Fundamentals of Co-Design

Fundamentals of Co-Design

Discover the essential principles, practices and process of co-design in this introductory course that equips you with the tools and mindsets to drive collaborative innovation for social and cultural change.

📅 Dates: Tuesdays in July 2025.
⌛ Format & Duration: 3 x 2.5-hour sessions, once a week.
💻 Delivery Mode: Online
📈 Co-Design Maturity Model Level: Explore/Understand

📜 About this training

Dive deep into the foundations of co-design. This course is designed for both beginners and those looking to refine their understanding of this powerful approach to public and social innovation.

Through a series of interactive activities and real-world case studies, you'll explore the mindsets, principles and practices that make co-design unique. Experience what co-design looks and feels like, while gaining a solid theoretical grounding in its core concepts.

Why do this course?

This course offers a practical understanding of how to effectively engage communities, colleagues and other stakeholders using co-design methods. You'll learn how to apply co-design at various scales, from individual workshops to organisation-wide initiatives.

You'll gain concrete tools, ideas and frameworks for applying co-design to your own work, as well as a deeper appreciation of the benefits and considerations of taking a more creative and participatory approach to shared challenges.

How is it delivered? 

This course consists of three online training sessions, with 10-20 participants, delivered once a week.

You'll engage in a mix of:

• Interactive activities that bring co-design principles to life
• Real-world case studies from various sectors
• Reflective discussions and peer learning opportunities
• Practical exercises to apply concepts to your own work context.

Key topics covered:

1. Co-design mindsets and principles
2. Inclusive workshop facilitation
3. Engagement methods beyond workshops
4. Co-design process models and key decision points
5. Organisational conditions for successful co-design.
   

Who is leading this?

This program is delivered by Dr Emma Blomkamp, who brings extensive experience in co-design facilitation and capability building, creating safe and engaging spaces for practitioner development. This course is grounded in extensive experience delivering engaging and educational sessions to participants from around the world. It incorporates best practices in experiential learning and the latest thinking on ‘shades of co-design’ to provide a nuanced understanding of how creative and participatory methods can be applied in different contexts.

Is this course for me?

✅ This learning experience is ideal for:

• people new to co-design who want a comprehensive introduction.
• practitioners with some co-design experience who are looking to revisit and clarify foundational principles and approaches.
• professionals from government, education, health, social and community sectors who are interested in applying co-design in their work.

❌ It is not for you if you:

• aren’t able to attend all three sequential training sessions or don’t have a strong internet connection to participate in online activities. 
• don’t have a relevant context in which to apply learnings - some activities won’t work well if you can’t imagine a professional, voluntary or community setting in which to apply them.
• expect to learn everything you need to know about co-design from this course alone. This is introductory training, which pairs well with our other course offerings such as Co-Design in Complex Systems and Designing and Facilitating Workshops. 
• already have ample experience leading co-design projects - you may wish to check out Co-Design Practitioners instead.
  

📆 2025 schedule

The next course consists of three online training sessions in July, at a time designed to suit participants in Australia, NZ, Asia and the Americas.

July 2025 - Tuesdays: 01.07.25, 08.07.25 & 15.07.25: 10am-12.30pm AEST (Melbourne)

🕰️ That’s 8am-10.30am Perth / 9.30am-12pm Adelaide & Darwin / 12pm-2.30pm NZ Time.

📍 This is on Mondays in North/South/Central America, starting June 30th: 5pm-7.30pm Pacific Time / 8pm-10.30pm Eastern Time.

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

👉 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.

Keen to learn in-person?
Our next in-person session will likely be in Wellington (NZ) in May 2025 and/or in Melbourne (Australia) in October 2025. Register your interest to be informed when the next training day is scheduled.

✅ Investment & payment options

Pricing

Early-bird registration: $820 AUD incl. GST, or $510 USD^ per person.
Register before 30 May 2025, to access the early-bird rate!

Standard registration: $935 incl. GST per person, or $580 USD^ per person.

Your place is confirmed on receipt of full payment.

Includes:

• Three online training sessions
• Digital resources.

Optional add-on:

• Individual follow-up coaching session with Emma 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 $170 USD^.

^If paying via invoice in USD (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 20.
Registrations close on 27 June 2025 to allow time for onboarding onto our platforms.

💬 Previous participants have said…

The facilitation skills, content and level of expertise that are combined seamlessly in this workshop are in themselves valuable to experience - let alone the value of other participants' contributions and the insight you gain being present. I've already recommended it to others and will continue to do so! 
- Téa O'Driscoll - Research Fellow (Complex Community Interventions) 

I really enjoyed the Fundamentals of Co-Design workshop with Emma. Emma's facilitation style was excellent, and the pace of delivery ensured that topics were covered well and easy to understand. A great introductory session to co-design!
- Lillian Santoro-Woolmer, Public Servant

This is a great introduction to co design, it slowly introduces the concepts. I loved it. It got me thinking a lot.
- Louise Roberts, Carer Engagement

I really enjoyed the session and loved the pacing, the engagements and the activities. I’m really stoked to have been a part of that session. Emma made it all so easy to understand and promoted such great conversations.
- Alexander Quong, Youth Support and Program Officer 

👉 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.