Co-design of public services

Governance International 5 Steps Model to Public Service Co-Design

The Governance International 5 Steps Model to Public Service Co-Design shows how co-design tools fit together so that co-design triggers a transformation process in your agency. The 5 Steps model helps you to identify where co-design is already happening (‘Map it’), where it is most likely to be cost-effective (‘Focus it’), which citizens are most keen engage in co-design (‘People it’), how to raise awareness of the potential of co-design in your agency and services (‘Market it’) and how to scale it up (‘Grow it’).

Governance International can take you through this 5 Steps Model to ensure co-design works for you. 

Seeing public services "outside in" leads to revealing insights. Who would have thought that what most elderly people want is NOT 'independent living'? Most elderly people actually tell us they are desperate for contacts and friendships – they want 'interdependent' living. This insight has prompted health and social care providers in the Netherlands to create new remote services WITH the elderly, provided in a network which makes them feel better – and which also helps them to help each other. (click to read full case study)

User co-design can pep up council and public agency websites, too. So many websites are dull, daunting and difficult. They have been designed FOR users but certainly not BY them. It doesn’t have to be like this – e.g. the adult care website of Stockport Council shows what open and inclusive government means in practice: not necessarily more information but relevant information! It has been designed WITH service users and Stockport Council estimates that it has already saved £300,000 by cutting down avoidable contacts. (click to read full case study)

 What are the risks?

The idea of co-design is obvious – and that is why it is already widely used in so many different forms in the private sector.

However, co-design is far from being simple. It does not mean asking everybody about everything – it has to be focused. Co-design won’t necessarily involve EVERYONE among your service users and communities.

In co-design, you have to identify those who most know and most care about services. It is the input of this group of ‘expert co-designers’ which is likely to be most innovative and valuable in changing out-of-date service approaches. In order to find the 'expert co-designers', some innovative market research is needed – Governance International helps you to find and work with this key group.