PHASE 1 – DISCOVER
Stage 2: Current State
This stage will help you to better understand the key issues and what the data is saying about what is happening in a community or in relation to a issue.
Go to Stage 2 Content
Co.Design4All
5 Stages of Discover
The DISCOVER Phase has 5 stages and 32 tools
Stage 1
PRE PLANNING
This stage includes undertaking an initial planning process to understand the resources, governance and budget needs of the project.
4
Tools
Stage 2
CURRENT STATE
This stage includes an assessment of the current state, including data exploration, and understanding the key players in the context of the place based response.
2
Tools
Stage 3
ENGAGEMENT
Engagement will involve conversations with the key stakeholders identified in current state. This will allow unpacking and exploring the key issues and ideas/solutions. This will inform who should be involved in the design phase.
14
Tools
Stage 4
EXPLOTATION
Exploration includes examining what solutions have been used in this and similar contexts. It also includes expanding on any ideas identified during this stage and looking at local context for implementation clues.
8
Tools
Stage 5
PLANNING
Planning includes detailing the where, when, who and how stakeholders should be involved in the co-design process. This includes planning for reimbursement of the time of participants as needed.
4
Tools
Gate 1 – REFLECT & PLAN
The reflect and plan component of the framework has been designed to provide a point to review what has been achieved, then based on this review process, plan for the next stage of implementing the toolkit. There are a set of outcomes or questions that should be considered at each of these points.
Reflect & Plan
DICOVER
Stage 2 – Current State
Overview
This phase includes an assessment of the current state, including data exploration, and understanding the key players in the context of the place based response.
Key Activities
Getting the right frame on the design challenge is an important first step. For instance, start with the following steps:
- Write down what the challenge is in a single sentence.
- Articulate the constraints and contexts of the challenge
- Articulate possible solutions
- Following this you will need to collect and analyse data that will inform a deeper understanding of the issue. This may include public data, data held by particular stakeholders in the ecosystem or qualitative insights that unpack the issues within the context of the challenge. Potential data that can be included:
- Statistical information on the nature of the problem
- The historical trend data on the issue, including regional variations
- Relevant demographic data
- Projection data on likely demand for services over time
- The original business case on which the allocation of funds was made
- Outcomes data from existing services (de-identified if necessary and if possible)
- Relevant research that has informed the planning for services
- Information on other services and supports that may interact or be of relevance to the service users
STAGE 2 – CURRENT STATE
Mapping the objective and context
Mapping the objective and context
Tool Reference # 1D0201
This tool will help to better understand the key objectives of a service, what the context of operation is, what values the services stand for and the outcomes that are being achieved.
WHAT
This tool is applied at the start of Stage 1 and will help to unpack to key issues to assist in the definition of the challenge.
WHO
This is used by the project team and is best done together to get to the issues quickly
HOW LONG
1-2 hour session
Stage 2 – Mapping the objective and context
This tool clarifies a service’s key objectives, operational context, core values, and intended outcomes.
You need to purchase a subscription.
STAGE 2 – CURRENT STATE
Frame your design challenge tool
Frame your design challenge tool
Tool Reference # 1D0202
This tool will assist in defining the challenge and unpacking issues. It can be useful to test questions you may need to ask or ask in a group to make sure the parameters you set around your design are broad enough. A good question to stimulate input is worth the time creating it. If you are too narrow, you might exclude other more useful options which should be explored.
WHAT
This tool is applied at the start of Stage 1 and will assist in defining the challenge and unpacking issues
WHO
This is used by the project team and is best done together to get to the definition
HOW LONG
1-2 hour session
Stage 2 – Frame your design challenge tool
This tool helps define challenges, test exploratory questions, and ensure design parameters are broad enough to capture diverse, valuable options.
You need to purchase a subscription.
LET US HELP
Support & Guidance
Defining the current state can be challenging you need t find the right data and inputs to guide the process, if you want advice let us know.
CO.DESIGN4ALL
Get in Touch With Us
Please choose the subject of your enquiry from the drop-down selection. We look forward to engaging with you on Co.Design4All.
CASE STUDY
Getting The Best Start To Life
Everyone would agree that giving kids the best start in life is critical. Most of us know that before a child turns seven, many aspects of who they will become have been established.
When a group of local health, education and social care providers decided to gather in Inala, one of Queensland’s most disadvantaged regions, the enthusiasm was high. The common language around how to make a difference was not. Bringing the group together to ultimately produce the Five to Thrive approach took many meetings. Common understanding and a shared frame of reference needed to be developed about how to prepare kids for a good start at school.
Inala Primary Care was the only general practice involved. Clarifying the role of general practice, the constraints on our team and the practicalities of asking general practitioners to do more took some effort. We worked with the meeting organisers to get the right people involved, to have videos of stimulating ideas shown and to manage the sometimes outspoken behaviour of attendees.
It all comes down to having lots of tools in your back pocket so that you can harness the energy of others to get a good result.
Hire UsTESTIMONIALS
What our clients have to say
Tracey Silvester
Executive Officer
Engaging, Successful, Credible
I have been witness to Tracey Johnson’s knowledge of the health care system and her exceptional group facilitation skills. She is a master at understanding the complexities in which health services operate; an understanding that is reflected in the quality of the co-design tools and resources that have been developed. Her ability to clearly communicate complex concepts and engage diverse audiences ensures the success and credibility of her work. I am confident that these attributes and Tracey’s commitment to making a difference will make the website a valuable resource for all users.
McGrath ‘Model of Care’ project
Project Participant A
Best Co-design Process
This has been the best co-design process I have even participated in……ACTUAL co-design.
