The Co-design paradox. Co-design is not about having one or even two meetings with a few representatives at the table. It is a process which starts far earlier in defining the real need.
Phase 1: Discover
Digging into that is a real process of discovery which starts with a plan. That plan is for how to explore the current state, engage the big stakeholders who control resources, explore their perspectives and together develop a unified plan for community engagement.
Too often, governments ignore this phase. Budgets are allocated or announcements made about new facilities or programs with little consideration for how they fit with current services. In the rush to be seen to deliver on commitments meetings might be held with a select group of users or stakeholders to confirm what has largely been settled upon. This creates rancour and reduces trust and commitment to further collaboration. It also reinforces the silos between different providers and creates a chasm with users.
The purpose of the DISCOVERY phase is to identify key datasets which help dimension the problem, the scale of investment already being made and the politics at play in the landscape between the different funders and providers. At its best, this phase identifies strengths and assets at a community level as well as developing the burning platform for change. Datasets collated during discovery can then form the basis for monitoring impact (including resource use) across the organisations for whom a benefit is derived or service delivered.
Reflect & Plan
There is a temptation with co-design projects to create momentum and skip from phase to phase. Within your organisation you probably have reporting obligations. It can be hard to explain why it has taken weeks and many meetings to simply get data and input to define a problem. This is why the 4D Framework includes “reflect and plan” between each phase. You need to be confident you have all the information you need and have identified all the big Gorillas in the forest before you move into design. Otherwise, they might just fall from the trees at a critical time during the design phase and disrupt everything.
Phase 2: Design
Every participatory process needs to be deliberate about who is recruited to steering groups and invited to wider consultation events. This requires a DESIGN. Getting the balance of voices right will ensure a more productive and inclusive outcome. Whilst the language of consultation and co-design have been used for some years, most people have a limited understanding of the scope of activity involved. Sensitising the key players to the co-design process will ensure that they are prepared for the facilitation of sessions which strive to be engaging and deliberate in checking problem definitions, resources, options and desired impact. Ensuring the participants are open to having alternative models proposed and wider and deeper issues addressed during implementation can be challenging. Many people see a problem only from their perspective. This is where skilled facilitation is required. Sadly, most players in health, social care, regional development, product development and infrastructure have not received formal training in facilitation. This is where access to a toolkit and even a budget for professional facilitators is required.
Phase 3: Decide
Deciding is often taken for granted. How often have you left a meeting thinking you understood the decision only to be confused when it is not acted upon? The same occurs in gatherings of stakeholders. When working at the level of community or place, the number of stakeholders increases. Each has their own sense of their role in solving the problem at hand. Many will want to jump in and propose a solution which reinforces the status quo. How often have you heard in consultations “we already deliver…” with the presumption being that nothing needs to change?
The data gathered in the discovery phase often shows that a problem exists. Within the data there may be new insights on how need is not being met. This is where analysing different options (which might involve complementing what is already occurring) to see how they fit the shared vision is really important. The group can then run a process where the decision to act on one particular idea is shared and agreed by everyone. This can be important during implementation. Reminding stakeholders of their commitments during the co-deciding phase strengthens your case with them to contribute the resources or back the agreed plan.
Phase 4: Debrief
The final phase of the 4D Framework is DEBRIEF. This is where the plan for implementation is finalised. Who contributes what and when is critical to detail. Developing an evaluation model so that the new service can be monitored is critical. It means using existing datasets and perhaps extending them. It could involve sharing data resources across a network of providers so that real time tracking of impact is possible.
In the course of such complex projects, people will change. There is a saying that “we change one conversation at a time”. When mixing with folks from across health and social care or councils, mining companies and the community things will arise in conversation that change your view and in the process who you are. Managing such consultation can also be stressful. People love change they are driving but resist change which is unclear, imposed or has limited direct benefit. This means conflict and challenge are inevitable. For many involved in co-design, this work fits within another role. Taking time to assess your contributions to the project, areas where you need further skills and things you have learnt which will benefit the next consultation process are critical for cementing learning. It might also just help your superiors to understand the talent which has been developed through this project and position you for future work of this kind.
The final consideration is how to hand over the project to those who will drive implementation and ongoing service delivery. This may continue to be something you are responsible for. Great. You probably have many skills and systems in place to manage regular service delivery. However, when working on place based initiatives, you may need to hand over elements of delivery to another organisation alongside the budgets and even people which go with your contribution. Having a full plan for how that exit will occur is critical. The new project owner needs to be equipped for success. That means giving them the best shot at delivering on what was decided through the entire co-design process through a planned handover.
The 4D Framework ensures that your intent to address a need within a setting, community or region will result in productive change. Having a model will ensure that when tempted to rush, you can reflect on whether your project is ready and sufficient time has been spent gaining the right inputs for success. Having years of experience managing co-design projects we know that every project is different. That is why having an extensive toolkit is so important. It allows you to be nimble and respond to the dynamics in play. When stressed, it also gives you something else to try to achieve a breakthrough. Reliance on strength of personality or power to cut through undermines future success. It is also exhausting and high risk. Being able to use a process to refocus attention, diffuse conflict, or manage large personalities and power is a more reliable way to get results. Having a toolkit also exposes you to new information which will enable you to undertake work like stakeholder mapping and engagement, improved risk management, designing more effective project reports and communication so that you are seen to be a leader…even if you only embraced the new method last week.
We have fallen on many great resources in our more than fifty years managing complex change projects across government, consulting, regional development, health and social care management. Our desire is to take the serendipity out of such occurrences and provide you with a wealth of tools you can experiment with; taking the guesswork out of any co-design role.
