Paper Number
ECIS2026-1297
Paper Type
SP
Abstract
Stateless communities remain excluded from digital systems that presuppose formal identification and administrative visibility. This study examines how information systems can be designed for marginalised communities that are rendered digitally invisible by systemic non-recognition. Employing an Action Design Research approach, we investigate the deployment of a biometric registration system in a community health centre serving the Bajau Laut in Malaysia. Field engagement and practitioner interviews identify persistent challenges relating to identification practices, infrastructural constraints, uneven capability development, and trust-mediated governance. Guided by practice theory, these insights are synthesised into four preliminary design principles emphasising material adaptability, routine sensitivity, shared knowledge reinforcement, and attentiveness to situated emotion. By shifting digital inclusion beyond access and literacy to conditions of systemic non-recognition, the study advances design knowledge for contexts where legal and administrative recognition cannot be assumed and extends IS scholarship on digital inclusion for marginalised communities.
Recommended Citation
Xiong, Dominik; LEONG, Carmen; Chuah, Ee Chia; and Manan, Shima, "Designing For The Digitally Invisible: An Action Design Research On Stateless Communities" (2026). ECIS 2026 Proceedings. 6.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2026/gen_track/gen_track/6
Designing For The Digitally Invisible: An Action Design Research On Stateless Communities
Stateless communities remain excluded from digital systems that presuppose formal identification and administrative visibility. This study examines how information systems can be designed for marginalised communities that are rendered digitally invisible by systemic non-recognition. Employing an Action Design Research approach, we investigate the deployment of a biometric registration system in a community health centre serving the Bajau Laut in Malaysia. Field engagement and practitioner interviews identify persistent challenges relating to identification practices, infrastructural constraints, uneven capability development, and trust-mediated governance. Guided by practice theory, these insights are synthesised into four preliminary design principles emphasising material adaptability, routine sensitivity, shared knowledge reinforcement, and attentiveness to situated emotion. By shifting digital inclusion beyond access and literacy to conditions of systemic non-recognition, the study advances design knowledge for contexts where legal and administrative recognition cannot be assumed and extends IS scholarship on digital inclusion for marginalised communities.