IN

InTouchLab is a research and development laboratory dedicated to accessibility, with a focus on designing games and educational resources through civil community participation. It emerged from CICANT's trajectory in participatory and socially engaged research, particularly leveraging initiatives exploring how playful, tangible, and inclusive design can bridge the gap between academia and civil society by means of participatory action-research.

The overarching goal of InTouchLab is to design, test, and disseminate resources and methodologies that promote inclusion, autonomy, meaningful connection, and evidence-based links between people, communities, and ideas. It focuses on the study and development of both tangible and digital media that incorporate the voices and needs of underrepresented groups, cultural institutions, and students as a strategy to transform research outcomes into usable and socially valuable artefacts.

Mission

InTouch Lab is committed to designing playful and tangible bridges between people and ideas. Rooted in participatory action research, the Lab’s mission is to co-create and disseminate accessible and inclusive media, games, and interfaces that translate scientific knowledge into socially meaningful artefacts. As an academic structure, InTouch Lab also intends to systematically analyse and critically reflect on the scientific evidence related to these creative and developmental processes.

Within this premise, InTouch Lab wants to make research usable, significant and emotionally resonant by bringing together academia, civil society, cultural institutions, and other relevant stakeholders. It wants to turn abstract findings into evidence-based experiences that promote well-being, independence, and social connection.

Its activities seek to:

Empower individuals and communities through playful, participatory, and tangible engagement;
Advance inclusive design practices that make science, culture and communication more accessible to all;
Serve as a transdisciplinary hub where sciences converge to generate new models of civic and artistic participation;
Contribute to free access to tangible and digital resources that promote well-being and skills for people with disabilities.
Reinforce CICANT’s commitment to research with social value, where knowledge is not only produced but also shared, felt, and lived.

Ethical Premises

Ethics are at the core of InTouch Lab’s philosophy, guiding every stage of research, design, and dissemination. Therefore, the Lab adopts an inclusive, participatory, and human-centered ethical framework, built upon the following principles:

Respect and Dignity. Every participant, either academic, student, or community member is valued as part of the knowledge creation process. The Lab rejects extractive or hierarchical research models, promoting instead mutual respect and equitable participation.
Accessibility as a Right. Accessibility is understood not merely as a technical criterion, but as a fundamental human right and an ethical obligation.
Transparency and Co-Ownership. Research processes and results are openly shared, respecting participants’ authorship and intellectual contribution. The Lab follows open science principles and ensures that resources are disseminated in the applicable accessible formats and languages.
Reflexivity and Care. Ethical reflection is continuous and dialogical, being valued reflexive spaces where researchers, participants, and partners critically discuss power dynamics, representation, and the emotional impact of co-creation.
Sustainability and Social Impact. The Lab prioritizes the long-term sustainability of its interventions, aiming for tangible improvements in inclusion, digital and cultural participation, and everyday autonomy of the involved communities.