Search for: All records

Collective decision-making in civic design contexts is often structured around surface-level consensus, such as idea popularity, which can obscure the diverse values that underlie community preferences. In this paper, we investigate how foregrounding shared values impacts the convergence phase of a community design process. We conducted a within-subjects experiment (n=24) using a design probe that simulates a civic decision-making task for a local recreational park. Participants engaged in three conditions, counterbalanced for order, that varied the extent to which personal values were identified before voting. Through surveys and interviews, we found that value conditions significantly increased participants’ sense of inclusion, alignment with community values, and willingness to compromise, without increasing perceived effort. Participants reported that value-centered framing helped them interpret others’ priorities, reflect on their own, and feel more connected to the broader community. These findings contribute to the design of civic technologies by demonstrating how lightweight value-centered scaffolding can support deeper deliberation, shared understanding, and more equitable public input.