Developing Social Alongside Technical Infrastructure: A Case Study Applying ICTD Tenets to Marginalized Communities in the United States

Abstract

This article provides a model by which to apply ICTD tenets within the context of the U.S. It presents a case study of co-designing a technology application with community health workers, promotoras, working in a historically marginalized community within the U.S. It examines both the process of co-design as well as the use of the designed product as interventions intended to enhance the promotoras’ agency and ability to transform opportunities for themselves and their community. This article argues that designing equity-oriented design solutions involves ethnography and participatory design, as well as attention to both the social and technical infrastructure.