Ethics and ethos in the Spain pilot

Covid

During the pandemic the physical co-creation space was closed bringing confusion. Instead all members were invited to request a one to one session with mentors using zoom or Skype in the normal timetable for the Co-Crea-Te space (9am-7pm) as many times as they felt necessary. Just as previously, the open forum sessions were regarded as highly important. Group meetings were held via zoom every Friday where all members were invited to participate. Numbers of participants varied between 6 and 15 each Friday, which showed that, for some people, the sense of community and group feeling was a real factor in their using the service.

An important lesson from the Co-crea-te pilot is that co-creation is not for everyone. High-ranking managers can have a very limited idea of what co-creation is and in some instances think it involves them telling people what to do and others nodding in meek compliance. It is important to involve upper echelon managers of both public administrations and other public and private institutions in the discussion, particularly if we believe what we are doing deserves a shot at systemic change. However, the point at which this discussion takes place needs to be planned for maximum impact. One way of achieving this is through ‘Conversations for Change’ events.

People need time and space to voice their opinions and stories. Not everyone will be used to environments where people are expected to contribute ideas and participate actively in discussion. Some do not feel confident enough to voice their concerns. Here facilitation is the key, precisely as it is understood by People’s Voice Media who are skilled in engendering trust and equality.

Most important is that project team members (service professionals or academics) put aside their own pre-conceived ideas about an end product. In this pilot, a good example is the entrepreneurship training which the instigators originally saw an essential element. These preconceived ideas came tumbling down when the participants were handed blank sheets of paper and asked to show what business support should look like.