Creating safe spaces for vulnerable conversations: what Council Tax research taught us

Theme: Inclusive research

Talking about money is one of the hardest parts of design research - especially with financially vulnerable people who often feel excluded, ashamed or afraid.

This session uses a Council Tax case study to explore how we can democratise participation by creating safer, more empowering research conditions. We’ll look at the power dynamics involved in discussing finances and share practical tools for enabling people in hardship to meaningfully shape public services.

Through a light roleplay exercise, participants will build confidence in conducting ethical, inclusive conversations that help design more transparent, equitable services - strengthening democratic values in everyday service design.

Participant takeaways

• how to create psychological safety in financially sensitive research, including framing techniques, non‑extractive questions and trauma‑aware facilitation approaches
• ways to reduce power imbalance in money conversations, so that vulnerable participants feel able to speak honestly and with control
• practical methods for anonymisation, consent and emotional safety, helping participants understand how their information is used and increasing trust
• tools for making participation accessible to people in financial hardship, supporting the democratisation of design by including the voices we rarely hear
• a replicable approach for running sensitive conversations, adaptable across debt, benefits, housing and other public sector contexts involving vulnerability