Co-design Practitioners program. Transformative development that builds capability and confidence to lead participatory design.

Co-Design Practitioners

KEY INFORMATION

Dates: Commences March 2026.
Format & Duration: Fortnightly sessions over 7 months.

Delivery Mode: Online. 

Co-Design Maturity Model Level: Apply/Integrate.


Keen to join us for Co-Design Practitioners in 2026?
Applications will open in late 2025. Keep reading below for general details relating to this training, and express your interest below to be the first to hear when applications open.

About this program

Co-Design Practitioners is a transformative professional development program that builds your capability and confidence to lead participatory design processes. Through a thoughtfully designed blend of learning approaches, you’ll join a diverse community of practitioners who share your commitment to ethical, inclusive design.

This seven-month learning program is designed to take your collaborative design practice to new heights. Led by Dr Emma Blomkamp, this course is ideal for those with several years of experience in participatory design contexts who are ready to deepen their expertise and strengthen their skills to tackle complex challenges.

Building on your existing knowledge, this program integrates experiential learning, creative techniques, and ethical considerations crucial for public and social innovation. Drawing from real-world experiences across Australia and Aotearoa, we explore the joys and challenges of co-designing with diverse communities.

This course is tailored for practitioners actively applying co-design in public purpose settings, providing a supportive environment to refine your skills, expand your toolset, and push the boundaries of participatory practice in your specific context.

Course overview

WHAT’S INVOLVED?

Alongside 10 to 15 other dedicated professionals at the apply/integrate level of co-design maturity, throughout the program we will explore:

  • Designing and leading effective collaborative activities with a wide range of people

  • Navigating power dynamics and expanding inclusive engagement

  • Developing strategies for building trust and combating consultation fatigue

  • Implementing remote engagement and online facilitation techniques

  • Assessing and communicating the impact of your co-design initiatives.

Co-Design Practitioners is hands-on and fully immersive. Expect a mix of activities to support learning-by-doing, complemented with academic rigour and grounded in the reality of working with diverse communities and organisational constraints.

Co-Design Practitioners is a series of seven modules, each with a facilitated online training session, peer coaching, and self-directed activities. The live training sessions consist of individual, pair and small group activities interspersed with presentations and facilitated group discussions.

The program takes place over the course of seven months, allowing time to apply, iterate and reflect on the tools, techniques and principles, in order to develop skills and embed learning in practice. In addition, each participant has access to individual mentoring with Emma Blomkamp. 

  • Core topics include:

    1. Facilitating diverse groups

    2. Power and participation

    3. Relationships before recruitment

    4. Creating with communities

    5. Sense-making and decision-making 

    6. Just enough evaluation

    7. Reflection, resilience and resistance

  • We cover one module per month, from May to November 2025. The typical monthly structure is:

    Week 1: preparatory reading/activity (individual)

    Week 2: facilitated, structured online training session (whole group)

    Week 3: self-directed learning and practice, with recommended resources (up to you)

    Week 4: reflection and peer coaching (small group)

  • Co-Design Practitioners has been designed specifically for creative professionals seeking to better engage a diverse range of people to generate more equitable outcomes.

    Participants are expected to be experienced practitioners at the Apply or Integrate level of Co-Design Maturity. The majority of participants tend to work in or with the public purpose sector in Aotearoa or Australia. Although this is our shared context, we have welcomed participants from other countries (including Malaysia, Indonesia, US and the UK) and the private sector.

    To get the most out of the program, participants need at least a few years of relevant professional experience and a current context where they can apply, integrate and extend their co-design practice.

    Many but not all participants have a background in design (e.g. communications, user experience, architecture, product or service design) or social innovation. Previous participants demonstrated that other relevant experience includes: community development, public health, international development, participatory arts, people-centred research and evaluation, community and stakeholder engagement, innovation labs and social enterprise startups.

    Co-Design Practitioners strives to be accessible, inclusive and welcoming to all participants. We hold space for difference, including from lived experience, and support different learning needs and preferences.

    Participants need to be fluent and literate in English to participate successfully in the program. You also need a computer and reliable Internet access to interact with us online. Participants with any accessibility requirements are invited to communicate their needs and provide honest feedback so that we can enable all to fully participate.

    Co-Design Practitioners is limited to 16 participants per year. We run a selection process (see below) to ensure that participants have the right sort of experience, work context and commitment to make the most of this experiential professional development program.

Program inclusions

INCLUDES:

  • An opportunity to learn and apply co-design principles, methods and tools with an internationally respected, award-winning practitioner and experienced educator

  • A network of supportive peers with a diverse range of backgrounds, experience and perspectives (and a private Slack channel to connect with each other)

  • 7 x monthly facilitated 2.5 hour training sessions (online, using Zoom and Miro)

  • 3 x facilitated 2.5 hour group coaching sessions 

  • 4 x 90-minute peer coaching sessions

  • 1 x 45-minute individual coaching/mentoring session with Emma Blomkamp

  • Access to a large resource hub with recommended readings and links to many relevant texts, tools, case studies, and audiovisual material

  • Tailored prompts, tools and resources for self-directed and applied learning each month

  • Exclusive invitation to join our alumni membership network, with:

    • Opportunities to learn and share with other participants from diverse backgrounds with common interests— beyond the participants in this year's program.

