Fundamentals of Co-Design
KEY INFORMATION
Dates: Mondays in May 2026.
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 people with lived and professional experience 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, 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 Leading 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.
2026 schedule
The next course consists of three online training sessions in May, at a time designed to suit participants in Australia, NZ and Asia-Pacific.
Mondays 11, 18 and 25 May 2026: 2pm-4.30pm AEST (Melbourne/Sydney/Brisbane)
That’s 12pm-2.30pm Perth / 1.30pm-4pm Adelaide & Darwin / 4pm-6.30pm NZ 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
Early-bird registration: $795 AUD incl. GST, when you register and pay in full before 30 March 2026.
Standard registration: $920 incl. GST per person.
Your place is confirmed on receipt of full payment.
Includes:
Three online training sessions
Digital resources
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 45 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 24.
Registrations close on 7 May 2026 to allow time for onboarding onto our platforms.
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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