CO-DESIGN

How to Build a Co-design Team

A strong co-design team doesn’t need to be big, but it does need to be built with intention.

Think through who should be involved, what different types of knowledge they bring, and how to build trust, clarity, and shared leadership from the start.

Why your team matters

Co-design works best when a research team reflects the diversity of the people that the work is meant to serve. That includes lived experience, cultural knowledge, and professional expertise. It also includes people often left out of research processes altogether.

The makeup of your team influences:

What questions are asked
How priorities are decided, and
Who benefits from the research.

Getting this right early in the process, whether you’re shaping a new research idea, refining a method, or developing a tool, can help you build stronger relationships, and more meaningful outcomes.

What makes a strong co-design team?

There is no one-size-fits-all. A good team is:

Intentional. People are there for a reason and know what their role is.
Collaborative. Members work together, not in silos.
Grounded in trust. There’s time and care taken to build relationships.
Open to shared power. Decision-making isn’t top-down.

The Summer Foundation’s PhD project involved a lived experience reference group from the beginning. This group co-developed the research questions, advised on participant recruitment, and helped shape the final outputs, a great example of lived experience directly influencing research design.

For more detail, see the Summer Foundation case study in the Co-Design in Action resource.

Types of knowledge to include

Co-design teams work best when they include a mix of:

Lived experience. People who experience the issue first-hand.
Cultural knowledge. Insight into local or community protocols.
Clinical or service-based knowledge. How systems work in practice.
Research or technical expertise. Data, ethics, and methodology.

People often hold more than one kind of knowledge. For example, a community leader may also be a carer. And a service provider may have lived experience. These overlaps are a strength.

In "Hey, Hear Me Out," Jody Barney brought deep lived and cultural knowledge to the team. Her leadership, combined with culturally grounded community yarning helped shift the project from a consultation-based approach to genuine co-design. This reorientation led to stronger relationships and more culturally relevant outcomes.

For more detail, see the “Hey, Hear Me Out,” case study in the Co-Design in Action resource.

Shared leadership and power

Strong co-design teams make decisions in ways that are fair, transparent, and collaborative. They invite people in, and build-in opportunities for shared power from the outset.

That might mean having co-leads or co-chairs, agreeing on group principles or protocols, and/or sharing control over key elements like budgets or timelines. Just as importantly, there needs to be room for disagreement, open discussion, and reflection; respectful debate is vital in ensuring strong ideas are shaped.

When people are involved early in the process, they’re more able to influence direction in real and lasting ways.

Practical tips for building your team

Start small, then grow. You don’t need everyone on board from day one, but the earlier you include key voices, the better.
Budget for participation. Pay people for their time and expertise.
Plan for trust. Relationships take time. Build that into your timeline.
Be clear about roles. Avoid tokenism by clarifying how each person will contribute.

In summary

Who’s in the room matters. The people that are brought together, and how they work will shape your decisions and outcomes. When teams are thoughtful, inclusive, and connected, the research reflects that.

Co-design is a practical way of putting the NDRP Principles into action. In particular, our commitment to valuing lived experience, strengthening disability research capacity, and supporting research that makes a real difference in people’s lives.

Find out more about the NDRP Principles.

Back to the Co-design resources page.