The many “co”s of co-creation. Unlocking the many dimensions of co-creation: What it can, may, and should do

Experiences with a co-creation process to adapt a healthy sleep intervention with adolescents: A Health CASCADE process evaluation.

Purpose of the paper:The purpose of the paper is to analyze how co-creation is managed within the innovative business models of sharing economy platforms.Methodology: Case studies analysis has been performed on three sharing economy platforms.Platforms have been selected according to the extent to which innovation driven by co-creative processes was evincible in the value proposition, in the profit formula or in the key processes and resources.The cases have been analyzed through the D.A.R.T. model that defines the four places of co-creation (dialogue, access, risk, transparency).Findings: The analysis shows that there is a link between the type of innovation and the dimension of co-creation.In particular: Dialogue is relevant when cocreation refers to the innovation of the value proposition; Access is more stressed when co-creation drives the innovation in the key resources and processes; Risk comes to be underlined in the platform where co-creation involves the definition of the profit formula.Transparency is a common element across all of the analyzed cases.Research limits: Shortcomings concern the selection of the theoretical framework, the exclusion of platforms other than C2C and the focus on secondary data.Practical implications: The analysis allows to understand the dimensions of co-creation that emerge as being particularly relevant in sharing economy platforms where the innovation of the business model is based on the involvement of customers.Originality of the paper: This work provides a joint analysis of BMI and co-creation as emerging in sharing economy platforms, proposing an integrated interpretation of these phenomena.

Despite increasing popularity of co-creation approaches across various types of co-creation (e.g., value co-creation) and research fields, systematic and effective theory-building of co-creation research is generally lacking. We explored co-creation literature underpinned by explicit theory, taking a hybrid approach by combining a narrative literature review of studies in various research fields and a systematic literature review of studies in the field of public health. Subsequently, we identified common dimensions applied to the co-creation process across various types of co-creation and research fields, in performing an inductive thematic analysis. Across the total 27 articles included as part of the narrative and systematic review, we identified 5 dimensions related to the co-creation process applied across 9 research fields: (1) Multi-stakeholder collaborative action; (2) Process of co-learning towards innovation; (3) Contextual knowledge production; (4) Generating meaning; and, (5) Open, trustful and inclusive dialogue. The findings offer renewed insight into the common dimensions of the co-creation process, with underpinning explicit theories across various types of co-creation and research fields. A clear and consistent definition of co-creation was often lacking, especially in the field of public health. We strongly emphasise the need for research to adopt a multi-dimensional approach to the co-creation process—as well as to work towards developing a common language around co-creation, which involves operationalising these identified five dimensions.

Advancing sustainable consumption and production in cities - A transdisciplinary research and stakeholder engagement framework to address consumption-based emissions and impacts

BackgroundImplementing public health interventions in schools requires active involvement of multiple stakeholders and adaptation of interventions to fit local contexts, to account for successful design, implementation, and consequently effectiveness of these interventions. Active collaboration, preferably in a co-creation process, with school staff is needed to enhance the implementation of school-based public health interventions. However, involving them in research through a co-creation process is challenging due to competing demands on their time. Hence, there is a need for insights into the factors facilitating or impeding co-creation processes involving school staff.MethodsTo gain in-depth knowledge of school staff’s experiences a scoping review and thematic synthesis have been conducted. Peer reviewed articles written in English and published between January 2012 and November 2023 were retrieved from ERIC, Education Database, Medline (PubMed interface), Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, and Health CASCADE Co-creation Database. Considering the high amount of search results the title and abstract screening was performed using ASReview. A thematic synthesis was conducted on the included articles.ResultsTen scientific peer reviewed articles were included and thematically synthesised. Six descriptive themes described factors influencing the co-creation process, including competing work roles and responsibilities of school staff, multistakeholder collaboration, benefits of participation in the co-creation process, power imbalances between different stakeholders, and school staff’s lived experiences. Additionally, four analytical themes emerged indicating that demands of the co-creation process outweigh its benefits. To tackle excessive demands school staff preferred a guided process in which high-level participation was less important. School staff joined the co-creation process to serve students and emphasised the importance of being heard and taken seriously.ConclusionsSchool staff indicated that excessive demands outweigh the benefits experienced during the co-creation process. Therefore, school staff preferred less time-intensive processes. Improving students outcomes was school staff’s motivation to be involved, which asks for processes with student-related goals and observable student benefits. Moreover, school staff needs to be acknowledged as an expert and valued for their involvement. These results should be considered to make co-creation processes involving school staff more feasible and satisfactory.

