“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” ~ African Proverb
On 13 December 2024, we hosted the second workshop in the IDEA Network’s The Role of Universities in the Ethical Digital Nation project, supported by Scotland’s Future Series. Titled Co-Designing Ethical Digital Interventions, the event took place at Walter Bower House, University of St Andrews, and brought together a vibrant, multidisciplinary group of university staff, students, community organisers, policymakers, and industry leaders.
Where our first workshop explored why universities must engage in digital ethics, this one asked the more practical question: how?
A Shift in Focus: From Vision to Action
While our October workshop was foundational, setting out the role universities can play in shaping an ethical digital nation, this second session marked an important shift toward action. The focus? Moving from values and theory to practice: exploring how co-design, community participation, and sustained partnerships can produce ethical, inclusive, and practical digital solutions.
We didn’t come to talk about communities. We came to work with them.
Opening Conversations: Why Co-Design?
We opened with a reflection on co-design as both methodology and philosophy, grounded in mutual respect, shared ownership/decision making, and collective imagination. As I shared during the opening remarks:
“Co-design is not just about better outcomes, it’s about better processes. About building trust, centring lived experience, and imagining futures with, not for, communities.”
The audience then shared compelling case studies on community-led digital development that demonstrated what meaningful co-design can look like in action.
Group Sessions: Mapping Challenges, Building Intervention
Our core activity focused on hands-on, collaborative sessions where interdisciplinary groups worked to:
Identify digital barriers facing specific communities (e.g. digital poverty, accessibility, mistrust, exclusion).
Explore co-design strategies that empower communities to shape digital systems directly.
Sketch ethical interventions grounded in lived experience—ranging from inclusive digital literacy programs and accessible tools to trust-building frameworks and alternative financial infrastructures.
The energy in the room was electric! Every team leaned in, combining real-world expertise with creativity and care.
What We Heard
A lot of interesting insights! But several urgent, interconnected themes stood out across the sessions:
1. Digital Inequality Is Systemic, and Persistent
Participants highlighted barriers such as financial exclusion, inaccessible tech, and the cost of assistive tools. These issues aren’t new, but they are growing, especially for disabled users, older adults, and those without smartphones.
“This isn’t going away.” “Disabilities are a concern too → Cost of accessibility support.”
2. Trust and Ethics Start with Relationships
Many attendees voiced concern over institutional mistrust. Community members are often asked to engage in digital initiatives that feel extractive, opaque, or short-lived.
“Taking trust for granted – timeline of projects.” “Not being from the community that you are about.”
There was strong support for ethical, community-led frameworks that reflect local needs, values, and voices—not just compliance checklists.
3. Knowledge Must Be Shared, Not Shelved
Participants voiced frustration at the inaccessibility of academic research—often paywalled, overly complex, or disconnected from community concerns.
“Gap between academic presentation of knowledge vs. what is understood & digestible by practitioners.”
We need better knowledge translation: from open access to creative formats, universities must act as bridges—not barriers—to useful, ethical information.
4. Participation Requires Resources
Ethical engagement is not free labour. Participants stressed the importance of fair compensation, long-term partnerships, and support systems for genuine community co-design.
“We need to PAY for PARTICIPATION, non-negotiable.”
This wasn’t just about funding—it was about respect, recognition, and rebalancing power.
From Insights to Action: What’s Next?
These workshop insights are directly informing our upcoming white paper, The Role of Universities in the Ethical Digital Nation, which synthesises discussions from both events into practical, evidence-based recommendations for policy, higher education, and community partnerships.
A few of the key takeaways that will shape our policy proposals:
Reform university impact metrics to value long-term, community-centred change.
Support ethical curricula that embed digital responsibility across all fields.
Build institutional structures for sustained university-community collaboration.
Create open, community-owned ethical frameworks for digital systems.
Ensure participation is equitable, funded, and transparent.
These aren’t just recommendations. They’re invitations, for all of us to imagine and enact ethical digital futures together ✨
Thank You
This workshop, and the white paper it’s helping to shape, would not have been possible without the brilliant contributions of our attendees.
To our community partners, students, staff, researchers, and policymakers: thank you for showing up with such openness, insight, and commitment
Special thanks to Truman Venters, our Engagement Facilitator, whose dedication and support were central to making this event a success.
