Co-Design in Complex Systems

Harness systems-aware co-design to create lasting social impact

📅 Dates: Tuesdays in May 2025.
⌛ Format & Duration: 4 x 2-hour sessions, once a week.
💻 Delivery Mode: Online
📈 Co-Design Maturity Model Level: Apply

📜 About this training

Want to effectively integrate design, dialogue and co-creation in project planning, commissioning and management?

Co-Design in Complex Systems is a short course for purpose-driven professionals who want to co-create better outcomes with their colleagues, clients and communities.

This online training program presents a Practice Framework for systems-aware co-design. This ethical and evidence-informed approach covers the key domains of systems change, co-design and social innovation: place, people, process, practice and principles.

This much loved program often sells out. It has been appreciated by public servants, researchers, designers and innovators working in a variety of organisations around the world, including Canada, the United States, Qatar, the UK, Germany and Denmark, as well as Australia and New Zealand.

The course models how to effectively engage partners, staff and community members online – and provides opportunities to connect with people doing inspiring work around the world.

Why do this course?

Learn a practical framework for authentic co-design that you can immediately apply to your projects
Gain exclusive access to an extensive resource bank of tools and materials to share with your team
Experience the perfect balance of theory and hands-on practice in an engaging online format
Receive personalised guidance on a proven framework, including through a one-on-one coaching session with Dr Emma Blomkamp
Connect with a diverse network of public and community sector professionals across the globe
Learn in a supportive environment where you can openly share challenges and workshop solutions
Walk away with concrete strategies to create lasting social impact with your communities.

How is it delivered?

This course consists of four online training sessions, with 12-22 participants, delivered once a week for a month.

It involves hands-on exercises and discussion, with individual and small group activities, as well as presentations and Q&A.

In addition to the practice framework and case studies, participants also gain access to a large resource bank with relevant materials and tools that you can share with your organisation/network.

Who is leading this?

This program is delivered by Dr Emma Blomkamp, who brings extensive experience in systems-aware co-design and capability building, creating safe and engaging spaces for professional development.

Is this course for me?

✅ It is for you if you:

want to facilitate workshops for any sort of research, design or innovation purpose. This training focuses on co-design facilitation but is relevant for anyone wanting to expand their skillset in delivering engaging workshops
are a manager or leader in a public, health, education or community organisation in Australia and New Zealand.
work in any role or context where you’re addressing complex issues and want to better engage others in your work.
are keen to blend systems thinking and co-design together in practice.
are able to attend all four online training sessions - the course builds progressively and relies on social learning and group discussion.
can allow an additional 15-30 minutes per week to engage in preparation and application activities, or more if you’d like to dive deeper into the resources we provide.

❌ It is not for you if you:

only want to learn theory or observe others. This training is interactive and you need to be ready and willing to practise facilitation yourself.
are seeking basic introductory design thinking tools - this is a more advanced systems-focused approach.
are focused purely on commercial outcomes - this is specifically designed for public and community sector challenges.
are looking for a quick technical solution - this course deals with complex social systems and requires deep engagement.
seek a purely theoretical academic course - this is practice-oriented and assumes active participation.
aren’t able to attend at least three of the online training sessions or don’t have a strong internet connection to participate in online activities.
expect to learn everything you need to know about co-design or systems change from this course alone.

📆 2025 schedule

The next course consists of four online training sessions at a time designed to suit participants in Australia, NZ and Asia, as well as the UK and Europe.

May 2025 - Tuesdays: 06.05.25, 13.05.25, 20.05.25, 27.05.25. 6pm-8pm AEST (Melbourne/Sydney/Canberra/Hobart/Brisbane)

🕰️ That’s 4pm-6pm Perth / 5.30pm-7.30pm Adelaide & Darwin / 8pm-10pm NZ time.

📍For those in the UK & Europe, it’s: 9am-11am BST / 10am-12pm CEST.

🌎 Located elsewhere? Find out what time this is for you.

Located in USA, Canada or central/south America?
Our next online series will be in November 2025, at a better time for participants in the Americas. Register your interest to be the first to know when this series goes on sale.

👉 Plus every participant gets the option of a discounted 45-minute individual coaching session with Emma, to be scheduled at a time of your choice within two months of completing the training.

✅ Investment & payment options

Pricing

Early-bird registration: $880 AUD incl. GST, or £420 GBP^ per person.
Register before 6 April 2025, to access the early-bird rate!

Standard registration: $990 incl. GST, or £475 GBP^ per person.

Your place is confirmed on receipt of full payment.

Includes:

Four online training sessions
Digital resources.
Certificate of completion.

Optional add-on:

Individual follow-up coaching session with Emma, at a reduced rate exclusively for course participants, to discuss how to implement what you have learned into your work:

1 x 45 minute one-on-one coaching session $240 AUD incl. GST, or £120 GBP^.

^If paying via invoice in GBP (with no GST, for participants outside of Australia only).

Payment Options:

Credit Card
Register directly via Humanitix to pay via credit card and reserve your place right now.

Invoice
Register via Humanitix and request to pay via Invoice.

International Participants
You can contact the team to request:

an invoice free of GST (10%) in USD or another currency, if you're based outside of Australia.
an invoice (discounted) in NZD to pay into a New Zealand bank account, if you’re based in Aotearoa.
information on discounts available for participants from lower-income countries.

