1.0    Planning Meetings

This section describes the steps that IDRC and partner organizations will follow prior to running co-design events at the partner site:

1. Planning meetings with partner organisation representatives and facilitators will be conducted (either in person or remotely via video conferencing, phone calls, email/chat conversations - depending on what is available to and preferable to the partner organisation).

2. The number and duration of the planning meetings will be determined based on the partner organisation members’ availability and preferences. Based on past experiences, 2-3 planning meetings are sufficient to bring the facilitators up to speed and plan out the activities for the embedded co-design session.

3. During these planning meetings the IDRC team, partner organisation representatives and facilitators will collaboratively develop:

   1. a mutual understanding of goals and desired outcomes for the sessions,

   2. a collection of activities to choose from that can help achieve those goals (based on IDRC-suggested co-design activities)

4. During these planning meetings the IDRC team, partner organisation representatives and facilitators will review and discuss:

   1. The Facilitation Guide

   2. Policies and ethics related to the research process

   3. Accessibility and inclusivity for the intended community (a context-specific access guide for participants may be collaboratively developed where appropriate)

   4. Any additional materials required for conducting the co-design sessions

   5. Methods for recruiting participants

5. Once the duration of the session(s), and location and structure of the activities have been collaboratively developed through the planning meetings, further details will be added to the Facilitation Guide that will include:

   1. an agenda for the session,

   2. steps to be taken for each activity,

   3. suggested duration of each activity,

   4. required material for each activity.

   5. additional tips and suggestions on how to lead the session.

2.0    Policies and Ethics Review

1. In the planning sessions, all the material related to the core principles of ethical conduct (consent, fairness & equity, privacy and confidentiality) will be reviewed with the partner organisation representatives and facilitators (See TCPS2 Summary)

2. At this phase, the contributor license agreement (CLA), group attribution, and any other forms used in the session will be discussed and reviewed with the facilitators. They will have an opportunity to ask questions and clarify any doubts or concerns.

3. Any policies followed by the individual partner organisations will be maintained as required and any potential impact of these policies on the co-design process will be addressed in planning meetings. These may include allowable use of spaces, room capacity, type of food/snacks served, policies regarding use of personal digital devices, service animals, etc. and will be clearly communicated to participants beforehand to avoid conflicts during the session.

4. The IDRC works in an open environment in which research and design artifacts are often shared publicly - this will be discussed and made clear to partner organisations during planning meetings and will be communicated to co-design participants and covered by the CLA and group attribution agreements.

3.0    Materials

The IDRC team will provide the partner organisation representatives and facilitators with the following materials:

• Planning and Scheduling Guide

• Facilitation Guide

• Co-design Priming Document

• TCPS2 2014 Summary: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans

• Co-design activity detailed descriptions

• Co-design worksheets

• Contributor License Agreements (CLAs)

• Suggestions for creative materials (paper, pens, markers, lego, etc) as appropriate to the agreed-upon activities that will be sourced and provided on-site by the partner organisations.

4.0    Planning and Scheduling Guide

4.1   Planning Checklist

• Recruit participants

• Book venue / meeting room (check accessibility of space, washrooms, availability of public transit)

• Create sign-up list or web registration form

• Tentatively book ASL, caption services or other accessibility services as needed

• Book catering or otherwise plan for refreshments, snacks and meals

  • Inquire about dietary restrictions for participants prior to booking

• Confirm date of session with participants at least 3 weeks in advance

• Ask participants to provide at least 48 hours notice of cancellation and have a back-up “waitlist”.

• Send reminder notice 1 week prior to the event and again 1 day before the event

• Send detailed agenda to the participants at least 3 days before the event, along with the Access Guide

4.2   Recruitment

1. Partner organizations that agree to participate in a co-design process will be responsible for recruiting participants from their members and communities.

2. They will be encouraged to use means that are most comfortable or preferable by their members to invite them to the co-design sessions, such as phone calls, emails, discussions during regular meetings, etc.

3. Recruitment communication should include the following:

   1. Participation in the co-design session is voluntary and refusal or acceptance to participate will not impact your relationship with your cooperative

   2. You will be compensated for your participation at a rate comparable to your normal hourly wage

   3. This co-design session is undertaken in partnership with the Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) http://www.idrc.ocadu.ca

   4. If you have any questions or complaints about the process at any time they should be directed to

   5. This co-design process has been approved by the OCAD University Research Ethics Board REB file #

4. Example Recruitment Letter:

The following example letter was provided for the Platform Co-op Development Kit project.