CO-DESIGN OVERVIEW
The OECD Observatory for Public Sector Innovation (OPSI) team have in recent years convened a successful annual two-day conference each November.
In light of the current global health crisis, the group is planning to convert this gathering into a ‘distributed’ event – calling on the best of the tools and processes that utilise digital technology while also enabling a rich and fulfilling real-world experience for the audience.
To leverage this unique opportunity, an experimental event model is being co-designed with a pop-up network of public-purpose professionals from around the world.
What does co-design mean in this context?
This isn’t a conventional public sector co-design program. It’s about co-designing a creative project, so it will be different to co-designing public policy or stakeholder-led service design.
It’s also different because of some unique circumstances:
- It is a first: a large-scale co-design program being run to plan and convene a global government networked event.
- The co-design process will be multi-modal, using a mix of online and offline activities.
- The program will combine live linked discussion with virtual collaboration as we work together across multiple time-zones and cultures.
- The co-design is occurring in varying levels of national lockdown and against the backdrop of significant crisis activity across all sectors.
- The scale of co-design participation is large: there is currently interest from participants in more than 40 countries.
- It’s an accelerated process counting down to a mid-year launch for the November 2020 event.
A staged and agile approach
The co-design lead team is aiming to to bring a flexible, agile approach to co-design initiatives.
“We will establish a high-level set of outcomes but will remain flexible to pivoting within the stages of this co-design project to ensure we are responsive to the real priorities that emerge through dialogue and engagement. Our commitment is to take participating representatives and organisations from where each of them are at the opening, to a new shared set of perspectives and energised momentum at the conclusion of this development process.”
Investment in framing, design and participant readiness
The framing and format of the proposed two-part #GovAfterShock event program is being developed in collaboration with the OECD OPSI team and a network of invited collaborators as part of an early co-design stage.
In order to gain most value from the event, investment is being made in preparation for partners, collaborators as well as for participants. The event will be co-designed to:
- Activate participants around common objectives and inspiring outcomes so that they are willing to explore beyond the status quo
- Energise involvement across multiple cultural and linguistic variations
- Mobilise consensus by effectively consulting on priority projects and initiatives.
To achieve this means going beyond setting an agenda and inviting participants to attend. This approach is underpinned by an investment in comprehensive co-design with key stakeholders so that together we all share an understanding of the priorities and expectations, the cultural dynamics of the audience groups and the priority areas of focus.
- This will guide the approach taken to designing the event program, including the extent to which it is highly structured versus open and exploratory.
- This also enables the lead co-design team to assemble the appropriate tools and processes to effectively elicit what is needed to achieve the outcomes.
Developing a co-production roadmap
This co-design project will identify the key building blocks and priority activities for a co-production roadmap for the global Government After Shock event.
As part of the final development stage, the outcomes from the research and co-design stages will be analysed, synthesised and assembled into a strategic delivery framework.
Co-design participants and others are welcome to bring their own local event hosting project into the Co-design ‘Collab’ to benefit from being extra launch-ready earlier in the programme.
