Inclusive and ethical co-design takes work. We can’t leave important practices like building safety, ensuring people feel welcome or creating access up to chance. A lack of care can trigger, re-traumatise people and stop them from participating.

Use the digital or physical cards to:

1 Plan projects
Get together in person or online. Start with if you should be doing the project. Then, use the cards to explore what needs to be in place and who will do what (such as invitation, peer support, developing frameworks for safety). You might notice things you hadn’t considered or gaps in skills and resources. You could make your own cards.

2 Identify learning goals for you or your team
Learning to lead and supporting co-design takes time. You might use the cards to identify:

• Where am I/we strong?

• Where do I/we need skills or knowledge?

• Where could I/we strengthen our/my ethical practice or practice of care?

3 Review work in progress

Use the cards to explore:

• What are we doing well?

• What are we forgetting?

• Where are we excluding people?

• Is there a lack of hospitality, clarity or safe-enough?

• How might we need to resource the work, differently?

4 Use the cards in supervision

You might use the cards in supervision or coaching to identify:

• Strengths

• Progress or good work to celebrate

• Areas for growth or learning

• Something else.

The Model of Care for Co-design draws on my (KA McKercher) 13+ years experience as a social design practitioner, a range of literature* (particularly in trauma-informed and strengths-based practice) and from queer spaces where I feel connection and belonging. As I learn, the model, its language and its concepts evolve.

The Model of Care is used by thousands of people worldwide in many different contexts - in public and community health, housing, Indigenous-led work, justice reform, environment, social justice advocacy and many more places. The Model of Care is helping people with their university teaching, improving the practice of facilitators, designers, managers and design agencies, supporting diversity, equity and inclusion work and more.

The Model of Care for Co-design helps with the whole co-design or engagement process from co-planning, co-discovery and co-design through to co-delivery. It’s especially useful when:

• Starting or planning a project

• Reviewing a project in progress or that’s finished

• Reflecting on strengths and learning goals (for you or your team)

• focus on relationships, peer support and partnerships

• stick to your promises to co-designers and if you don’t, acknowledge what you overlooked and make amends

• acknowledge and build on strengths in people and places

• validate people’s emotions and experiences

• offer support, within and outside the co-design team

• celebrate the wins and make space for the grief of losses (e.g. a loss of funding, team members or political support).