{"id":5907,"date":"2021-12-15T17:10:55","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T17:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kmtraining.org\/four-key-modifications-for-successful-virtual-co-creation\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T12:49:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T12:49:38","slug":"four-key-modifications-for-successful-virtual-co-creation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kmtraining.org\/fr\/four-key-modifications-for-successful-virtual-co-creation\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Key Modifications for Successful Virtual Co-Creation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When the COVID-19 pandemic caused everything to shut down, Knowledge SUCCESS saw this as an opportunity to champion empathetic workshop design and be an early adopter of virtual co-creation.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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Let\u2019s rewind to March 2020. Our U.S.-based team was one day from boarding a flight to Nairobi, Kenya to conduct co-creation workshops with family planning and reproductive health (FP\/RH) professionals to identify barriers limiting the flow of knowledge between programs, countries, and regions\u2014and opportunities to transform the way our FP\/RH community approaches knowledge management\u2014when the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic caused everything to shut down. After months of designing and planning, we found ourselves in a place with these workshops that we could not have anticipated. Were we going to postpone and wait for things to open up? Or were we going to attempt to conduct the four co-creation workshops virtuellement<\/a>? We decided on the latter, which lead us on a journey of learning, constant iteration, and ultimately success<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

While it was easy to mourn the loss of “what could have been” with the highly anticipated in-person workshops, Knowledge SUCCESS saw this as an opportunity to champion empathetic workshop design and be an early adopter of virtual co-creation. Empathetic workshop design<\/a> was essential<\/strong>\u2014we knew that in order to conduct our in-person workshop in a virtual space, we needed to make some significant modifications to meet the realities and needs of our participants. A few main things came into play:<\/p>\n

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  1. Internet connectivity.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Scheduling.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Virtual design thinking tools.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. Facilitation.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Internet Connectivity<\/h3>\n

    Internet connectivity was a real challenge. Many of our workshop participants in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the United States, like myself and my co-facilitators, were finding themselves in brand-new work environments, mostly from home, which meant that internet connectivity was not always available; when it was, there was no guarantee of its quality. Because we were determined not to let readily available internet be a criterion for participation, thus affecting our participant pool, Knowledge SUCCESS provided internet credit to participants<\/strong> so that they could join each synchronous co-creation session. Additionally, we leveraged design thinking tools that could be used synchronously and asynchronously, as well as WhatsApp for quick and easy communication.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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    Scheduling<\/h3>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n
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    Scheduling was another important consideration. Unlike in-person workshops, we could not expect participants to join us for full days online; with participants located in different countries, we also had time differences to consider. To accommodate everyone\u2019s needs, we worked with participants to identify the most convenient times for them and scheduled accordingly<\/strong>. It\u2019s important to note that the best times for participants were often not ideal times for facilitators based in the U.S. (think very early mornings and super late nights), but designing to best accommodate participants<\/a> was our priority, so agility on the part of facilitators and support personnel was essential.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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    Download Sample Participant Agenda<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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    Virtual Design Thinking Tools<\/h3>\n

    While now, over a year and a half into the pandemic, virtual tools for design thinking and workshops are more common, back in March 2020 the climate was very different. Selecting the right tools\u2014those that would be most comfortable for our participants\u2014was critical. Rather than guess, we asked them directly, ultimately selecting Zoom for our synchronous co-creation sessions and Google Slides for our design thinking work. Unlike platforms such as Mural<\/a>, Miro<\/a>, et Jamboard<\/a>, Google Slides was not intended for design thinking, but Knowledge SUCCESS felt that it<\/strong> was much more important to build a tool folks were comfortable<\/strong> with<\/strong>, rather than introduce something new that would require training and potentially be a barrier for engagement. Using Google Slides, even with its limitations, allowed for an easily accessible way to co-create virtually<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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    Sample Rose, Bud, Thorn affinity cluster created using Google Slides.
    \n    Click here to view the web accessible version (page 22 of the PDF)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

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    Facilitation<\/h3>\n

    Finally, we needed to figure out our facilitation approach. We all know that facilitation can make or break a workshop, and I would argue this is even truer in the virtual space. Given that this workshop would feature so many firsts for participants, we opted for a high-touch, high-energy facilitation style<\/strong>. This ensured that everyone felt supported every step of the way and that the workshop would not only generate great ideas for Knowledge SUCCESS but also empower a cadre of public health professionals with solid practice in design thinking and virtual workshop participation, both crucial and transferable skills.<\/p>\n

    Great attention to these four key components of empathetic workshop design resulted in four fruitful<\/a> virtual co-creation workshops in Anglophone Africa, Francophone Africa, Asia, and the United States, during which participants “reimagined the ways FP\/RH professionals in their region access and use evidence and best practices to optimize FP\/RH programs.” This reimagining led to three new knowledge innovations for the FP\/RH community:<\/p>\n