This theoretical chapter links the field of corporate heritage branding scholarship with the emerging co-creation perspective and approach to corporate branding. By adopting a co-creational perspective, this chapter argues that corporate heritage and corporate heritage brands are always also co-created by multiple stakeholders (internal and external) and not only marketers or managers alone. It suggests that stakeholders actively shape the temporal relations between past, present and future that are constitutive for corporate heritage (brands). By drawing on the insights from the corporate heritage branding literature and combining it with a synthesis of the co-creation perspective, the chapter outlines key co-creation processes characteristic of corporate heritage (brands): valorising, (re)interpreting, manifesting, appropriating, augmenting the past in the present and for the future as heritage. These processes are linked to temporal co-creation as an additional generic form of corporate brand co-creation in addition to the co-creation of value, meaning, identity and experience. Finally, a conceptual framework is developed to show the links between these different processes and dimensions of co-creation as they apply to corporate heritage (brands).

BackgroundInvolvement of end users in development processes is increasing, but there are still relatively few examples of the involvement of people with speech and language impairment (PWSLI). One reason for this is that these impairments are sometimes seen as a criterion for exclusion. The aim of this article is to identify both opportunities and challenges in a co-created technology development process with PWSLI. The project HiSSS (Hybrid and interactive speech and language therapy after stroke) has the objective of developing a hybrid teletherapy application for the treatment of speech and language impairments following a stroke. It includes a co-creation development process, engaging people with speech and language impairments and speech and language therapists. A comprehensive evaluation of the co-creation process in the HiSSS project will highlight opportunities and challenges in a co-created technology development process with PWSLI.All affiliations are captured correctlyMethodsThe data sources (workshop transcripts, process adaptations, team meeting protocols, researchers' reflective notes) from the co-creation process were analysed using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis (2021). Both challenges and opportunities were identified deductively through the analysis. In a further step, the authors inductively generated themes to which they assigned the opportunities and challenges.ResultsSix workshops with a total of 11 speech and language therapists and four workshops with a total of 7 people with speech and/or language impairments took place. Through thematic analysis four themes were generated: (1) Communicative limitations, (2) Researcher skills, (3) Interprofessional collaboration, (4) Organisation of participation.ConclusionsThe generated themes represent dimensions of co-creation that should be considered in future technology developments. This study demonstrates the complexity of technology co-creation with PWSLI and confirms that they can be effectively involved in research and contribute meaningfully to technology development. Whether and to what extent users should be involved in research projects must be clarified as early as possible and on a case-by-case basis according to the specific objectives of the respective project. In order to take these four dimensions into account in future co-creation projects, the funding conditions must provide the necessary framework.Trial registrationThe study is registered in the German Register of Clinical Trials (DRKS00030430).Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40900-025-00762-8.

