Leading Co-Design in Complex Systems
Dates: Thursdays starting 4 June 2026 / Mondays, starting 7 September 2026
Format & Duration: 4 x 2-hour sessions, once a week
Delivery Mode: Online
Co-Design Maturity Model Level: Apply
KEY INFORMATION—online
About this training
Want to bring design, dialogue and co-creation into how you plan, commission and manage complex work?
Leading Co-Design in Complex Systems is a short course for purpose-driven professionals who want to work more collaboratively—and more skillfully with colleagues, clients and communities.
This training program presents a Practice Framework for systems-aware co-design. This ethical and evidence-informed approach covers the key domains of systems change, co-design and social innovation: place, people, process, practice and principles.
This program draws participants from across the world, including Canada, the US, Mexico, Qatar, Singapore, UK, Germany, Netherlands and Denmark, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
The course models how to effectively engage partners, staff and community members—and provides opportunities to connect with others doing inspiring work.
Why do this course?
Learn a practical framework for authentic co-design that you can immediately apply to your projects
Gain exclusive access to an extensive set of resources to share with your team
Experience the perfect balance of theory and hands-on practice
Receive personalised guidance on a peer-reviewed and practitioner-approved framework, including an optional one-on-one coaching session with Dr Emma Blomkamp
Connect with a diverse network of public and community sector professionals
Learn in a supportive environment where you can openly share challenges and workshop solutions
Walk away with concrete strategies to create lasting social impact with your communities.
How is it delivered?
The course can be taken either as a one-day in-person workshop or via four online training sessions (with up to 22 participants), delivered once a week for a month.
It involves hands-on exercises and discussion, with individual and small group activities, as well as presentations and Q&A.
In addition to the practice framework and case studies, participants also gain access to downloadable materials and tools that you can share with your organisation/network.
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.
Is this course for me?
It is for you, if you:
are a manager, facilitator or leader in the public, health, education or community sectors.
work in any role or context where you’re addressing complex issues and want to better engage others in your work.
are keen to blend systems thinking and co-design together in practice.
are able to attend all four online training sessions—the course builds progressively and relies on social learning and group discussion.
can allow an additional 15-30 minutes per week to engage in preparation and application activities, or more if you’d like to dive deeper into the resources we provide.
It is NOT for you, if you:
are seeking basic introductory design thinking tools—this is a more advanced systems-focused approach.
are focused purely on commercial outcomes—this is specifically designed for public and community sector challenges.
are looking for a quick, one-size-fits-all technical solution—this course deals with complex social systems and requires deep engagement.
seek a purely theoretical academic course—this is practice-oriented and assumes active participation and application.
aren’t able to attend at least three of the online training sessions or don’t have a strong internet connection to participate in online activities.
expect to learn everything you need to know about co-design or systems change from this course alone.
2026 schedule
The next course is online in June at a time designed to suit participants in Australia, NZ and the Americas. The September series is designed to suit participants in the UK and Europe, and those who prefer after hours training in Australia and NZ.
June 2026 - Thursdays: 4 June, 11 June, 18 June and 25 June.
10am-12pm AEST (Melbourne/Sydney/Brisbane)
That’s 8am-10am Perth / 9.30am-11.30am Darwin / 10am-12pm Brisbane / 9.30am-11.30am Adelaide / 12pm-2pm NZ time.
For those in the USA & Canada, it’s Wednesdays (starting June 3rd): 5pm-7pm PDT / 8pm-10pm EDT.
Located elsewhere? Find out what time this is for you.
September 2026 - Mondays: 7, 14, 21 and 28 September.
6pm-8pm AEST (Melbourne/Sydney/Brisbane)
That’s 9am-11am BST (London) / 10am-12pm CEST (Berlin) / 4pm-6pm AWST (Perth) / 8pm-10pm NZT (Auckland).
Located elsewhere? Find out what time this is for you.
Register your interest below to be the first to know when this series goes on sale.
Investment & pricing options
Prices for the June course as follows.
Early-bird registration: $925 AUD incl. GST when you pay in full before 23 April 2026.
Standard registration: $1050 AUD incl. GST.
Your place is confirmed on receipt of full payment.
Online registration includes:
Four online training sessions, with structured learning and practice.
All materials, including digital resources.
Preparation and follow-up activities via email.
Certificate of completion.
Optional add-on:
Individual follow-up coaching session with Emma to discuss how to implement what you have learned into your work:
1 x 50 minute one-on-one coaching session $280 AUD incl. GST.
We highly recommend registering early to avoid missing out.
To provide a great learning experience, participant numbers are capped at 22 for online sessions.
Registrations close when we reach capacity or on 1 June 2026 or to allow time for onboarding.
Access and payment options
Payment options
Register directly via Humanitix to pay via credit card. International participants can contact the team to request an invoice free of GST if based outside of Australia. Learn more about our payment options.
Scholarships
We offer two scholarship places for First Nations practitioners 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.
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