Increase expertise of ethics, policies, and procedures already in place for working alongside rangatahi

The power of partnerships

If your organisation is just starting out on their co-design journey, it is critical that you partner with organisations that already have trusted relationships with rangatahi and have the skills and experience to work with them. This could include partnering with: 

• Local schools (teachers, sport groups etc.)  
• Youth development organisations 
• Youth workers 
• Experienced co-design practitioners (who can run rangatahi engagements) 
• Community role models 

Partnering with organisations that are already working with young people enables your organisation to: 

• Leverage off existing relationships with rangatahi 
• Up-skill and scale co-design practices within your organisation 
• Step back and take on the role of listener and learner 
• Expertise in ethics, policies, and procedures already in place for working alongside rangatahi 

Seek advice on how to ensure the demographic of rangatahi you are engaging with is diverse and inclusive. They will be able to provide pathways on type of engagements you could have. For example, not all rangatahi are in/engage with traditional school systems.

Building a core group  

Identifying rangatahi who want to be part of a smaller/core group will enable you to test ideas back in more detail.  

When engaging with your core group, remember that they have a lot going on in their lives. Always provide flexible options for their involvement, so they can also decrease the intensity depending on their interest or capacity.