Nowadays, universities are finding they have more and more competition regarding postgraduate programs. As educational institutions increase the offer, the need for them to improve their knowledge about the postgraduate market becomes more evident due to the lack of existing research and scarce literature about the topic. All this will help the educational institutions to develop suitable competitive strategies in order to attract postgraduate students? talent, thus distinguishing the institutions from the competition. This implies, on behalf of the universities and in order to initiate this differentiation strategy, the need to develop a proactive orientation towards the market. Besides, this proactive orientation towards the market, in the case of postgraduate programs, will have a peculiarity: it will not only have to take into consideration the adult student, but also companies, being that at times it is the companies that confide in these programs to send their professionals. This proactive orientation towards the market wills, like in many other markets, end up confiding in those programs which have successful marketing and allow for innovation and differentiation. At the same time, many authors relate this proactive orientation towards the market to co-creation. More specifically in the education sector, co-creation has been researched very little and has always been focused on the undergraduate student, not postgraduate. Lastly, the consequences of the postgraduate students? participation in these co-creation processes concerning satisfaction and loyalty is something that has not been studied either. Therefore, firstly, a bibliographic review of the concepts of ?proactive orientation towards the market? is carried out as well as the ?purchase process? of a postgraduate program by an adult student. In this first phase the first innovative model is raised which describes ?the purchase process by the adult student? and which will be the perfect frame for the different reflections about universities, adult students and companies and all their interactions. In the second study, the concept of co-creation is also introduced through an in-depth review of the concepts of innovation based on co-creation and educational innovation. A new completed model is raised based on the first one, with an introduction of the concept of co-creation. This model will be tested by a Delphy study performed by experts and which includes proposed improvements. The next phase of our study continues with the aim of looking at greater depth which would be the best techniques and tools to implement successfully co-creation. With an exhaustive review of the different techniques used in other sectors, a classification is done on them in relation to the conceptual dimensions of co-creation. 10 After a review of these dimensions, and taking into account the peculiarities of the postgraduate educational sector, it is precisely the living lab which best represents this process of working co-creation because it stimulates the work process in real work situations and settings. At the same time and given the peculiarity of the purchase process of a master, we consider that the commitment of the Lead Users is something that should also be considered. In the last stage, the aim of our research is to empirically measure the impact and consequences of co-creation in the postgraduate student?s satisfaction and loyalty towards the educational institution which facilitates participation in this co-creation. The proposed relations are a consequence of a literature review whose outcome is a structural equation model (SEM) where these hypothetical relations between co-creation and student satisfaction and loyalty towards the university are proven. From the analysis of the information it can be concluded that student participation in co-creation with the university leads to higher levels of satisfaction and greater loyalty. This first quantitative study has led to a validation of the proposed model which allows us to affirm that, independent of the results obtained in the co-creation process, the student involvement in it, will result in greater satisfaction and loyalty towards the institution. For this reason co-creation can help the educational institutions to develop competitive differentiating strategies which will generate not only a greater satisfaction for the student but also the possibility of achieving differentiation thanks to the resulting innovation. After this first quantitative study, a second study was carried out in a Business to Business context by sending a professional from the company to the educational institution. In this study an attempt was made to measure the consequences of co-creation in student satisfaction, strength of the relation and student loyalty. This new structural equation model (SEM) has more variables and relations than the former one, introducing the strength of the relation. In addition, the study is centered on adult students who in this case are professionals sent by their companies to study a master program, Business to Business as opposed to Business to Consumer from the former study. The conclusions of the study are that the co-creation where the adult student participates in the process takes them to higher levels of satisfaction and greater loyalty towards the educational institution. At the same time, our research shows that the strength of the relation is positively influenced by the process of creation of value. In this case, the research has only validated part of the model. Therefore, this last part of our research again reaffirms the idea that co-creation can be a beneficial tool for universities in order to develop competitive strategies which generate more value for their clients and which also makes it difficult for the competition to imitate. Finally it should be pointed out that the results of this research facilitate the implementation of a co-creation process between universities and postgraduate students as well as the possible areas of its application within the purchase process and choosing a master program. On the other hand, it has also been demonstrated that independent of the results of this process, co-creation itself leads to higher rates of satisfaction, an improvement in the strength of the relation and more student loyalty towards the institution.

After decades of urbanization and agricultural industrialization, the relationships between cities and their agri-food systems have been profoundly transformed, especially in developed countries. To make agri-food systems more sustainable the pressing need to rethink food-related practices in cities has received momentum in the past 20 years across many European cities. Transdisciplinary and participatory research can generate knowledge and promising solutions to facilitate the transition of urban agri-food systems. This article highlights the contributions of six research projects driven by the notion of “co-creation” research for urban agri-food system transition, using Brussels as the research context (program “Co-Create”). The article outlines the main research foci and characteristics of the six “Co-Create” projects funded by this call, how they are embedded in the broader dynamics and initiatives of Brussels, and the theoretical foundations of the notion of “co-creation” research that sits at the intersection of transdisciplinary and participatory action research. Subsequently the paper illustrates how the six Co-Create project brought together different actors in Brussels including researchers, citizens, associations, and government agencies, that were united with a shared awareness of the need for change of the city's agri-food system. The six research consortia targeted different issues across three aspects of the agri-food system: agricultural production in urban areas, food distribution and marketing, and accessibility and democratization of sustainable food. We critically reflect on some common insights generated by the six projects, and particularly (a) a series of recommendations that were drafted for public authorities and called for the acceleration and strengthening of efforts for urgent changes in the agri-food system of Brussels, and (b) findings that address the epistemological and methodological strengths and limitations of conducting co-creative research processes to facilitate agri-food system transition. We also discuss how the Co-Create projects might have created a historical momentum that has encouraged the placing of the transition of agri-food systems on the political agenda of Brussels, and by identifying future challenges for agri-food system transitions in Belgium.

