Exploratory Papers should present original, unpublished ideas and research that explores, advances or reflects on PD’s potential future developments. Exploratory Papers benefit from making one, clear contribution. Authors are encouraged to present a focused reflection or a meaningful empirical case study. A focused reflection will be expected to explore or advance existing ideas/concepts or propose new ones at a theoretical level, even coming from nearby disciplines to build an interdisciplinary dialogue. A case study will be expected to present applications of PD that are empirically fascinating even without strong theoretical grounding.

Compared to PDC Full Papers, Exploratory Papers are shorter and more concise (maximum length being 4000 words). They are not expected to provide the depth of a Full Paper; however, they should still make a strong contribution to knowledge as an archival publication. We also encourage the submission of Exploratory Papers that will stimulate and provoke discussion at the conference around contemporary and future issues and challenges for the field of participatory design.

PDC Exploratory Papers can be submitted on any topic or issue of relevance to participatory design theory, practice or methods – however, we are especially interested in soliciting submissions that relate to the specific themes of the 2024 conference.

You can submit your paper via the ConfTool submission system.

Important dates

All times are in Anywhere on Earth (AoE) time zone.

• 13th November 2023 – Call for Exploratory Papers
• 12th February 2024 – Submission deadline extended for Exploratory Papers
• 26th March 2024 – Notification to authors (Accept or Reject)
• 31st May 2024 – Camera ready papers deadline for accepted submissions

Submissions and Review Process

Exploratory Papers go through a double-blind, single-round, peer review process.

Two key deadlines for Exploratory Paper authors are:

1. The 1st deadline is extended to 12th February 2024, when authors are required to submit their papers. On or before 26th March 2024, authors will be notified of the outcome of the reviews: either they will be accepted to the conference or their paper will be rejected.

2. The 2nd deadline is on 31st May 2024, when selected authors will submit their camera ready papers. These will then be processed to be published on the ACM Digital Library prior to the start of the conference.

3. Papers should be submitted according to the instructions and template available on the submission page. They should be anonymised for blind peer review.

Presentation at PDC 2024

Exploratory Papers will be presented and discussed in dedicated sessions at the conference (precise format to be determined). In order for the paper to be published in the proceedings at least one author must register for the conference.

Information given to reviewers

If you are submitting to PDC 2024, it may be helpful to also take a look at our guide for reviewing papers for PDC. This gives an overview of what PDC reviewers are asked to look for and act like when reviewing papers and can help authors in the preparation of their submission.

Exploratory Papers Chairs

• Kasper Rodil (Aalborg University, Denmark)
• David Lamas (Tallinn University, Estonia)

Contact: exploratorypapers@pdc2024.org