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Design Authority

Definition of Design Authority in the Ethotechnics glossary (Governance & power). The accountable power to set moral constraints, choose safeguards, and fund enforcement. Clear…

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Scholarly metadata

Authorship

Contact: research@ethotechnics.org

Publication details

  • Published: Dec 3, 2025
  • Last updated: Jan 9, 2026
  • Version: v1.1.0
  • DOI: Pending Zenodo deposit

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

Credit Ethotechnics Institute, include the term title + version, and link to the glossary permalink.

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Changelog

  • v1.1.0 · 2026-01-09 — Expanded scholarly metadata, operational tests, and provenance notes.
  • v1.0.0 · 2025-12-03 — Initial glossary release with stable permalinks.

Copy citation (APA/BibTeX)

Cite this glossary entry Formats: APA, MLA, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS

Version

v1.1.0

Last updated

Jan 9, 2026

DOI

Pending Zenodo deposit

APA

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. (2026). Design Authority. Ethotechnics glossary. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/design-authority

MLA

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. "Design Authority." Ethotechnics glossary, 2026, https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/design-authority.

Chicago

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. "Design Authority." Ethotechnics glossary. Jan 9, 2026. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/design-authority.

BibTeX

@misc{glossary_design-authority,
  title={Design Authority},
  author={Ethotechnics Institute Research Team},
  year={2026},
  howpublished={Ethotechnics glossary},
  url={https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/design-authority},
  version={v1.1.0}
}

RIS

TY  - WEB
TI  - Design Authority
AU  - Ethotechnics Institute Research Team
PY  - 2026
UR  - https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/design-authority
ER  -

Definition

The accountable power to set moral constraints, choose safeguards, and fund enforcement. Clear design authority aligns incentives, protects contestability, and prevents accountability diffusion.

Scope

H. Governance & power. Structures that determine who sets moral boundaries and who can intervene.

Operational tests

  • Evidence appears in documentation, interface cues, or governance artifacts that reflect design authority.
  • Teams can point to a concrete example that demonstrates design authority in practice.

Genealogy

Ethotechnics uses Design Authority to extend the h. governance & power vocabulary and connect governance, design, and policy teams.