Collaborative design for social resilience: lessons from the Indian Sundarbans Delta

The concept of social resilience broadly refers to a community’s ability to deal with, adapt to, and transform in the face of crises. In this paper, we examine how co-design practices within the context of mandated forums can facilitate and reconfigure disaster risk governance in the Indian Sundarbans Delta. Using participatory mapping, design charrettes, and validation circles, we explore the dynamic relationship between traditional ecological knowledge and scientific knowledge to co-design solutions, such as climate-resilient betel vine (Piper betle) cultivation, the placement of afforestation interventions, as well as co-designing integrated water management systems. Three embedded co-design processes involved residents affected by floods and cyclones collaborating with government engineers, members of the Water User Association (WUA), and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to refine the technical, procedural, and institutional framework for risk management. Throughout this examination of co-design as a methodology, we consider how these design interactions alter the nature of the relationship by transforming rules, routines, and material infrastructures. It contributes to codesign scholarship by demonstrating how facilitation, timing, and epistemic negotiation operate as situated design moves that embed plural knowledges and community claims within public-sector decision-making.