built for people who shape places
B.Arch / M.Arch students
Do thesis fieldwork ethically and add a community project to your portfolio
Applying for a master's abroad
Show a live participatory project in your application
Architects & interior designers
Run client and user workshops and turn needs into briefs
Urban designers & planners
Lead consultations, public-space audits and participatory plans
NGO & development professionals
Design inclusive consultations and advocacy tools
Researchers & UX / service designers
Apply field methods like photovoice and counter-mapping
Meet your Instructors!
Ar. Dhanya Rajagopal
Participatory urban designer and cultural placemaker; independent consultant at The Thinking Cauldron.
Also teaches Architectural Journalism at Delopus
Based in Warsaw. MSc Urban Placemaking & Management, Pratt Institute, New York. Expertise: Applied research, counter-mapping, cultural landscape strategy, facilitation and advocacy.
Ashni Jain
Urban sociologist, participatory designer and architect.
Based in London. MSc City Design and Social Science, London School of Economics. Expertise: Community and stakeholder engagement, participatory design, placemaking, urban strategy.
Together they bring international experience across civic engagement, collaborative action research, NGOs, grassroots movements and public and private consulting.
Course Curriculum
Part 1 · Foundations (Week 1)
Module 1 - Participatory design in real projects
- Ethics, civic engagement, IAP2 spectrum, Indian and global case studies.
- Output: Pick a local issue.
Part 1 · Foundations (Week 1)
Module 2 - Reading complex systems
- Place, people and everyday life.
- Output: First system sketch.
Part 2 · Reading Place (Week 2)
Module 3 - Participatory research methods
- Photovoice, counter-mapping, asset mapping, ethical data collection.
- Output: Choose your method.
Part 2 · Reading Place (Week 2)
Module 4 - Observation & ethnography
- Behaviour mapping, urban ethnography, open-source tools.
- Output: Field-observation framework.
Part 3 · Politics, Power & Urban Governance (Week 3)
Module 5 - How Indian cities are governed
- Local bodies, 74th Amendment, Smart Cities, Kerala's People's Plan; who holds power.
- Output: Power and influence map.
Part 3 · Politics, Power & Urban Governance (Week 3)
Module 6 - Policy, complexity and impact
- Policy reading, complexity mapping, Theory of Change.
- Output: Draft Theory of Change.
Part 4 · Planning & Producing a Participatory Workshop (Weeks 4–5)
Module 7 - Project clinic
- Stakeholder and community network mapping with instructor review.
- Output: Stakeholder map.
Part 4 · Planning & Producing a Participatory Workshop (Weeks 4–5)
Module 8 - Designing a participatory workshop
- Process design, facilitation guides, gamification.
- Output: Facilitation plan.
Part 4 · Planning & Producing a Participatory Workshop (Weeks 4–5)
Module 9 - From method to zine
- Apply it to your live issue and produce your output.
- Output: Draft zine.
Part 4 · Planning & Producing a Participatory Workshop (Weeks 4–5)
Module 10 - Final presentations
- Group presentations, feedback and certificates.
From a real issue to a published zine
- 1
Identify a real issue or community partner
- 2
Map stakeholders and networks
- 3
Design a participatory methodology
- 4
Publish a zine or resource pamphlet
In five weeks you won't run a full project — you will document a real issue and design the method to address it, ready to take forward.
What you take away
- Database of participatory tools
- Sample facilitation guide
- Portfolio-ready project and zine
- Case studies and reading material
- Gamification ideas for workshops
- Certificate of completion
- Access to the instructors' practitioner network
- Recordings of all sessions
Why this course is different
- Global methods, Indian urban lens
- A real issue or community partner, not a classroom exercise
- Scenario-based reflection, not just lectures
- Takes politics and power seriously alongside design tools
- A toolkit that transfers to practice, policy, NGO work and research
Enroll in the Course
One-time fee. Includes certificate, lifetime recordings access, and all course materials.
Course Fee
- 5 weeks of live online sessions
- Certificate upon course completion
- Lifetime recordings access
Student or college group? Chat with us for special pricing →
Frequently asked questions
What Our Students Say
Hear from professionals who have transformed their careers through our courses
Alexis Fu
Designer/Engineer
“I felt this course broadened my horizons not just in terms of professional possibilities but also in terms of my own writing abilities and my tendency to pick on what I am lacking rather than to build up what I already have, which this course gave me confidence in. I appreciated the practical approach taken by the instructors and their reference to deeper reasoning. I also did not think about research writing as something I could do at all before this course. Additionally, the aspects and nuances of architectural journalism were made very clear too”
