Born in Scandinavia, co-design was created to ensure a greater consideration of community opinions in major decision-making, often used to properly understand cultural, societal, or usage circumstances. Rather than seeking validation for already created concepts as the consultation process evolves, co-design takes consultation to the next level, allowing equal input by both provider and end user allowing for a more simpatico partnership.
Shore Junction is, and will continue to be, a co-design project, building on the methods and principles of Participatory Design which assumes the 'users' are the experts of their own domain and should be involved fully in the design process. Young people are at the heart of everything we do at Shore Junction, they know what they and other young people are looking for in an innovation space and it is that expertise we seek to make Shore Junction succeed.
Employing a co-design process is vital to our success and is the driver to ensure we deliver an effective facility that meets the needs of our stakeholders. Through co-design we can ensure young people are involved in the entire Shore Junction journey and we can identify factors and convert them into realistic opportunities. We can guarantee the facility, programming, equipment and the environment meet the needs of young people of the North Shore.
Going forward we will ensure co-design continues to be well resourced; building trust, respect and mutual understanding between the service providers and the service designers (the young people) is imperative. Ian Lim, Mae Everett and Henry Pivac have been part of the Shore Junction journey for over two years, and continue to be most valued assets. Advising us ('old people') what is relatable and appropriate to the needs and advancement of themselves and their peers. We have held Project Connect days and visits to Shore Junction to obtain the opinions of many young people on the North Shore.
Shore Junction could not exist without these young people - always enthusiastic to share their ideas and listen to ours. Our group of Youth Advisors is made up of young people from across a range of education facilities, ethnicities and backgrounds. These young people are key to the development of innovative programmes and services delivered out of Shore Junction.
Our Youth Advisors have set the standard for best practice in how to grow and develop young people into leadership roles. We recognize that in order to continue to create best practice, a renewed focus on evaluation and governance training for our young people, and the sector, is vital.
