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Paper short abstract

We developed a participatory method for co-creating gender equality indicators in Faridabad, India, enabling diverse groups to deliberate despite contentious conflict, fostering inclusive, reflexive governance of SDG indicators for just and livable futures.

Paper long abstract

Indicators are widely used as a governance tool to create just and livable futures (Rottenburg & Merry, 2015), with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a prime example. Yet several Science and Technology Studies (STS) scholars show that indicators are socio-materially co-produced through values, power relations, and infrastructures. When existing asymmetries go unchallenged, indicators risk reinforcing inequality. Studies therefore developed participatory methods of indicator development based on direct deliberation (e.g. Marres & De Rijcke, 2020). However, these may be difficult to use in highly contentious settings where socio-material barriers hinder direct deliberation.

This article develops and tests a method for participatory indicator development designed for these challenging contentious contexts. We applied and tested this method in co-creating gender equality indicators under the SDGs in Faridabad district, India, through a series of workshops. We collected and analyzed data of eight workshop sessions, interviews with all 20 participants prior and after each session, six expert interviews, facilitator meeting notes, and workshop outputs.

Our findings show that combining geographically and temporally dispersed participation with reflexive co-design grounded in care principles, enables different groups that otherwise do not see eye to eye to deliberate about gender equality and develop indicators. This facilitates more inclusive development of indicators in contentious settings such as equality and sustainability. By collaboratively reshaping when, where, and how participation occurs, the method facilitates more inclusive and reflexive indicator governance, in order to foster the building of just and livable futures.