Co-designing accessible co-design

Participant empowerment is a core function of co-design. However, some participants might find co-design sessions disempowering if they cannot engage in activities or undertake tasks. Consequently, researchers and designers need to ensure that co-design is used in a way that is accessible to all participants regardless of impairment or disability. In this case study, we report on the accessibility of a co-design process through a series of co-design workshops with university students who experienced disabilities. While the co-design sessions explored the topic of an ‘accessible university’, participant reflections on the co-design experience brought to life the meaning of ‘accessibility’ in the context of how best to involve them in a co-design process. A flexible and negotiated approach and adapted tools improved the experience for those with accessibility challenges. Five key insights are presented to support others who wish to facilitate accessible codesign sessions.