New resource for co-design research and practice

Tiffany Williams’ PhD has focused on actualising children’s ideas for health-promoting neighbourhoods through impactful co-design. In this final PhD paper (click here for full text), Tiffany worked with ten adult decision-makers experienced in co-design with children to capture their views on what was important for impactful co-design. The three resultant themes (Empowering children within co-design; Being intentional about children’s influence; Curating who is involved) informed a novel framework of ‘impactful co-design’ accompanied by a practical checklist for adult decision-makers (practitioners, policy-makers, and researchers). Click here to access the checklist.

Study findings affirm co-designing local neighbourhoods as an inherently social and technical endeavour, advocate for greater consideration of inclusivity and cultural context, and highlight the need for co-design with children to include safety, empowerment, and evaluation. Co-design is positioned as one useful process to enact children’s meaningful participation.

Tiffany was supervised by Professor Melody Smith and Dr Kim Ward.