Maximise Co-Design Impact: strategies for incorporating feedback
Seeking feedback from the big circle, going wide or conducting feedback loops — whatever you call it, it should be part of your co-design repertoire.
Engaging broadly brings credibility to your co-design process
Co-design is a collaborative approach that brings together various stakeholders to solve complex problems or create new solutions. But when genuine co-design favours engaging small groups of stakeholders in-depth, how do we ensure the results are valid and comprehensive?
This blog post outlines three interchangeable concepts that co-designers may refer to when undertaking co-design work. They are small circle, big circle, going deep versus going wide, and feedback loops. These concepts all relate to seeking input from the crowd to validate and refine co-design outputs. We'll then provide insight on how to embed this practice into your co-design process.
Small circle, big circle
In co-design, some facilitators use the terms 'small circle' and 'big circle' to describe a co-design process that engages with a few intensively but also collects insight from a broader stakeholder pool.
The 'small circle' includes those stakeholders directly involved in the co-design activity. These are usually lived experience folks, professionals, or others with a vested interest in the issue at hand.
The 'big circle' consists of other stakeholders and people with lived experience who did not participate directly.
The benefit of reaching out to the big circle is to gather external viewpoints. This feedback helps to validate and refine the outputs generated by the small circle. It ensures that the co-design findings are not only innovative but also feasible and applicable in a broader context.
Going deep vs. going wide
Similar to the small circle, 'going deep' refers to in-depth engagement with a small group of co-design participants. It typically involves smaller groups and allows for a deeper conversation vital to the co-design process.
On the flip side, 'going wide' means expanding the scope to include feedback more broadly from stakeholders outside those engaged directly. This broadening of the net is crucial for gathering many perspectives that build upon and validate the co-design outputs.
Feedback loops
The term 'feedback loops' or 'looping' is another way to describe the cycle of receiving and incorporating external input. These loops occur at various points in the co-design process. The feedback is captured and integrated into the co-design findings, giving the process added weight and credibility.
A feedback loop would generally take what has been developed by a discrete group of co-design participants and seek feedback from those outside the direct co-design process — with their feedback made available to co-design participants and informing the direction of the co-design process.
When to engage widely
So, when do you go to the big circle? When do you go wide? When do you run a feedback loop?
Broad engagement is generally most useful when seeking to surface up convergence (validation) or divergence (disagreement). This may relate either to the 'problem space' or the 'solution space'. Additionally, it also comes in handy to seek alternate views or suggestions when divergence appears (i.e. why don't you agree? What is missing?).
Going to the big circle, going wide and conducting feedback loops should be done with care and reasonable expectations of participants. It shouldn't be used as a replacement for things that are better suited to discussion with individuals or smaller groups, such as hearing detailed experiences or collaborating to design a component of a service model.
How to engage widely during a co-design process
Engaging widely can be straightforward. Consider the example of a service model developed by a small group of co-design participants. The time has come in the co-design process where you (the co-design facilitator) and the co-design group want to test the co-design findings with others.
Here's a few steps to guide your way:
Preparation: create written materials that summarise the service model and its rationale. Alternatively, record a webinar for those who prefer audio-visual content.
Timing and scheduling: determine optimal time frames for external feedback aligned with key project milestones.
Stakeholder identification: identify who belongs in the 'big circle' to include all relevant perspectives (this ideally should be done earlier in the project)
Survey design: develop a survey with sentiment or scaled questions to gauge agreement levels. Include open-ended questions for nuanced feedback. Ensure the use of non-leading questions for unbiased data.
Pilot testing: run a pilot test of the survey with a small group to ensure clarity and reasonable completion time.
Multi-channel approach: use multiple communication channels like emails, newsletters, or social media to distribute materials and surveys if needed. Note that 'going broad' works best when approaching a list of known stakeholders who are expecting the opportunity to participate.
Data collection: capture and analyse survey results, presenting data from going to the 'big circle' with findings from intensive engagement with the 'small circle'.
Communication: draft communication thanking external stakeholders for their input. Inform the co-design team about the feedback for refining or confirming existing work. Communicate the impact of 'going wide' to all participants.
Review and adapt: Assessing the broad feedback received that requires your co-design process to be refined in any way.
'Going wide' should be a standard feature in your co-design repertoire
In co-design, engaging widely through concepts like the big circle, going wide, and feedback loops can significantly enhance the quality of the co-design outputs. It helps in capturing a diverse range of perspectives and in validating the work done by the core co-design team.
Knowing when and how to expand the engagement scope is pivotal for the success of any co-design project.
To explore more about effective co-design strategies and how they can benefit your organisation, visit our Co-Design Homepage.
You can view the entire co-design process series here.
