Mindset 2: People are the experts

When we believe that people know their lives better than anyone else, we work hard to ensure that individuals and communities play an active role in making the decisions that shape their lives.

When the needs and values of people are at the heart of the systems intended to serve them, they're far more likely to actually work and therefore be accepted.

It’s important we hear from these people early and often to avoid creating provisions that are based on false assumptions. When we do things ‘with’ people instead of ‘to’ them, not only do they make the provisions useful and usable for others, they also become the strongest advocates.

To work in partnership with people who have lived experience, setting up a co-design group at the start of a project can help us:  

  • identify and frame the problem or opportunity;

  • shape a research and action-learning approach;

  • facilitate interviews with a range of stakeholders - young people, their families and community members;

  • generate ideas in response to the research findings;

  • test the new ideas;

  • make the ideas a reality.

To do this, we have to recognise our own biases and loosen our grip on the design process.

 

Exercise

This exercise is best done in a team of four. While it would be great if you can connect with a colleague to try this out (face to face or over a video chat platform), we know that isn’t always possible. Instead you could ask a family member or friend if they would like to join you - they don’t require any pre-existing knowledge, just a willingness to have a go.

Step-by-step guide:

  1. Split into pairs. Pairs get 2 minutes (1 minute each) to talk about EITHER what they do for fun, what their last job/study was; what they do to be healthy.

  2. Everyone takes 1 minute alone to write down all the assumptions they have about what the other person does for holidays based on their short conversation. 

  3. Share your assumptions with your pair. They call out whether each assumption is correct/incorrect.

  4. Combine with your another pair (in a group of 4) to share what you noticed and the assumptions that were furthest from the truth. 

  5. Discuss what false assumptions you think young people in school might face?

  6. Consider sharing your reflections on Twitter using the #LearningFirstBDA hashtag!

 
 
SUGGESTED TIME: 
20 minutes
LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY:
Easy
MATERIALS NEEDED:
Pens, paper or post-its
PARTICIPANTS:
You will need a team of four people for this exercise