It’s to Create With: An online tool kit for training and setting up co-design projects

TIME

Tuesday, 7th September, 11:30 -13:00 CEST

GOAL

Build a new co-design project, align your existing project to co-design values or learn about co-design processes with the online version of the “It’s to create With” card deck

CHALLENGE

The cards were developed by the Future Self and Design Living Lab to address the challenges of:
• explaining co-design can be challenging for people who are new to co-design.
• developing projects with a co-design process.
• get stuck in certain ways of doing things
• giving underrepresented stakeholders a strong voice including nature to achieve sustainable project goals, by enabling:
• discussions and learning about co-design
• building a project using co-design principles
• challenging us to think about alternative approaches in a way that is approachable and easy for people who are new to co-design as well as those who have more advanced practice.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the workshop is two-fold.

1) Using the cards – For all participants to have the experience of using the co-design cards in a realistic way, that they feel confident to apply them in everyday practice.
2) Developing the cards – Trial the new card elements so that the natural environment is considered in all our co-design processes. The feedback from participants will be used to iterate those cards.

Using the Cards
There are four different types of cards: foundation, creation, process and stakeholder cards. Each card has a short description of the concept, starting questions for discussing your project and a research reference. There are many ways to ‘play’ with the cards. We will introduce the cards and the two basic modes of play, (single and multiple cards). Using the selected projects, we will play with the cards on virtual tables in groups.

Developing new Cards
Linking to the theme of a greener future and the need to think about environmental impact across themes, we have developed environment cards. These will be introduced into the workshop. We’ll look to get feedback on both the difference this makes to the design and how the cards might be improved.

OUTCOMES

VALUE FOR PARTICIPANTS

Participates will know how to :
• use the cards to enable conversations with people new to co-design,
• build a co-design project,
• new ways of building these projects.

Participants will have access to the miro template so that they can build their own project and printout the cards. Instructions for other modes of play will be provided so that participants can explore other methods based on the learnings of the workshop.

Participant will contribute to the expansion of the cards and advancement of codesign from 4-helix to 5-helix approaches.

Participants will leave with:
• The raw materials to print or use the cards.
• Practical experiential knowledge that they can apply straight away in their living lab practice
• Knowledge about co-design elements and how to use them to build a co-design process
• A process that’s easy for them to share with others in their living lab to make it part of a wider practice
• Contribution to the consideration of nature within co-design as an emerging practice for environmentally friendly thinking

BRIEF OUTLINE / METHODOLOGY

We will be using a combination of Zoom, miro and Mentimeter for this workshop. We will have break out rooms and virtual tables for smaller group discussions. We will invite participants to provide projects they are working on beforehand, some will be selected to act as virtual table topics

Whole group session
Step 1 – Welcome and facilitator introductions and short presentation about the development of the cards (10 mins)

In breakout groups & virtual tables
Step 2 – Mode 1 – single card discussion (15 mins)
Step 3 – Mode 2 – multiple card discussion (one of each of the 4 types) (30 mins)
Step 4 – Nature – Add natural environment cards (15 ms)
Step 5 – Mentimeter questions based on objectives (5mins)
Step 6 – Whole group discussion based on Mentimeter outcomes (15 mins)

AUDIENCE

This workshop is for a general audience and applies to:

• Participants new to co-design
• Participants who are looking for new ways to develop co-design projects
• Participants who are interested in the inclusion of the consideration of natural environment as a stakeholder into codesign processes

Co-design is a core living lab approach, so it applies across themes. It is particularly aligned to challenges of living labs and living labs for a greener future. This is a collaboration between The Future Self and Design Living Lab, Life Without Barriers and Action Foresight