Practical Skills for Running Effective Workshops

Organisations are increasingly expected to collaborate with clients, communities and professionals to shape services. Designing and delivering interactive, effective and truly inclusive co-design workshops requires confident planning and a skilled facilitator.

This half-day advanced workshop provides health and social care practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and thought leaders with hands-on, practical tools to plan, run and evaluate co-design workshops. Emphasising equity and inclusion at every step, the workshop helps participants move beyond theory to practice – building confidence in facilitating collaborative and equitable engagement activities.

Course outline

• Overview of key concepts, including engagement and equity
• Integrating equity in a meaningful way into engagement processes
• Selection and practice of activities and tools
• Use of worked examples through case studies, and Bring Your Own projects to apply theory and tools
• Summary and evaluation
• Optional follow-up virtual consultation with facilitators (within two weeks of the workshop) to refine your own project or workshop plan

Learning outcomes

• Describe the key principles underpinning engagement approaches
• Describe key considerations for planning and facilitating equitable and inclusive engagement activities, such as workshops
• Determine engagement approaches and strategies for facilitating access and involvement
• Design, plan and deliver engagement activities that align with project/program goals as well as the needs of participants/collaborators
• Select and practice appropriate skills, tools and strategies for facilitation

Who should attend?

This workshop is ideal for:

• Health and social care practitioners
• Policymakers in government and community organisations
• Leaders and project managers designing and delivering services for community
• Researchers embedding co-design into their research
• Professionals who have theoretical knowledge of co-design but want practical facilitation experience

No advanced prior knowledge is required, but some familiarity with co-design principles will be an advantage.

Course facilitators