Co-design in Aotearoa: Ways of being, knowing and doing
by Penny Hagen
From Visual Summary: Speaker Quotes Day 1 session: Indigenous-led Innovation Practice for Systems Change with Angie Tangaere (Ngati Porou) The Southern Initiative and Celia Hirini (Ngai Tuhoe, Ngati Ruapani, Ngati Kahungunu) Papakura Marae, He Whanau Whanui o Papakura.
The post shares some of the inspirational and practical kōrero enabled through the generosity of whānau, practitioners and public servants at our July event Co-design in Aotearoa : Ways of being, knowing and doing. Held online 7-9th July 2021, the event was co-hosted with IPANZ, Ngā Aho, Tuakana Teina and Allen+Clarke and quickly sold out, reflecting the significant interest from government and beyond in this way of working.
IPANZ outlined the below as their motivation for calling for this event:
Co-design is an overused and abused term. We have heard the term “co-design” being used frequently, with practice variable and not always authentic.
Culturally grounded practices. There is a tension between dominant euro-centric models and Te Tiriti models. We wanted to run a co design session that centred on culturally grounded, indigenous based practices.
A rethink of the “way we do things”. If we as a public service do not go about some of our work in a different way, we will fail in some vital areas of our mahi.
Genuine co-design is a challenge for public servants. We knew that this “way of being, knowing and doing” is not business-as-usual in the public service context. But it is possible; this event proved that for sure! IPANZ wants to inform, inspire and support public servants.
Most important for us was to bring a critical eye to the term co-design, promote and make visible existing tangata whenua and indigenous ways of working and doing that form leading practice in Aotearoa, and engage in some of the deeper kōrero needed about what this practice actually means and takes in an Aotearoa context.
Summary Notes from Day 2 “Exploring relationships, tensions, power-sharing. What matters, what are people learning and trying?” Session with Karl Wixon (Ngāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha, Ngāti Toa Rangatira)
While we knew doing it online would make it trickier, we still wanted to try and create an opportunity to dig deeper into the issues that “co-design” can be a proxy for, and we are pleased to say we weren’t disappointed. Thanks to the powerful, reflective and generative kōrero offered by our speakers, the event moved us well beyond tools, methods and process, going to the heart of what working together in relationship looks and feels like - as well as what it takes to make this commitment to partnership real in Aotearoa. For those not able to make the event, this post shares the videos from the three days, and links to other resources.
The three days covered three themes: The first looking at the Value of this way of working, the second examined important aspects of Relationships, Power-sharing and Tensions related to co-design. The final morning was about a Gaze on Government, setting the Conditions for working together.
Below is a summary of the three days and links to the videos, visual summary and other related resources. You can use the timestamp function on the You Tube videos to jump straight to a talk.
Visual overview of Day One by Holly Davies
Kōrero from the three days was captured graphically by Holly Davies. Download the 3 day summary here (PDF).
Participant summary notes: Day One
Day One: Focused on exploring the Value of this Mahi: What is it? What does it take?
We began with an opening and context setting from Debbie Goodwin (Tūhoe / Whakatōhea) of Tuakana Teina Evaluation Collective. Shenagh Gleisner (Pākehā) of IPANZ and Penny Hagen (Pākehā) of Auckland Co-design Lab then shared a perspective on “Talking co-design in the public sector in Aotearoa”
Two different perspectives and expressions of co-design were then shared:
Perspective 1 Designing for Equity: Lessons from a co-design journey Cheree Shortland Nuku (Ngāti Hine) and Leigh Sturgiss Ministry of Health
Talking shifts, benefits and pragmatic lessons learnt from The Young Māori Women’s Smoking Cessation project is a multi-year initiative working alongside wāhine Māori, providers, design specialists and kaupapa Māori evaluator, taking an equity and cultural-lens to understanding and supporting smoking cessation for wāhine Māori.
Perspective 2 Indigenous-led Innovation Practice for Systems Change Angie Tangaere (Ngāti Porou), The Southern Initiative, Celia Hirini (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Ruapani, Ngāti Kahungunu) Papakura Marae, He Whānau Whānui O Papakura
Angie Tangaere and Celia are joined by whānau from He Whānau Whānui O Papakura to share their journey as co-design leaders, providing a whānau perspective on the value of this way of working and its potential for transformation.
IPANZ 2021 Day 1: THE VALUE OF THIS MAHI - What is it? What does it take?
Day Two: Relationships, Power-sharing and Tensions
Day Two began with a welcome from Desna Whaanga Schollum (Rongomaiwahine, Kahungunu, Pahauwera) of Ngā Aho
The first perspective was delivered by Karl Wixon (Ngāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha, Ngāti Toa Rangatira), ARAHIA. Who provided a succinct and significant background to the kōrero and journey of “co-design” in Aotearoa - and what it can actually mean to take a tikanga and whānau led, co-design enabled process - leaving behind western notions of co-design to reconnect to whakapapa-led design.
A Māori Provider Perspective was then shared by Materoa Mar (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou) & Nikki Walden (Te Ati Awa, Taranaki) of Te Tihi o Ruahine Whānau Ora Alliance. They gifted us with a conversation about power and relationships - guided by tika, pono and aroha, holding the space of rangatiratanga and mana motuhake.
Day two was closed by Reflections about an Aboriginal and New Zealand collaboration (IAHP Yarnes) by Roxanne Bainbridge (Gungarri / Kunja nations of south-west Queensland) and Robyn Bailey (Pākehā).
Summary Notes from Day 2 “Exploring relationships, tensions, power-sharing. What matters, what are people learning and trying?” Session with Roxanne Bainbridge
IPANZ 2021 Day2: July RELATIONSHIPS, POWER-SHARING AND TENSIONS
Day Three : A Gaze on Government: Setting the conditions for working together
The goal for Day 3 was to dig into the role of the government, what needs to change about how we work, and what it means to consider our role in setting the conditions for co-design.
Opened by reflections by Robyn Bailey (Pākehā) of Allen + Clarke the first session of the day was an intense and honest sharing of work in progress: Live Lessons from Uptempo, an innovation collaboration for Pasifika Prosperity with speakers Anna Jane Edwards, The Southern Initiative and Leilani Tamu, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Detailing some highs and lows of setting up UpTempo, a social innovation initiative focused on improving long-term employment outcomes for Pasifika people. Leilani and Anna-Jane describe the conditions that need to be fostered in government to enable more collaborative ways of working.
The last session included three speakers:
Debbie Goodwin who reflected on her work with the government evaluating co-design initiatives from a Māori perspective - and the results of her PhD on the same topic.
Bronwyn Petrie, Ministry of Health Co-designing the healthy homes initiative – sharing lessons for public servants and,
Tamsin Evans, Ministry of Culture and Heritage, Who’s steering the waka? A partnership approach in practice
IPANZ 2021 Day3 : A GAZE ON GOVERNMENT - Preparing conditions for working together
Summary of participant discussion notes: Day 3
For further information on the Symposium, or related resources - see the links below:
Article by Shenagh Gleisner: WAYS OF BEING, KNOWING, AND DOING OUR CO-DESIGN SYMPOSIUM - A summary of memorable insights, questions and actions that emerged through the symposium written for Public Sector, the quarterly journal of IPANZ
Co-design in Aotearoa: Ways of Being, Knowing and Doing - Symposium Resources Page on The Lab website including the reflections worksheet, links to video and visual summary.
Co-design in Aotearoa Literature Snapshot Mark, S and P, Hagen (2020) Co-design in Aotearoa New Zealand: a snapshot of the literature, Auckland Co-design Lab, Auckland Council.