Theorizing from Multidisciplinary Perspectives on the Design of Blockchains and Distributed Ledger Systems (Part 1)

Blockchain and distributed ledger technology is being advanced as a possible solution to the global crisis of trust, but in practice, this technology is still under theorized and not well understood. In 2019, the University of British Columbia hosted the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies’ International Research Roundtable on blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. Taking the theme “The Truth Machine: Exploring the Social, Records and Technical Potential and Pitfalls of Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies”, the roundtable applied a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary strategic design-led approach, creating a collaborative environment for the attendant global thought leaders to co-generate knowledge, and to explore and capture the interrelationships among three identified layers—social, data/records, and technical—in the design of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. The strategic design-led pedagogical process provided a useful and novel mechanism to engage participants, balancing critical thinking and creative approaches that facilitated multidisciplinary collaboration. Lessons were learned about the need to carefully roadmap the design journey and the importance of thoughtful event preparation and facilitation. Despite the challenges of the endeavour, the roundtable confirmed that applying a strategic design approach can overcome the systemic barriers that may prevent successful cooperation and collaboration during multidisciplinary work in academia.