Enabling Co-Creation

Learning to facilitate a co-creation session with diverse stakeholders for real-life cases

Co-creation skills are crucial for promoting problem-solving, innovation and collaborative decision-making. By mastering these skills, students can cultivate an inclusive and cooperative environment.

This tool enables students to lead co-creation sessions confidently. In addition, it promotes active participation and motivation in a safe and inclusive setting, essential for building collaborative relationships among diverse stakeholders.

Intended for courses where students will work on a real-world case, this tool is designed to be used after students have identified the relevant stakeholders within the broader context of their course. Therefore, stakeholder mapping, conducting a stakeholder analysis and defining the purpose of the stakeholder meeting should be completed beforehand.

Learning outcome

The student is able to collaboratively facilitate a co-creation session of participants with diverse perspectives, securing a safe environment

Students develop co-creation skills with their peers as they design, facilitate and moderate a stakeholder meeting with stakeholders outside the university.

1.Defining the Co-creation Session

30 mins

Make teams of 3-4 students and provide each team with the preparation form.

In the next 20 minutes, the teams complete the preparation form to set up a co-creation session. They choose the corresponding combination of activities that fit the goal of the meeting.

Then, invite the teams to peer review each other’s forms: are the stakeholder’s interests clear? Do they miss an important perspective in the discussion?

After completing the peer review, all students discuss guidelines for creating a safe, inclusive and open collaborative space for the participants.

Tip: you can use the seven golden guidelines to create a safe learning environment as inspiration.

2.Preparing the Session

30 mins

The student teams divide the tasks needed to organise the co-creation session, such as finding a date and time, collecting necessary materials, distributing guidelines for the participants, inviting stakeholders and organising a location.

Next to these practicalities, the teams make an evaluation form for the participants of the session, to receive feedback on the intended learning outcome: “The student is able to collaboratively facilitate a co-creation session of participants with diverse perspectives, securing a safe environment“.

3.Facilitating Collaboration

1.5 hr

The students facilitate the meeting as described in the preparation form. During the meeting, they carry out the chosen activities but also handle the schedule flexibly if circumstances demand it.

The students have to show they are responsive and flexible and they can create a psychologically safe co-creative process within this meeting, where all stakeholders feel safe and able to contribute constructively.

4.Evaluation

30 mins

At the end of the meeting, the students ask the different stakeholders to complete the evaluation form they made in Step 2. They can collect evaluations anonymously or share these in a conversation, depending on what fits the participants.

The students gather evaluation forms as input for their reflection.

5.Reflection

1.5 hrs

First, instruct the students to write an individual reflection. Then, in a guided group reflection, they provide each other with constructive feedback. Finally, they connect a personal intended learning outcome to their reflection.

Please note, as part of assessment as learning, students reflect using reflective questions. After this session, they can revise their answers and hand it in.

Fostering an environment of trust, respect and active learning, students first reflect individually and as a group on their role in the stakeholder meeting. Then, they connect an intended learning outcome to their individual reflection.

Purpose

Assessment as learning aims to strengthen the learning process and the development of metacognitive skills. It empowers students to direct their own learning and to become independent, critical self-assessors.

Roles

Self assessment

Characteristics

Self-regulated learning

Materials

Reflective questions

Download Reflective questions

Download the guidelines to create a safe learning environment, the preparation form for the stakeholder meeting and Icebreaker activities (Step 1) and the evaluation questions (Step 2) below.

Download Guidelines for a safe learning environment

Download Preparation form

Download Icebreaker activities

Download Evaluation questions

Liberating Structures - 23. Social Network Webbing

Tho, C.W.S., K.P.J. Fortuin, J.T.M. Gulikers, N.C. Post Uiterweer & C. Oonk (2020) Boundary Crossing position paper. Wageningen University and Research.