The Matrix of Convivial Technology – Assessing technologies for degrowth
AndreaVetter February 2016 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652617304213?via%3Dihub convivial technologies are developed as a notion describing desirable technologies for a degrowth society. The concept revisits terms of the 1970s growth critique debates proposing “appropriate”, “soft”, “alternative”, or “radical” technologies, and “convivial tools” as possibilities that promote more equality for people and are less harmful to the environment.
Formerly not related, practically oriented groups and networks such as grassroot tinkerers, makers, eco-activists and permaculturalists now see themselves partly as part of the European degrowth movement – reflected in the fact that they join degrowth conferences and publish in degrowth contexts.1
The five dimensions of convivial technologies
Convivial technologies- five core dimensions - relatedness, accessibility, adaptability, bio-interaction and appropriateness
Matrix of Convivial Technology (MCT) is a specific tool to make findings of qualitative social research accessible to different stakeholders. It is a tool to make different ethical values behind a technology visible and to weight these dimensions against each other.