Co-design shared solutions

This standard is about co-designing shared solutions with colleagues and stakeholders to support meaningful and sustainable outcomes. Stakeholders may include partners, service users, customers, people with lived experience, and representatives from other organisations, professions or sectors. You determine the information you need, gather and analyse evidence and explore diverse perspectives to understand people’s needs, experiences and expectations. You communicate clearly, promote inclusion and shared understanding and create opportunities for meaningful participation. You collaborate to generate ideas, explore potential solutions and support the translation of co-designed ideas into practical actions. You monitor participation, respond constructively to concerns and adapt your approach when conditions change.

This standard applies to managers and leaders at all levels across all sectors.

1. Determine the information you need to co-design shared solutions with colleagues and stakeholders to support meaningful outcomes.
2. Gather, review and analyse information from relevant sources to understand people’s needs, experiences and expectations.
3. Communicate in ways that support inclusion, dignity and shared understanding during co-design activities.
4. Create opportunities for colleagues and stakeholders to contribute their ideas, experiences and insights to the co-design process to strengthen participation and ownership.
5. Listen actively to understand diverse perspectives, priorities and lived experiences and use this insight to inform co-design.
6. Share information that supports informed participation and shared decision-making to enhance transparency and trust.
7. Facilitate discussions in ways that support constructive dialogue and shared understanding of issues, needs and potential solutions to enable collaborative problem-solving.
8. Collaborate with colleagues and stakeholders to generate ideas and explore potential solutions to support shared outcomes.
9. Adapt your communication and behaviour to reduce barriers and support meaningful participation in co-design activities to maintain engagement and inclusivity.
10. Respond constructively to concerns raised by colleagues or stakeholders in line with organisational procedures to maintain trust and progress.
11. Monitor behaviours and participation to identify factors that may affect co-design activities and respond in line with organisational procedures to maintain a positive and inclusive environment.
12. Take account of diverse cultural, professional and lived perspectives to strengthen the relevance and inclusivity of co-designed solutions.
13. Develop actions that support the translation of co-designed ideas into practical solutions to ensure meaningful implementation.
14. Maintain accurate records that support transparency, accountability and shared understanding.
15. Apply relevant leadership, management and co-design theories and models, and reflect critically on your performance and behaviour to strengthen how you co-design shared solutions.

1. The meaning and purpose of co-design in your area of responsibility.
2. The factors that influence participation and engagement in co-design and how these affect outcomes.
3. How co-design influences performance, engagement and organisational outcomes.
4. How to determine and gather the information you need to support co-design from relevant sources.
5. How to analyse information to understand people’s needs, experiences and expectations.
6. How to communicate in ways that support inclusion, dignity and shared understanding.
7. How to adapt your communication and behaviour to reduce barriers to participation.
8. How to listen actively to understand diverse perspectives, priorities and lived experiences.
9. How to create opportunities for colleagues and stakeholders to contribute meaningfully to co-design.
10. How to facilitate discussions that support constructive dialogue and shared understanding of issues and potential solutions.
11. How to collaborate with colleagues and stakeholders to generate ideas and explore potential solutions.
12. How to take account of diverse cultural, professional and lived perspectives to strengthen co-designed solutions.
13. How to respond constructively to concerns and recognise behaviours that may affect participation in line with organisational procedures.
14. How to monitor participation and engagement in co-design activities to identify emerging issues and opportunities for improvement and develop actions that support implementation.
15. How leadership, management and co-design theories and models can strengthen co-design practice, and how to reflect critically on your performance to identify opportunities for improvement.

The following values underpin this standard. They are integrated throughout the performance criteria and knowledge and understanding requirements and inform how individuals approach their work, make decisions and interact with others.

• Integrity - behaving consistently with organisational values when co-designing solutions.
• Openness - sharing information to support transparency and trust.
• Inclusion - valuing diverse perspectives, experiences and lived expertise.
• Respect - interacting with people in ways that uphold dignity.
• Responsibility - taking ownership of your contribution to co-design.
• Collaboration - working with others to create shared solutions.

The following behaviours underpin this standard. They are integrated throughout the performance criteria and knowledge and understanding requirements and inform how individuals approach their work, make decisions and interact with others.

• Act with integrity, aligning your actions with organisational values.
• Be inclusive, valuing diverse perspectives and lived experiences.
• Act with respect, interacting with people in ways that uphold dignity.
• Communicate openly, supporting trust and shared understanding.
• Be collaborative, supporting colleagues and stakeholders to co-design solutions.
• Take accountability for your contribution to co-design.
• Consider wellbeing, recognising how co-design activities affect people’s confidence, workload and emotional safety.