The empathy paradox: deconstructing concepts within human-centred design and development discourse

Amid the recent ‘innovation turn’ within the international development sector, human-centred design (HCD) has gained significant popularity. Advocates claim that this approach produces innovative, scalable solutions better suited to local contexts due to its emphasis on empathy. However, by drawing on post-development and discourse theories, this research identifies a paradox: describing empathy as a tool for designers to understand those facing a problem, HCD inadvertently bolsters the authority of external actors as ‘experts’ on the experiences of local communities, thus centring their knowledge and power to decide the solution. Using the example of ‘empowerment’, I connect this paradox with the failures of other concepts to effect reform within the sector due to the structure of development discourse and the influence of neoliberalism on its strategies. Conversely, by observing divergences within an in-depth case study of a project conducted by a development consultancy, I identify potential seeds of transgression that could inform an improved approach. While the overall findings indicate that HCD is insufficient in addressing the structural inequalities within the sector, refocusing the use of empathy within development projects to place greater emphasis on its role in illuminating complexities among harm, power and emotion may be a step towards improvement.