insights and thought leadership
Our Latest Articles & Blogs
We are passionate about Co.Design4All and the difference it makes to projects and community initiatives to facilitate and enable successful and better outcomes for ALL. We will share our knowledge, insights, and expertise in articles and blogs to help you successfully adopt and implement co-design principles. Let us know any topics or questions you would like us to address!
Character or Credit? Leadership in an age of self
Team Co.Design4All
In a culture that rewards self-promotion over self-mastery, what does it actually take to lead meaningful change? Drawing on the work of David Brooks, Angela Duckworth, Jonathan Haidt and Robert Greenleaf, this article explores why character is the foundation of effective leadership in healthcare and community change work, and why humility may be the most important capability that change leaders still need to develop.
Read More
Kombi, not Chaos: Why your team isn’t doing what you asked — and what to do about it
Team Co.Design4All
Why aren’t your team following the procedure you agreed on? The COM-B model — Capability, Opportunity, Motivation — offers a practical diagnostic framework for healthcare and organisational leaders. Pair it with co-design and you have both the diagnosis and the method to fix it.
Read More
Ask, Don’t Tell: The quiet discipline of listening to learn
Team Co.Design4All
In change work, the people who listen hardest tend to get the furthest. Drawing on Schein’s humble inquiry and Scharmer’s four levels of listening, this article explores why asking — not telling — is the foundational discipline of genuine co-design, and how to practise it in healthcare and community settings.
Read More
Head, Heart, Hip Pocket: How to Pitch Change so it Actually Lands
Team Co.Design4All
A great idea is not enough. Winning funding, permission and momentum requires a pitch that speaks to the rational, emotional and financial realities of your audience — all three, in the right order. The Head, Heart, Hip Pocket framework is a battle-tested structure for change-makers in healthcare and beyond, grounded in decades of co-design practice and the best of behavioural science.
Read More
When Co-Design Becomes a PR Exercise: Learning from Australia’s Live Export Debacle
Team Co.Design4All
Co-Design vs Performative Consultation Co-design has become the darling of public policy. Governments and organisations everywhere trumpet their commitment to collaborative decision-making, promising to work alongside affected communities to shape policies that impact them. But what happens when co-design is deployed not as a genuine collaborative process, but as window dressing for decisions already made? …
Read More
The Vanishing Village: What we lost when we stopped joining things — and why co-design may be how we get it back
Team Co.Design4All
Social capital has been quietly collapsing across Australia for fifty years. Volunteering is at an all-time low, loneliness now carries health risks equivalent to smoking fifteen cigarettes a day, and trust in government continues to fall. Drawing on research from Robert Putnam, Andrew Leigh, Hugh Mackay, and Julianne Holt-Lunstad, this article examines what we have lost, why it matters for the health and wellbeing of Australian communities, and why genuine co-design may be the most practical path toward rebuilding the social fabric we have allowed to unravel.
Read More
Gender Equity, Kindness, and the Screen Between Us
Team Co.Design4All
Half a century of equity reform has produced real gains — and real resistance. From the gender pay gap to the rise of the manosphere, this article examines where Australia stands on gender equality, what the evidence tells us about coercive control and online radicalisation, and why structured co-design at community level may be one of our most practical tools for rebuilding common ground.
Read More
Reflections On Success in Primary Healthcare
Team Co.Design4All
What Does Success Look Like? A Year of Recognition Over the last 12 months it has been a privilege for our team at Inala Primary Care to be recognised in numerous ways. First, we won an inaugural Stronger Medicare Award, which recognised our work delivering innovative care to disadvantaged patients. A night in Canberra at …
Read More
Why Co-Design Delivers Better Results
Team Co.Design4All
For generations human history has been littered with evidence that people want to be included in decisions which affect them. In 1789, the French Revolution echoed to calls for liberty, equality and fraternity; one of the most memorable rallying cries of any movement. Liberty spoke to the need to be free of rules imposed by …
Read More
Co-Design In Place Is Better
Team Co.Design4All
Co-Design In Place Is Better, as a sense of place has captivated humankind for millennia. For many, where we come from provides a deep sense of meaning, security and identity. However, for an increasing number of people where they come from is a determinant of lifelong prospects. Our postcode determines how well we live because resources are not equally distributed.
Read More
The Co-Design Paradox: Better Solutions, Faster
Team Co.Design4All
The Co-Design Paradox: It is not about having a few meetings with representatives at the table. It is a process that starts far earlier to define the real need. Digging into that is a real process of discovery which starts with a plan. That plan is for how to explore the current state, engage the big stakeholders who control resources, explore their perspectives and together develop a unified plan for community engagement.
Read More
Unlock Better Solutions: The Democratic Power of Co-Design
Team Co.Design4All
The Democratic Power of Co-Design. The world is full of need. Our resources to respond are limited. Scarcity prevails. We need to unlock better solutions. Beyond the limits to budgets to address need, there are also limits to how people understand each other. Communication theory and teachings on strategy are replete with reminders to:
Read MoreSTART YOU CO-DESIGN JOURNEY
Become a Member Today
Navigating the politics within and between organisations to achieve results through collaboration can often be a thankless task. It is rarely in anyone’s position description and not something most people are trained in. Those who thrive in co-design are those who see opportunities for impact. They are prepared to bridge the knowledge, system and service gaps between divisions, entities and sectors. That can be demanding. It can be great to debrief with like minded colleagues. It can be even better to discover a tool or approach which suits the situation you find yourself in right now. Co.Design4All brings such people together and allows them to explore tools and techniques which make solving problems in groups and communities so much easier.
