Co-Design In Place Is Better, as a sense of place has captivated humankind for millennia. For many, where we come from provides a deep sense of meaning, security and identity. However, for an increasing number of people where they come from is a determinant of lifelong prospects. Our postcode determines how well we live because resources are not equally distributed.
Our neighbourhoods, suburbs and towns shape the types of behaviours we engage with. They deliver to us the role models, activities, recreational pursuits, education and employment options which determine the course of our lives. Over time, the constant interplay of the social and commercial determinants of health help write our story and influence the very timing and likely nature of our deaths.
Explorations of ways to create shared prosperity have led to a framework for healthy communities, of co-design in place. Four components have been shown to impact community health. The components can have a profound impact on our health either negatively or positively.
Co-design In Place – Community
Sadly, funding streams tend to work in silos. This means service providers often focus on one component to the exclusion of others. For example, councils and sporting groups focus on the clubs, playing fields and sporting infrastructure which exists but overlook the safety of residents or the affordability of activities. Health service providers can be disconnected from the social sector which offers access to community gardening groups, book clubs and other social opportunities which make life meaningful and active for patients. Businesses, overlook the attractiveness of working in their town when they ignore the dearth of daycare, great schools and health services which might support the families of their potential employees. The lack of shared connections, common language and even fiscal envy between sectors can lead to poor understanding of the potential to work together to achieve more with co-design in place.
In many communities, this plays out as inter-generational disadvantage. In Australia, Jesuit Social Services has studied persistent disadvantage for over 20 years. They have found a multilayered interplay of factors affect why some areas become sites of entrenched disadvantage and why escaping the cycle is so difficult. Whilst these areas account for just a fraction of neighbourhoods (the Jesuits found around 10% of all communities with variations state by state) the areas are sites of significant government investment, local community action and ongoing attempts to break free.
Clearly, investments in welfare, housing, social services, health and education have been unable to shift the dial as fast as residents, government and taxpayers would like. Organisations on the ground report frustration that their funding addresses only symptoms not causes of persistent disadvantage. The cost can be measured in body bags. Australia’s Health Tracker 2024 shows that over 10 million Australians living in the 40% of communities with the highest levels of disadvantage are at increased risk of poor health and early death.
Co-design In Place – Scenarios
Co-design in place is a method for working in local communities across service providers and stakeholders to pool knowledge, leverage strengths and coordinate responses more likely to deliver impact. It cuts across the silos in language, goals and funding which stymie collaboration between organisations. It encourages the sharing of data to identify the real problems and create meaningful evaluations which enable monitoring of early successes and fine-tuning of actions. It is engaging of the community and local stakeholders whose views are worthy of more than acknowledgement but who need to be involved in decisions which impact them.
Place-based co-design moves away from the professional paternalism and institutional determinism which has made well meaning activity frustrating and wasteful for generations. Worse, such efforts have often led to blaming the users for “non-compliance” with programs. It is easier to victimise than try to understand why the services dictated by others were misdirected. Rather than simply communicating with communities and consumers about what will be provided hoping this will lead to take-up ad impact a place based co-design process starts with inclusion. Engaging locals in defining the problem, assembling the relevant stakeholders and together prioritising areas of action, deciding on solutions and planning for successful delivery is inclusive and powerful.
Co-design As A 4D Framework
From a provider perspective, co-design in place challenges the governance and performance of large systems like housing, health and education. Through common discovery, it charts the linkages between the activities of actors in a community and enables local service providers to harness synergies and resources through better program design. Through engagement and thoughtful consideration, new ways of working which may include pooled funding, shared staffing and facilities and collaborative delivery can be implemented. This can generate payoffs through less staff turnover driven by the futility of work which never seems to meet need. It can harness community resources which are inexpensive to complement the funded activity of large organisations. Overall, it simply produces better results.
Having a co-design strategy in place will involve using a method for discovery, design, deciding and debriefing as projects move into implementation. The 4D Framework enables those leading such efforts to plan their time, anticipate the degree of engagement necessary, hold out on finalising decisions until relevant parties have agreed and ensure the transition into action is smooth and results measured.
Co-Design In Place – a Strategy
Of course, not all places involve disadvantaged communities. Places can be about to face considerable change through major investments like the advent of new infrastructure like ports, airports and roads. They can be about to benefit from the commencement of new commercial activities like mines, major agribusiness or renewable energy projects. These significant investments disrupt the status quo and can be managed to ensure that downsides are mitigated and potential is capitalised for all. Rather than unleashing the fury of residents through inadequate consultation mechanisms, a place-based co-design strategy will enable stakeholders to work together for the benefit of all.
