FEM.GREEN - Tools - Co-creation workshop

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Co-creation workshop

To empower and decide

Short term

Bottom-up

Collaboration

Small group

About

The co-creation workshop is a methodology that applies non-linear decision-making processes to ideating, implementing and evaluating urban space initiatives. Its goal is to develop projects and knowledge collaboratively through participatory methods, enabling a strong foundation for long-term collaboration.

This tool operates as a structured dialogue space designed to harness collective intelligence and foster horizontal participation. It is especially effective for addressing complex social challenges that require pluralistic and holistic approaches.

Benefits

Promotes context-specific innovation that recognises and values environmental, social and cultural conditions, enabling relevant and sustainable responses grounded in the lived realities of local communities.
Fosters social cohesion through empathy, trust and mutual understanding while reinforcing democratic ownership by involving citizens in decision-making processes.
Cultivates long-term collective commitment, increasing the legitimacy of decisions based on innovative citizen-led proposals and accelerating successful implementation.

Importance

Encourages participants to take the lead and promotes cooperation

This approach prioritises collaboration over competition, valuing empathy, mutual support and interdependence. By sharing knowledge, lived experiences and diverse worldviews, co-creation becomes a space for horizontal dialogue.

Highlights emotional labour and ecological awareness.

As a social and urban innovation method with a gender and ecological lens, it emphasises collective intelligence and emotional engagement. It nurtures a broader sense of belonging and shared responsibility.

Generates creative, place-based solutions

These initiatives address both the needs of involved communities and broader challenges like environmental sustainability, social justice and local resilience, producing creative and deeply rooted solutions.

Steps

Clearly define the specific challenge or opportunity to be addressed collectively.
Identify the people, groups or organisations who can contribute, ensuring diversity to enrich perspectives and solutions.
Design the workshop phases and allocate enough time for deep discussion, iteration and reflection.
Create a welcoming environment that encourages creativity and critical thinking.
In addition to concrete proposals, analyse power dynamics and decision-making patterns to improve future sessions.
Document the process and communicate results in accessible language.

Key Aspects

Plan time for each phase and combine analogue and digital tools.

Ensure each stage has adequate time, using a mix of analogue and digital tools to support inclusive and effective participation.

Build a shared and participatory foundation.

Clearly define objectives from the outset and foster a common understanding of the challenge to align expectations and improve the quality of the collective process.

Facilitate empathy and spark creativity.

Assign facilitation roles, promote active listening and open spaces for creative thinking.

Outcomes

Collective understanding of challenges and needs

Through shared diagnosis, participants identify causes, needs and opportunities from multiple perspectives, establishing a common basis for action.

Co-creation and selection of context-sensitive urban solutions

The group generates innovative ideas and prioritises those with the most significant impact and feasibility, integrating diverse knowledge and experiences linked to their territories.

Alliances are built, and future commitments are strengthened

Bonds between participants are reinforced, collaboration networks are formed, and the next steps are agreed upon to continue the process.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This website reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.