Meredith Cummins
CEO Neuroendocrine Cancer Australia
Wonderful Co-design Workshop
Wonderful to be involved in this co-design workshop to ensure the model of care for all cancers benefits all cancers.
McGrath ‘Model of Care’ project
Project Participant B
Fantastic Co-design Workshop
Fantastic to have been part of the codesign workshop with McGrath Foundation and Natasha Doherty.
Stacey Allerton
Patient Advocate
Compassionate Co-Design
Thank you to Natasha Doherty for a kind and compassionate session co-designing the McGrath Foundation model of nursing care for all cancers!
Cathy Baynie
Practice Consultant & Past President AAPM
Highly Recommend Co.Design4All
I highly recommend this resource as the necessary tool that will support and foster the needs of all stakeholders in the co-design process. Tracey and Nat have an in depth and lived understanding of what is required for a successful outcome. Their skills in working with groups and inspiring others are second to none.
Cathy Baynie, Registered Nurse. Practice Consultant & Past President AAPM (Australian Assoc of Practice Managers) Manager Advocacy and Health Workforce
Michele Smith
WNSWPHN
Excellent Co-Design – Resounding Success
The “Excellent Co-Design” training by Tracey Johnson and Natasha Doherty has been a resounding success. It not only enriched the skill set of the WNSW PHN Primary Care team but also instilled a culture of collaboration and innovation that will propel the PHN’s mission to improve primary health outcomes.
Freddy Ortega
WNSW PHN Primary Care Team
Transformative, Comprehensive Training
The “Excellent Co-Design” training, expertly delivered by Tracey Johnson and Natasha Doherty, has been transformative for the WNSW PHN Primary Care Team. This comprehensive training has equipped the team with vital skills in community engagement, service innovation, and program implementation—key components for addressing complex primary care challenges, especially in rural and remote contexts
Tracey Silvester
Executive Officer ACHSM
Quality Tools & Resources
Tracey Johnson is a master at understanding the complexities in which health services operate, an understanding that is reflected in the quality of the codesign tools and resources that have been developed. I am confident that these attributes and Tracey’s commitment to making a difference will make the Co.Design4All website a valuable resource for all users.
insights and thought leadership
Our Latest Articles & Blogs
We are passionate about Co.Design4All and the difference it makes to projects and community initiatives to facilitate and enable successful and better outcomes for ALL. We will share our knowledge, insights, and expertise in articles and blogs to help you successfully adopt and implement co-design principles.
Fix the Ride, Not the Rider: Why Systems Change Starts at the Periphery
Team Co.Design4All
The most useful insights about a broken system almost always come from the people it serves least well. Learn why fixing the ride, not the rider, is where real systems change begins, and how co-design puts the right voices at the centre of that process.
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Character or Credit? Leadership in an age of self
Team Co.Design4All
In a culture that rewards self-promotion over self-mastery, what does it actually take to lead meaningful change? Drawing on the work of David Brooks, Angela Duckworth, Jonathan Haidt and Robert Greenleaf, this article explores why character is the foundation of effective leadership in healthcare and community change work, and why humility may be the most important capability that change leaders still need to develop.
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Kombi, not Chaos: Why your team isn’t doing what you asked — and what to do about it
Team Co.Design4All
Why aren’t your team following the procedure you agreed on? The COM-B model — Capability, Opportunity, Motivation — offers a practical diagnostic framework for healthcare and organisational leaders. Pair it with co-design and you have both the diagnosis and the method to fix it.
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Ask, Don’t Tell: The quiet discipline of listening to learn
Team Co.Design4All
In change work, the people who listen hardest tend to get the furthest. Drawing on Schein’s humble inquiry and Scharmer’s four levels of listening, this article explores why asking — not telling — is the foundational discipline of genuine co-design, and how to practise it in healthcare and community settings.
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Head, Heart, Hip Pocket: How to Pitch Change so it Actually Lands
Team Co.Design4All
A great idea is not enough. Winning funding, permission and momentum requires a pitch that speaks to the rational, emotional and financial realities of your audience — all three, in the right order. The Head, Heart, Hip Pocket framework is a battle-tested structure for change-makers in healthcare and beyond, grounded in decades of co-design practice and the best of behavioural science.
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When Co-Design Becomes a PR Exercise: Learning from Australia’s Live Export Debacle
Team Co.Design4All
Co-Design vs Performative Consultation Co-design has become the darling of public policy. Governments and organisations everywhere trumpet their commitment to collaborative decision-making, promising to work alongside affected communities to shape policies that impact them. But what happens when co-design is deployed not as a genuine collaborative process, but as window dressing for decisions already made? …
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The Vanishing Village: What we lost when we stopped joining things — and why co-design may be how we get it back
Team Co.Design4All
Social capital has been quietly collapsing across Australia for fifty years. Volunteering is at an all-time low, loneliness now carries health risks equivalent to smoking fifteen cigarettes a day, and trust in government continues to fall. Drawing on research from Robert Putnam, Andrew Leigh, Hugh Mackay, and Julianne Holt-Lunstad, this article examines what we have lost, why it matters for the health and wellbeing of Australian communities, and why genuine co-design may be the most practical path toward rebuilding the social fabric we have allowed to unravel.
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Gender Equity, Kindness, and the Screen Between Us
Team Co.Design4All
Half a century of equity reform has produced real gains — and real resistance. From the gender pay gap to the rise of the manosphere, this article examines where Australia stands on gender equality, what the evidence tells us about coercive control and online radicalisation, and why structured co-design at community level may be one of our most practical tools for rebuilding common ground.
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