Research is the foundation of the humanitarian sector.
From needs assessments to monitoring and evaluation, nearly every decision is backed by data. It's a system built on observing, measuring, and analysing.
But increasingly, co-design is getting more popular. And for many good reasons. Done well, co-design leads to solutions that are not only more relevant but more likely to be adopted and sustained over time.
Co-design also supports something the sector has long struggled to move from rhetoric to reality: localisation. When communities are truly at the center of design - setting the agenda, shaping the process, and driving the outcome - we start to see a genuine shift in power. Not just listening, or even building together, but with the people who are going to use the solution, leading the process.
So, the increase of co-design is a positive evolution.
But we aren't doing it properly. It's manifesting as a 'playful' form of research. But co-design isn't research. And treating it as such is one of the biggest barriers to doing it well.
How It's (Very) Different
Where research is typically a one-off information-gathering exercise, co-design is an iterative, creative process. It involves collaborative decision-making, idea generation, prototyping, feedback, and reworking - ideally over time. It's not something that can be ticked off with a single workshop or consultation.
Unlike traditional research, co-design doesn't treat communities as subjects to be studied. It sees them as collaborators - experts in their own experience, with insights that can shape not just the "what," but the "how."
To co-design meaningfully, we need to shift the way we think about community engagement.
Here are four simple ways we can move from a research mindset to a co-design mindset:
1. From Research Subjects to Creative Collaborators
Co-design participants are not there to be studied or observed. They're not "beneficiaries" or "end users." They're experts in their own lives - and critical partners in the design process. Instead, think, act, and refer to them as colleagues or collaborators, or even technicians.
2. Create a Shared Understanding
Design is full of abstract terminology. Wireframes, MVPs, prototypes - none of it means anything to 99% of people. Too often, we see participants asked to contribute to processes they don't fully understand. Tasks are unclear. Jargon gets in the way. And consent - when it is obtained - is treated as a formality rather than a conversation.
We start by stripping out complexity. We replace design language with real-world metaphors. We explain the purpose of the project, what we want to achieve together - and how people's input will shape the outcome.
When people understand what they're part of, they engage more meaningfully.
3. Shift from Being Organisation-Led to Participant-Led
Participants are often asked to join workshops at short notice, in unfamiliar places and platforms, and in ways that prioritise organisational timelines over community realities. This isn't just inconvenient - it reinforces a power imbalance that undermines the process.
Instead, start every project by setting participant-led Rules of Engagement. Ask people how, where, and when they want to engage. What their constraints are. Who they want to be involved with. How they'd like to be recognised and updated.
These aren't logistical choices - they're power-sharing decisions that set the tone for everything that follows.
4. Create a Co-Design Calendar
Co-design isn't a single workshop or a feedback form. You can't build trust and develop products and test them and iterate them - all in one session. But that's how it's often 'done'. This approach results in shallow insights, rushed outputs, and solutions that don't stick.
Instead, work with participants to map out a co-design journey. Together, agree on a cadence of engagement - blending live and asynchronous formats, allowing for reflection, iteration, and re-engagement - all within the confines of what works for them and around their existing commitments.
We start the co-design journey with team-building, not task-setting. We build rapport and a working relationship, just like we would with a new colleague.
Final Thought: Co-Design Is a Relationship, Not a Methodology
If we want to build services that are adopted, useful, and lasting, we need to go beyond "engaging communities." We need to work with people - not around them.
When co-design is done properly, it doesn't just deliver better solutions. It builds better relationships - and that's when real change begins.
Want to find out more about ethical, participant-led design?
Get in touch with us at Here I Am Studio. Or download our free Rules of Engagement Checklist to get started.
