I fell into “Co-design or faux design” back in 2018 when nervously presenting to a conference to service designers and researchers who where all apparently co-designing everything. And to put salt on the wound, I also have had a great conversation with Simon Katterl about faux-design dynamics.

When I was presenting I suspect:

• many of us knew co-design wasn’t always guaranteed
• perhaps a few hard realised if they didn’t have power to share is couldn’t happen
• but all of us found ourselves in the tensions of needing to sell our perfect co-design projects to clients and business units, knowing we had little control to create the conditions for ongoing success and impact.

Since then still many of us are navigating tricky spaces in order to even slightly glimmer some co-design “for real”.

It’s not just you, co-design* is everywhere you look

In the past five years, co-design has become a crucial element of decision-making criteria for research and government funding, with an estimated $8 billion in Australian funding calls requiring applicants to incorporate co-design principles.

On the system level in Australia Looking ahead, the inclusion of people with lived experience in the co-design of our services is integral to our practices and governance. It is a growing focus area for not-for-profit organizations, care providers and government alike.

To pull out quotes as government we’ve promised to collaborate with people affected by our decisions: Aged care, disability, mental health, family violence, natural disaster recovery and of course self-determination for Indigenous communities.

• “A commitment to implementing these proposals will see conversation and co-design continue with communities across the country and involve governments at all levels coming together and working with us in partnership. This would provide a strong and lasting voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and be an historic step for our nation.” Indigenous Voice Co-design Process
• “research that is co-designed with older people and their families to be prioritised ‘any future model must be co-designed with older people’. Working with Indigenous communities “Consultation and co-design are crucial to this work.” Care, Dignity and Respect Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety
• “Collaboration and engagement with people with disability, their families and advocacy organisations will be at the heart of the new Strategy.” National Disability Strategy – Position Paper
• 29. “develop and deliver mental health and wellbeing services led by people with lived experience of mental illness or psychological distress” 52. “co-design quality and safety improvement programs with people with lived experience” Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System
• ““No effective solutions can be developed without the people most affected by them, and whom this National Plan intends to serve. Victim-survivors must be at the heart of solutions. Victim-survivors have specific and contextual expertise that comes from lived experience of abuse and violence.” The National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children
• “…we need to focus more on action-based resilience …with greater emphasis on community engagement and a better understanding of the diversity, needs, strengths and vulnerabilities within communities. Disasters do not impact everyone in the same way, and it is often our vulnerable community members who are the hardest hit.” National Strategy for Disaster Resilience

How I define co-design, so it makes sense

Co-design has teams of people that are most affected by a design or decision working together to improve the outcome. You have a who, a how and a why.

It’s based on Emma Blomkamps work of The Promise of Co-Design for Public Policy

• Co-design is a collaborative process that aims to develop new solutions to problems through ‘design thinking’ approaches that involve a wide range of stakeholders, including those who are most affected
• Co-design uses practical tools to enable participation and to access, generate, and test experiences and ideas. 

Who is involved in co-design?

Often when we think about co-design we a drawn to communities and people with lived experience only to ignore professional and sector knowledge.

Co-design is all people affected, and diversity is the key. So the challenge of getting co-design to be real is often getting everyone: folks with lived experience, service/product owners and system stewards to find a way to design together.

How to tell if it’s co-design

You have a group of diverse people with different background, knowledge and skills including people with lived experience:

• cooperatively and creatively working together
• to jointly explore and envision ideas
• make and discuss stories (past, present, future)
• tinker with prototypes and simulations
• something changes, its uncomfortable

So, why don’t we invert this a little and start in the negative. What is ‘faux design’?

Faux design is really any type of engagement labelled co-design but missing crucial elements.

• Missing any people with lived experience
• Not having a mix of people; i.e often inviting people who are convenient over those with most value to add, or that will be most affected
• Low or no collaboration – for a variety of reasons from poor facilitation, to power dynamics, physical space, accessibility, budget or time
• Rigid scope – especially when it prevents any creativity or meaningful input
• No designing – people don’t make anything, often meaning a staff member makes decisions before or after a session as opposed to when people are together
• People affected by the design or decision have no power to affect the outcome, ideas and choices can be overwritten at any time
• Faux design can be deliberate coercion, people are manipulated down a path or towards an outcome, because the organisation isn’t ready or willing to accept feedback or change to the degree the community might want them to

For those of us that have experienced the beauty and potential unlocked by real co-design, it’s important to see the distinction and call faux-design out. We should be replacing the word co-design from many final reports, because although it was an aim, we stopped short.