Global investment in offshore wind energy is anticipated to surge in the coming decades. While improved technology, reduced costs, and generous policy support are frequently acknowledged as driving factors, many assert that there are fewer societal challenges with offshore renewable installations than with onshore ones. Drawing from a co-creation process with key Norwegian stakeholders and an interdisciplinary team of social science and humanities scholars, this article delves deeper than the prevalent techno-economic discourse. It seeks to: a) identify the societal challenges of fostering a just and legitimate offshore wind industry; b) explore solutions to these challenges; and c) understand the potential role of transdisciplinary action research in driving change. Through this collaboration, industry actors co-formulated an agenda for offshore wind, highlighting varied issues and concerns. This was operationalized into four primary societal challenges: 1) Navigating the public debate; 2) Improving public participation; 3) Minimizing land and sea use and co-existence conflicts, and 4) Understanding pace, political dynamics, and geopolitics. This paper offers an exhaustive discussion on possible strategies to tackle these issues, presenting a critical companion research agenda to the predominantly technology-focused studies on offshore wind within the sustainability transitions literature.

Background: Integrated Youth Services (IYS) has aimed to offer an alternative to traditional services for youth (Halsall et al., 209; Hetrick et al., 207). However, If IYS seem appropriate and effective in meeting the needs of young people, they do not always consider the cultural particularities of diverse youth (Bentayeb et al., 2022). Despite high attendance rates, several barriers persist in services reaching immigrant youth (Hilferty et al., 205), including language barriers for immigrant youth (Hilferty et al., 205; Patulny et al., 203) and the lack of community involvement in service development (Communio, 2009; Hilferty et al., 205). Field actors suggest several strategies to promote access and engagement in services (Bentayeb et al., 2022; Communio, 2009; Hilferty et al., 205), a need to culturally adapt services for diverse youth (Bentayeb et al., 2022), ethnic and racial communities (Moore, 208) and in particularly, for immigrant youth and their families/caregivers (Nadeau et al., 2020; Nadeau et al., 208; Nadeau et al., 207). Approach: Since 208-209, Aire ouverte, an IYS for youth aged 2 to 25, has been implemented across Quebec, Canada. In order to plan the Aire ouverte cultural adaptation at the early implementation stages, we adopted an interdisciplinary, intersectoral, and intersectional approach to ensure equitable access. Thus, our research, based on a co-creation approach (Baptista et al., 2020; Torfing et al., 209), seeks to co-create this cultural adaptation with the relevant actors, for racialized, immigrant, refugee, and cultural minority youth in four Quebec regions (Montreal, Capitale Nationale, Estrie, Outaouais). This cultural adaptation is framed on the Equity-Centered Community Design (ECCD) framework (Creative Reaction Lab, 208), which is a flexible system that addresses complex intersectional issues faced by diverse youth, their parents/caregivers/families, community leaders, and the practitioners. The ECCD approach allows us to adopt a democratic, non-linear, and emancipatory process divided into eight steps, emphasizing actorscontribution at every stage through creative and deliberative activities.Over a year and a half, we will conduct 4 co-creation circle meetings with practitioners, youth, parents/caregivers/families, and community leaders. These meetings will vary between subgroup discussions and larger group sessions, focusing on themes such as respect and mutual listening, diverse perspectives on lived and transmitted history, recognition and deconstruction of power dynamics, expression of needs, reflection on cultural adaptation, and anticipated impacts. The final two meetings will be deliberative workshops where stakeholders present their proposals for culturally adapting services to managers. Each region will have a territorial steering committee composed of clinicians, managers, parents, community leaders, and youth to oversee the process, support participant recruitment, and develop tools for service evaluation. Results: This inclusive co-creation process aims to balance and integrate the viewpoints, needs, and concerns of all actors, countering power imbalances. The cocreation process offers a collective learning space and empowers the cocreators. For integrated services, this research, hopefully, will enhance service access and retention for the target youth population, create a culturally safe care environment, and reduce health inequities. Implications: This proposition has many implications. The main ones are situated at a methodological level and a practical level. First, using the ECCD-based co-creation approach for service adaptation will serve as a model for other IYS implemented in different contexts in Canada and at an international level. Second, the outcomes of this cultural adaptation process will provide a roadmap for practitioners and managers to implement culturally adapted services and ensure a safe care environment for all youth. In our large research project, we plan to support Aire ouverte teams during cultural adaptation implementation and to evaluate the cocreation process and the implementation process.