Scholarships
We offer at least one fully funded scholarship place for a First Nations practitioner for each of our courses, and a discount for participants with an income under $70,000 AUD per year. Contact us to apply.

We highly recommend registering early to avoid missing out.
To provide a great learning experience, participant numbers are capped at 22.
Registrations close on 3 May 2025 to allow time for onboarding onto our platforms.

💬 Previous participants have said…

If you are wanting to deepen your understanding of what authentic co-design looks like and a framework to support it within your organisation/community, do this course. Emma is so insightful and giving with her knowledge and helps build the foundational knowledge you need to go further. It is also a great way to connect with other people working in this way in other industries and share ideas, successes and challenges in a supportive and safe environment.
- Francine Sculli. Wellbeing, Inclusion, Community & Engagement Leader. Sunshine Heights Primary School.

I would definitely recommend the course. It provides a profound learning experience that delves into case studies that really help illustrate how and where to leverage impact…. I loved that it was very systematic but provided flexibility to make it fit each co-design context.
- Kataya Barrett, Community Partnerships Knowledge and Engagement Facilitator, Jagun Alliance Aboriginal Corporation

You'll get to explore and apply a great framework for thinking about co-design in complex systems. The course combines theory and practical elements well and draws on the collective experience and wisdom of participants. Emma is a warm, intelligent and engaging facilitator. I'm already using leanings from the course and recommend it to others who are working in this space.
- Sofiah Mackay. Social Impact Consultant. Australia

Co-design for complex systems is a deep dive into all the principles, components and elements to make co-design real in your work. Emma’s method is empowering as it lays out the foundations, but also allows the flexibility of translating the principles to make them more relevant and meaningful.
- Kate Chua. Capability Development Advisor. New Zealand

I would recommend this course to people who want to expand their practice of co-design - the Systemic Design Practice Wheel offers a useful planner, integrity checker, and evaluation frame.
- Emma Constantine. Head of Innovation & New Business. Australia

I'm so grateful for Emma and this course to offer a meaningful way forward of co-designing projects in complex structures. I benefitted from the structured process and exploring a range of evidence-based techniques so that I could tailor the information to my unique work. Highly recommend!
- Kayla Robertson, Lived Experience Community Support, Wellways

The course struck the perfect balance of being simple yet clear, theoretical yet practical. If you’re interested in walking through various aspects of co-design with the chance to learn from others and try applying a practical framework to your own projects, this training is perfect! Excellent format, Emma’s facilitation and useful resources make the overall experience excellent.
- Tiffany Williams. PhD researcher. Aotearoa (New Zealand)

The codesign for complex systems course is an incredibly valuable course for practitioners working across agencies, government, not for profit or corporate organizations. Its versatility lies in the fact that it does not focus on specific tools or techniques but rather on principles. The focus on a participatory approach along with tangible examples with hope to apply the principles makes this course an essential one for practitioners. The entire program was flawless.
- Gowri Penkar, Service Design Lead. Australia.
There is so much gold in this course and it is very thoughtfully designed to encourage reflection and learning. It takes concepts and creates opportunities to apply them so it's not just decontextualised abstract learning. I'm really glad I did this course.
- Kate Ravenscroft, 100 Homes Joint Project Manager. Australia.

Dr Emma Blomkamp's co-design in complex systems course has been extremely rewarding. What I have gained in this short four week course has been extremely important for a project that I am working on with an amazing team, but also rewarding for my self confidence.
The focus on developing practical solutions to issues in a way that is made easier to understand without getting stuck on how complex the issue is, has opened a new way for me to solve problems. This course has taught me that co-design is a great technique to look for ways to build backwards from the end goal, and important to stay open minded. Hence a system that works WITH everyone involved.
This course has given me incredible empowerment to be able to communicate as myself. There is no wrong answer and everyone was so willing to learn.
- Diana Connell. Lived Experience Consultant. Australia

For me, this learning experience was the equivalent of being hosted in a home for thinking well together. Of course, you don't get to know the whole house - its rooms, backyard and neighbourhood - in one shot but you are hosted very well and you are given very helpful substance and connection through conversations with wonderful people. And you are invited to come back to to learn more. This isn't a store that sells you stuff that ends up as clutter later on. It's a community that's smart and deeply human that wants to support you in your effort to help others with your best self.
- Pierre Lecours. Canada

👉 Access Information

You’ll need access to the internet, a computer, and the ability to read and communicate in English.
We meet via Zoom, with closed captioning enabled, and also use the chat function.
Our courses always include a mix of presentations, activities and discussions - to keep things lively and meet different learning needs and preferences.
We use a collaborative whiteboard and breakout rooms for interactions. Participants can opt out of breakout conversations and choose how much they engage with others.
We take at least one 5 minute break once every hour online, and at least one 15 minute break during these sessions.
A tech and access support person (co-host) will be present throughout the training to attend to any emergent participant needs regarding Zoom, collaborative platforms, and access.
We provide information ahead of the sessions to help you prepare.
We may record sessions, and include a transcript with any recorded sessions. These are not a good substitute for live attendance but are available during the program for participants to catch up if they miss (part of) a session. During group discussions, the recording can be switched off at any time at a participant’s request.
When you register, please let us know about any access needs or learning preferences.