Workshop Theme
As work and the organization of work evolve, especially in non-workplace contexts e.g. being volunteer-based or in other unpaid situations [2], we see more collaboration occurring at the boundaries of organizations, existing communities of practice and self-organized groups, etc. CSCW researchers and practitioners are increasingly confronted with the challenge of designing support for people whose work practices, although intertwined, are not guided by established protocols or settings that are specifically put in place to support work and collaboration.
Furthermore, the collaborative work practices may be unforeseen and depend on actors that previously have not seen any need for collaboration.
How then do we
1) talk about collaboration that does not take place in or is dependent on a specific organization, community or group, and
2) design for such collaborations?
We invite participants and contributions that can inform a discussion on the following topics and questions:
- How to create a better understanding of collaboration across boundaries?
- What are conceptual links between existing concepts e.g. Knotworking, Publics and Communities of action; what are their similarities and differences?
- Do the notions of Knotworking, Publics and Communities of action provide sufficient tools to better understand and ultimately design for emergent and temporary collaborations across established communities? What other concepts could be useful?
- How do we use the existing concepts mentioned above in our design work?
- How to identify potential stakeholders that might be involved in cross boundaries collaboration?
- How to design for future use, and if needed "design-after-design"?
- What can we learn from successful and unsuccessful projects in cross boundaries settings?