The politics of participation

The theme of this session is ‘democratization’ of design. The paper gives space to critically reflect on co-design and co-production in the context of healthcare. We seek to do this by positioning co-design in a broader political discourse and by sharing questions and insights that have arisen through our own work and research. However, given this political dimension and the broader discourses that are inherent in co-design we suggest that a broader consideration is required when translating co-design into a health-care context. Co-design has the potential to be a real-game changer in health but to do so and to reach its potential we need a more nuanced understanding of the broader discourses In which it operates. We end with an invitation to respond to 3 questions/provocations and invite you to consider how we might move forwards.