Shaping HCI Research for Children's Care Ecosystem Involvement

Who is this workshop for?

We invite researchers, designers, and practitioners to join our 90-minute, in-person CHI 2026 workshop on designing technologies for and with children and their broader care ecosystems. While the primary focus is on children’s care ecosystems, we also welcome participants who are interested in applying an ecosystem lens to other populations. We invite contributions that address theoretical, methodological, or practical aspects of care ecosystem-centered design across home, school, clinical, and community settings.

Participants are invited to communicate their interest in participating by submitting one of the following:

1.  A short statement of interest (~250 words) describing your background and an ecosystem-related project or challenge.
   OR

2. A position paper (2-4 pages, including references).

Submissions should address the following themes:

2. 1. Ongoing or planned HCI work with children and their care ecosystems (e.g., families, educators, therapists, and other stakeholders), and/or

   2. Challenges and design practices for multi-stakeholder research, including open questions to be discussed that can shape the research agenda.

Submission Format: Please submit PDFs via email to the organizers at ecocareworkshop@gmail.com, including your full name, affiliation, and current role/title.

At least one author of each accepted contribution must register for and attend both the workshop and the main conference, and all workshop participants must register for both.

We look forward to engaging discussions on advancing care ecosystem-centered design at CHI 2026!