Are you truly co-designing with users as equals or just patting yourself on the back for getting ‘user feedback’?
Although co-design and participatory design are often used interchangeably, they are two different approaches to designing products and services. A recent paper on Co-production with Autistic adults(3) communicates the differences using a tiered diagram to indicate the levels in which participants are involved.
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Figure 1, adapted version of the tiered diagram, shows the different approaches to participant input; with ‘consultation’ involving the least amount of participation, and ‘co-production’ involving the most. In ascending order the tiers are:
- Consultation participants are informally asked for their opinions, perspectives, ideas and concerns.
- Involvement provides more opportunity for input into decision-making, but not agenda setting.
- Participation allows for more input at the design stages, including defining the agenda or the design activities.
- Co-production, participants are treated as equals and have an equal say in deciding the project goals and outcomes.