The Co-Design Hub · Step 2 of 4
The point of a process isn’t a neat diagram. It’s enough structure to keep the work honest, practical and open to change. The methods library underneath does the same job: it helps you pick a way of working that fits the stage you’re actually at.
In real life the stages overlap, but the order still matters. If the early work is thin, the later work usually ends up cosmetic. Following the stages helps you slow down where you need to, make decisions in the open, and stop ‘delivery’ replacing real involvement.
01
Weeks 1–4
This is where the work becomes clear. Who is affected? What has already been decided? Where does the power sit, and what is still open? Skip this and projects tend to recruit the usual people, frame the problem too narrowly, and get busy before the purpose is clear.
Useful methods: stakeholder mapping, listening sessions, journey mapping, problem statements.
02
Weeks 4–8
This is what most people picture when they hear ‘co-design’, but it only works if stage one was done properly. The aim is to widen understanding, not rush to solutions. People need room to describe what the issue feels like, where it catches, and what a better way might actually need.
Useful methods: world café, empathy mapping, fishbowl discussion, peer interviewing.
03
Weeks 8–14
Once there’s enough shared understanding, ideas need to become real quickly. This stops teams talking in abstractions. Rough versions, scenarios and quick tests are often more useful than polished outputs here, because they’re still easy to challenge.
Useful methods: paper prototyping, role play, storyboarding, idea development, prototype walkthrough.
04
Weeks 14–20
Delivery is usually where involvement shrinks. Decisions speed up, day-to-day pressures return, and the work slips back behind closed doors. This stage is about keeping people in the loop while practical decisions are made, not treating involvement as finished once something is being built.
Useful methods: user testing, impact mapping, prototyping plans, co-design playback.
05
Ongoing
Evaluation isn’t there to tidy up the story afterwards. It shows what changed for people, what changed in the service, where power actually moved, and what still needs to be different next time. If the loop doesn’t close here, trust shrinks across the whole system.
Useful methods: participatory evaluation, retrospectives, playback sessions, impact mapping.
A methods library should give you more choice, not replace your judgement. The question is always: why this method, now, with these people?
42 methods. Search, filter by stage, type and group size, and open any one to read how it works. Planning a session or a series? Build your own pack and download it as a PDF.
No methods match the current filters.
Build a short pack from the library, then download it through the print dialog as a PDF.
You don’t need a big evaluation machine to do this properly. You do need better questions than ‘did people turn up?’ and ‘did it finish on time?’
Look for real changes in people’s lives, not just how many took part.
Be specific about the decisions, changes or improvements that happened because of the work.
Track who influenced decisions, what was decided together, and where authority still sat elsewhere.
Use what you learned to change the next round of work, rather than filing it away.