Fundamentals of Co-Design
KEY INFORMATION
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:
Co-design mindsets and principles
Inclusive workshop facilitation
Engagement methods beyond workshops
Co-design process models and key decision points
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?
Register your interest below to be informed when the next training day is scheduled.
Investment & pricing
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).
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.
Access and payment options
Payment options
Register directly via Humanitix to pay via credit card or request an invoice in AUD. International participants can contact the team to request an invoice free of GST in another currency if based outside of Australia. Learn more about our payment options.
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. Please see our scholarships page for more information and to apply.
Access
When you register, we will ask if you have any access needs or learning preferences. You can view a summary of how we learn, what platforms we use and what accessible features we provide by default here.
Get course updates
Keen to join us for a future session of Fundamentals of Co-Design?
Express your interest below to be the first to hear when tickets for future courses go on sale.
