The buzz around co-design and community engagement has been growing louder than ever. And whilst it's great that these concepts are getting the attention they deserve, I’ve noticed that they can easily fall into the trap of becoming little more than box-ticking exercises if they're not approached with care and authenticity.
It’s a real risk that engagement can become a checklist exercise, instead of an authentic process. For me, true collaboration isn’t just a tick-box activity. We’re talking about bringing together people from all sorts of backgrounds and experiences, trying to get them to work together to create solutions, and understand each other’s perspectives. That’s not something you can rush through or fake your way around.
Co-design and community engagement are messy, complicated, and sometimes uncomfortable—but that’s what makes them so powerful. You can’t just smash it out or check it off a list. Real collaboration is about digging deep, letting go of the need to control everything, and being open to what emerges, even if it takes longer than expected.
Beware of Strict Parameters
I find one of the key pitfalls is when organisations set such rigid parameters for their co-design activities that there's little room for new ideas or perspectives to emerge.
For example, sometimes you’re still in a phase where funders and grant managers want to know exactly what you’re going to do with the grant and what the outcomes will be, before the work begins. It’s like the entire plan needs to be locked in before we’ve even had the chance to genuinely engage with the community. This rigid approach can stifle the flexibility that co-design needs to be authentic.
I’ve seen this play out in organisations as well, where they come into the process with a specific idea already in mind. Instead of using co-design to genuinely explore new possibilities and uncover fresh solutions, they’re just using it as a way to reverse-engineer the outcome they’ve already decided on. True innovation can’t happen when the space for creativity is shut down before it even begins.
Rushing Through Engagement
Another common issue is when organisations try to cram too much into a limited timeframe, leaving little room for the meaningful relationship-building that's essential for true collaboration.
We’re engaging with a group of people at lightning speed, running them through a series of hoops, and then at the end, it’s like, “Great session. Thanks so much, we’ll be in touch.” And you can almost see the participants sitting there with their heads spinning, thinking, “Wait, what just happened?”
You can’t expect real insights and meaningful participation to happen when everything is so fast-paced. You need to allow more time than you think. You have to create space for organic conversations and let trust build naturally. It’s in those moments that the real magic of co-design happens.
Recalibrating Your Mindset
So how can organisations avoid these pitfalls and truly embrace meaningful collaboration? We suggest starting with a deep look inward.
The first thing is to ask yourself, “what's the intent of this work?” You want to ask yourself, “is this a genuine desire to collaborate, or is this a shortcut to a solution that we've already decided?”
Also, questioning the intent of other leaders or stakeholders can also help ensure alignment with genuine collaboration.
Building Trust and Letting Go of Control
Beyond clarifying intentions, we need to value the importance of allowing time for trust and relationships to develop, and for facilitators to step back and let participants lead the conversation. When participants feel heard and valued, they are more likely to open up, share deeper insights, and collaborate more effectively. Conversations can progress more quickly, and solutions tend to be more innovative and inclusive.
Seeking external facilitation can also play a critical role in ensuring impartiality and removing potential biases from the process. External facilitators bring a fresh perspective and are better positioned to create a neutral environment where everyone’s ideas are given equal weight.
Meaningful collaboration is not a box to be ticked. By approaching it with care, flexibility, and a genuine desire to learn from the communities they support, organisations can unlock the true power of co-design and create lasting, impactful change.
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