    • Ongoing access to our Resource Hub and Slack channels, after the program ends.

  • Certificate of Completion

  • RMIT Master of Design Futures students can get elective credits for this course.

PARTICIPANTS ARE EXPECTED TO:

  • Commit at least 2-3 hours per week to the program over seven months. You will be supported to complete self-directed and peer-led activities between facilitated group sessions.

  • Be intermediate-level/mid-weight practitioners of a design discipline or innovation approach. Participants need some prior experience as well as people skills to work effectively with diverse groups. This is not an introductory level program for recent graduates or people newly curious about human-centred design.

  • Be currently working in a field of design, community/public engagement, systems change and/or collaborative practice. Participants need to have a context where you can apply your learning. This could be a side project or voluntary role if you don’t currently have a relevant professional context for co-design practice.

  • “Highlight of my professional career! Emma is a fantastic and thoughtful curator and facilitator and renewed my passion for participatory design. She expertly stepped us through a program of key concepts underpinning co-design and created a warm and welcoming space where I met and befriended others in the field. Absolutely loved the experience. Would recommend (and have already recommended) to anyone interested in working in participatory and ethical ways.”

    Charlotte McCombe, Design Researcher

  • “I can’t recommend it highly enough! It was an incredible opportunity to connect with individuals from diverse sectors and industries, all of whom are navigating similar challenges. The exchange of ideas and experiences was not only enriching but also inspiring. The content is thoughtfully designed, allowing for a deep exploration of co-design principles and practices that resonate with my line of work. The resources provided are extensive and relevant, equipping participants with the tools needed to implement co-design effectively in their own contexts.”

    Maggie Fono, PhD researcher and public servant

  • “Co-Design Practitioners offers a beautifully curated and facilitated mix of practice-based learning and reflection opportunities with a group of like-minded peers working across a diverse range of fields and settings. One of the biggest learning opportunities is getting to experience Emma actively modelling co-design principles in all aspects of how the program is delivered. The course strikes a fine balance of being intellectually rigorous yet accessible in terms of how content is delivered. I feel a renewed enthusiasm for the work and I’m already seeing tangible improvements to my own practice.”

    Carrie Lumby, Director, Troubled Dog

  • “This course is thoughtfully designed and beautifully facilitated, to create a community of practitioners and take them on a journey to deepen their practice. Emma leverages the principles of adult learning to guide participants, and provides instruction, resources and reflective practices to help embed new knowledge. The whole course structure, including peer coaching and coaching with Emma, feels like a wraparound support — this is so beneficial to growing your networks, and building your confidence!”

    Ruth Toomey, Director - Design, Learning and Capability, Queensland Government

  • “It’s a brilliant course with an engaging and highly experienced facilitator. The range and depth of the resources provided to support your particular interest/s is extensive, and there are great opportunities for peer learning. I couldn’t recommend it highly enough.”

    Laura Ashton, Business Development Manager, Emerge Aotearoa

  • “The course is such a wonderful learning experience to not only equip you with the key concepts, tools and mindsets to apply co-design in your work but also the confidence to do so. You also get the rare opportunity to connect with practitioners around the world that share the same values and passion to learn alongside you. I would highly recommend!”

    Precious Magtuto, Equity UX Analyst, Curtin University

  • “The co-design practitioners course is an interactive and empowering way to strengthen your co-design knowledge and practice. Emma skillfully uses a variety of techniques to keep the virtual learning space fun and engaging, whilst encouraging group participation. I really enjoyed the co-design practitioners course and feel it’s strengthened my co-design practice immensely.”

    Laura Griffin, Consumer Engagement and Co-design Manager, Agency for Clinical Innovation

  • “This course will provide you with the theory, support and opportunity to really develop your co-design experience. Emma is skilled at creating a community of practitioners who will walk alongside you on your journey. The combination of workshops to explore and discuss as well as extensive further reading and homework activities to take into your work make this a comprehensive program for anyone looking to push their practice forward.”

    Sam Champion, Participation and Development Manager, Youth Affairs Council Victoria

  • “Co-Design Practitioners is an immersive experience from beginning to end. Emma has created a course that blends theory with practice, providing the space for conversation and connection with fellow participants along with opportunities for deeper, self-directed learning in areas of particular interest. The resource library is so extensive! Highly recommend to anyone who is looking to grow their knowledge and skills in co-design.”

    Sandie Pullen, Manager Innovation, Design & Communications, IPC Health

  • “A well-structured course, with excellent facilitation, is jam-packed with resources and toolkits. An opportunity to pause your daily tasks and reflect on your design practice.”

    Fifi Oktovianus, independent Design Researcher and Senior Service Designer

  • “Highly recommended training — I am still connected to the people I met doing this course a few years ago. Even though I do not have a design background, I found the course to be engaging, relevant and vital for projects undertaken since completion. Emma Blomkamp is an exceptional facilitator and researcher who brings this practice to life.”

    Liz Asser, Lived Experience Practitioner

Get course updates

Keen to join us for Co-Design Practitioners in 2026?

Express your interest below to be the first to receive updates on Co-Design Practitioners.