co-design callouts 2
Assembling the Co-design Team
Welcome to our latest edition of "Co-design Call-Outs" we take a look at co-design, co-production, and participation as they apply to children's services, adult services, and the broader field of human services work. This week, we're focusing on who should be involved and the importance of dignity in co-design practice.
Transforming Lives Through Social Work Co-design Ep5
Co-design is a collaborative process that assembles various stakeholders to tackle complex issues and create tailored solutions. The success of a co-design initiative heavily depends on identifying the right people to involve, ensuring that the most knowledgeable and affected parties are at the table to offer valuable insights and nurture positive outcomes.
Determining Participation in Co-design. McKercher's excellent writing unfolds the notion that Co-design necessitates the inclusion of two groups: a smaller circle and a larger circle of participants. The smaller circle comprises those closest to an opportunity or issue, those who understand it and are likely to be the most affected by a change. The larger circle, in contrast, encompasses others who can provide additional perspectives and support as needed. In selecting professionals to involve in co-design, it's essential to prioritise those willing to listen, share, learn, and respect lived experiences. Similarly, it's crucial to engage those who value dignity, choice, and diversity. As Lou Downe has put it, "Inclusion is a necessity, not an enhancement" (Downe, 2020). Therefore, involving a diverse range of perspectives and identities is vital to crafting more effective and equitable solutions.
In the co-design process, McKercher highlights 'system knitters' as critical players. They can amalgamate disparate knowledge, relationships, and resources across complex settings (McKercher, 2020). Knowledge brokers, another pivotal group, can translate a movement's identified needs and theoretical understandings into innovative, practical solutions for everyone. They champion critical ideas and shape the discourse as it enters the public domain. People of lived and learned experience, in meetings, conferences, social media platforms, can provide additional insights (Abendroth & Bell, 2016).
In my experience, imaginative individuals are necessary. As professionals, we often follow well-trodden paths, but we sometimes require provocateurs who offer a unique perspective on the topic.
Resource mobilizers use their national or international media connections to help smaller grassroots organisations gain funding and media attention for effective local change. While, alliance builders forge alliances among seemingly divergent groups to create an integrated, inclusive collective action frame that influences the development of the built world (Abendroth & Bell, 2016).
Facer and Enright write about the "Different Tribes" in Co-design thinking. Through these groups, the individuals within them and their different inclinations can be critical. Facilitating a process where various stakeholders have a stake, meetings in a manner that the voices emerge, and crucial insights are integrated into the process (Facer & Enright, 2016).
It's vital to ask people what matters to them, particularly when it comes to dignity. The Family Group Conference is a method that facilitates human exchange and the affirmation of loving acts that keep people safe and help them envision a future with their own community. However, it's essential that this method is kept alive every day. "Nothing About Us, Without Us" is a powerful mantra. Chamberlin's ethical stance and her developed ideas around the 'dignity of risk' further this sentiment (Westoby, Palmer, & Lathouras, 2020).
Identifying the right participants for involvement in co-design is critical for instigating effective change. By concentrating on those most intimately connected to an issue or opportunity, as well as professionals who meet certain criteria, we can cultivate an inclusive environment that nurtures collaboration, innovation, and success. Understanding the key roles that various stakeholders play in co-design further ensures that diverse perspectives are represented and valuable insights are integrated into the process.
Thank you!
Tim
References:
Abendroth, L. M., & Bell, B. (Eds.). (2016). Public interest design practice guidebook: Seed methodology, case studies, and critical issues. Routledge.
Facer, K., & Enright, B. (2016). Creating living knowledge: The connected communities programme, community-university relationships and the participatory turn in the production of knowledge.
Downe, L. (2020). Good services: How to design services that work. 1st ed. London: Publications, Transworld.
McKercher, K.A. (2020). Beyond sticky notes. Doing co-design for Real: Mindsets, Methods, and Movements, 1st Edn. Sydney, NSW: Beyond Sticky Notes.
Westoby, P., Palmer, D., & Lathouras, A. (2020). 40 Critical Thinkers in Community Development. Practical Action Publishing.
