Note Details
- Stage: seed 🌱
- Type: method
- Topics: civic-design, protocols, patterns, knowledge-commons
A participatory design process for composing open civic systems using patterns, protocols, and playbooks.
The Assembly Protocol is a framework for composing open civic systems through participatory design. It provides a structured approach to building civic infrastructure by articulating metadata and relationships between civic utilities, defining procedural composition and co-design methodology, and supporting knowledge commoning and feedback cycles through a shared ontology and pattern language.
The protocol is organized around three key components:
- Patterns: Conceptual blueprints that define shared understanding and goals. Patterns are expressions of a telos — the underlying purpose or direction of a civic system.
- Protocols: Operational mechanisms that standardize processes for collaboration and coordination. These are the functional building blocks listed under specific civic functions.
- Playbooks: Actionable guides that provide step-by-step instructions for implementation.
Metadata Dimensions
The framework uses several metadata dimensions to classify civic components:
- Civic scales — the geographic or organizational scope
- Civic sectors — the domain or sector of activity
- Civic utilities — the functional parts that compose a civic stack