Introduction Care Pathway Management intends to enhance the quality of care by restructuring care services. As recipients of care, patients have relevant experiential knowledge on the provision of care, but they are rarely involved in Care Pathway Management due to various barriers. This study aims to acquire insights into how patients can be meaningfully involved in Care Pathway Management. Methods A case study was conducted to assess the implementation of patient involvement in the co-creation of the care pathways of Soft Tissue Sarcoma and Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour at Erasmus MC Cancer Institute (the Netherlands), using the Interactive Learning and Action methodology. Within the pathways, seven patients and eight health professionals were involved. To overcome expected and encountered barriers to involving patients, reflection was stimulated on the care pathways and the development process. Qualitative data were collected via interviews, participatory observations and informal conversations. For analysis, a patient involvement evaluation framework and criteria for knowledge co-creation were used. Results Patients indicated specific improvements for current pathways regarding communication, the assistance of a nurse and integrated care. However, the co-creation process encountered several barriers, including limited opportunities to overcome patients’ knowledge gap on medical care services, limited time and uncertainties about responsibilities. Moreover, participatory reflection to enhance the co-creation process was constrained by power imbalances between patients and health professionals and health professionals’ restricted perceptions of their role. Discussion To enhance the meaningful involvement of patients in Care Pathway Management, constraints in joint reflection on the co-creation process must be overcome.

This editorial for the thematic issue on “Co-Creation and the City: Arts-Based Methods and Participatory Approaches in Urban Planning” draws together the key themes of the ten articles in the issue. Firstly, the concept of Co-Creation is defined as a collective creative process involving artists, academics, and communities. Co-creation results in tangible or intangible outputs in the form of artwork or artefacts, and knowledge generated by multiple partners that, in a planning context, can feed into shared understandings of more socially just cities. The ten articles are summarized, and the emerging conclusions are drawn out, under three broad themes. The first set of conclusions deals with power imbalances and the risks of instrumentalization within co-creative processes. Contributors dismiss romanticizing assumptions that expect artistic practices to inevitably disrupt power hierarchies and strengthen democracy. The second set of outcomes relates to how arts-based strategies and methods can help address the translation of issues between urban planning and art. Finally, the third group of conclusions focuses on practices of listening within co-creation processes, raising the issue of voices that are less audible, rather than unheard or not listened to. In their concluding remarks, the authors recommend further research to be undertaken in this emerging field to explore the constraints and possibilities for urban planners to listen to arts-based expressions, in order to integrate a broader range of understandings and knowledge into plans for the city of the future.

What can feminist epistemology and methodology offer the study of regional issues? To answer this question, this chapter draws on a domestic energy project with older low-income households in the Illawarra, a region of New South Wales, Australia. The energy field is characterised by an unusual degree of transdisciplinary research. It is therefore helpful to consider what methodologies may facilitate such research. Attentive to the feminist concepts of ‘situated knowledge’ and ‘positionality’, this chapter outlines three components of thinking a methodology through feminism: (1) beyond the science/social science divide; (2) everyday knowledge of domestic energy efficiency; and (3) experimental narrative approaches to investigating energy efficiency. The chapter opens up important dimensions that might help recognise and mitigate against the imbalances of power in relationships doing transdisciplinary research.

This paper interrogates the concept of transdisciplinarity, both theoretically and practically, from a perspective of early career researchers (ECRs) in transformative ocean governance research. Aiming to advance research methodologies for future complex sustainability challenges, the paper seeks to illuminate some common uncertainties and challenges surrounding transdisciplinarity from a marine science perspective. Following a literature review on transdisciplinary research, workshops, and a series of surveys, we determine that transdisciplinarity appears to be a concept in search of definition, and that there is a need to explore transdisciplinarity specifically from an ocean research perspective. The paper discusses a number of challenges experienced by ECRs in conducting transdisciplinary research and provides recommendations for both ECRs wishing to undertake more equitable transdisciplinary research and for the UN Decade for Ocean Science to support ECRs in this endeavour (Figure 1). Based on our findings, we interrogate the role of non-academic collaborators in transdisciplinary research and argue that future transdisciplinarity will need to address power imbalances in existing research methods to achieve knowledge co-production, as opposed to knowledge integration.