Enhancing collaborative rule-making on global sustainability concerns through Participatory Design: A research agenda based empirically on United Nations developments on business conduct

This short paper outlines the background and prospects for a potential research agenda of Participatory Design (PD) in the area of collaborative transnational rule-making on global sustainability concerns. The paper adopts a pragmatic approach to interdisciplinary work, identifying new opportunities for PD by pointing to social science oriented processes that may be strengthened by the theory and practice of PD. With a theoretical foundation in legal philosophy on legitimacy and steps towards a deliberative democratic evolution of norms of conduct for global concerns, the paper is concerned with opportunities to involve a global citizenry in the evolution of norms of conduct that may affect the lives and futures of individuals. The paper describes research potential for PD towards enhancing information technology assisted inclusion of views, needs and concerns of individuals in transnational rule-making. It does so by drawing on the process that led to the 2011 United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This process exemplifies challenges in collaborative and inclusive global rule-making that that may be assisted by increased and informed deployment of IT in order to enhance broad and balanced participation in the rule-making process.