Co-Design: The Three Essential Elements for Success
In previous co-design blogs, we discussed what co-design is, what "good" looks like, and the key principles of co-design. this time we will explore the three essential conditions for effective co-design: Commitment, Capability, and Capital.
To deliver a successful co-design process, the three "conditions" that are needed are:
Commitment from funders, participants, and the co-design team
Capability: a highly skilled facilitation team that is fit-for-purpose
Capital: co-design is a long-term process with costs involved
Commitment
Sponsorship and endorsement of the co-design approach
To change and carry the co-design process through to implementation
To the contributions of people with lived experience
In Principles of Co-design, we discuss how important it is that co-design team members are committed to the entire process because, for it to be effective, dedication needs to run at a deeper level. This includes funders, executive management, key stakeholders (i.e. partners) and clinical leaders.
All successful co-design processes value the input of consumers and those with lived experience, even if the participant may not have a clear vision of the outcome. Their experiences and perspectives are important for the success of the process (e.g. sharing how a program or service makes them feel). Participants must be committed to seeing this through, which can be achieved through paid participation and engagement.
It's important to note that funders and project sponsors are likely to act as change agents and play a key role in getting other stakeholders on board. They have a primary role in driving change management processes, so we need their buy-in and belief in the process for solutions to be implemented.
Example:
One way Beacon has supported commitment is through governance. To support commitment in co-design projects, appropriate project governance structures such as project steering groups can be developed. These groups include members from key organisations and consumer representatives. They provide sponsorship for the vision and co-design approach, drive and inform the project's direction and share the outputs of the co-design process with peers and colleagues in their respective organisations or community settings.
Capability
Process expertise
Experienced and skilled facilitators and co-design leaders support people to meaningfully and effectively participate
In previous blogs, we have talked about co-design being an adaptable process underpinned by 4 key principles and the role and responsibility of the facilitator in making that happen.
Having expertise in the effective facilitation of co-design is needed to support good outputs whilst fostering a positive, safe and productive environment for co-design team members. If you want people to enter an environment that promotes storytelling and co-production, you must be able to create a space that supports them to comfortably share their experiences and perspectives. This requires effective and proactive management of power to ensure co-design team members can recognise and value others’ experiences and perspectives. If successful, this can lead to a shared and equal contribution by consumers, professionals and other stakeholders where the values, needs and constraints within which people live and work are understood and recognised.
Depending on the topic, a trauma-informed approach may be needed. As a consultant, this might mean engaging and supporting someone who has lived experience to facilitate engagement with the co-design team, in the best interest of the project and the people you need to serve.
An experienced facilitator is skilled in incorporating research findings (‘the evidence’) into the co-design process, to support the co-design team members in generating relevant ideas that respond to the identified problem. Research findings may include analyses of what works well, what doesn’t work well, best practices and the policy environment, and should be used in conjunction with people’s experiences (which is also evidence) to develop solutions.
Capital
Takes time (~6-12 months)
Costs associated with facilitation and participation, investing in co-design outputs, testing, implementation and communication
Investment in a long-term commitment
Co-design takes time and is a long-term commitment. Some literature emphasises that it takes approximately 6-12 months to do co-design ‘well’. This point closely aligns with what has been discussed around “commitment” and dedication to seeing the process through to implementation. Additionally, it relates to circumstances where projects are being termed ‘co-design’ when, in reality, it may be ‘time-limited consultation’.
There are many resource considerations when undertaking co-design activities. Some primary considerations include:
Paying a skilled facilitator: you need a facilitator who is comfortable with and can work through tension because your co-design team will be discussing problems and negative feedback. A skilled facilitator who is external to the organisation that is commissioning the co-design process can also be beneficial to build trust with the co-design team and support neutrality.
Paying participants: let’s emphasise that co-design best practice highlights that the payment of co-design team members is important to demonstrate that you value their input. Additionally, it considers the personal burden that participating in a co-design process can have for someone who might be impacted financially. For example, they may need to catch public transport to get to a focus group meeting, require parking, or there might be opportunity costs, i.e. they have missed out on casual work, spending time with family, or caring for someone.
Resourcing the project: in addition to having a skilled facilitator and willing participants, it is important to consider the amount of work that you’ll need to resource in between meetings, writing up outputs, analysing findings and producing deliverables. These functions can be tackled both internally or outsourced, but either way, there is a cost.
Missed our other co-design blogs in this series? Read more about what co-design is and what ‘good’ looks like here or head here to read about the key elements and principles of co-design.
