Share and improve co-creation and participatory methods
Pre-/post-project and continuous evaluation
In participatory research projects, it is crucial to continuously reflect on the progress you and your co-researchers are making and the learnings you are gleaning. Working in collaboration with young people and city leaders as co-researchers means that you do not have control over and cannot anticipate with certainty which decisions the group are going to take and what your research project will look like. Working iteratively, your team should be prepared to adapt and improve practices as the project evolves.
This requires regular evaluation after each workshop to gather immediate feedback from your co-researchers and identify areas in which you can adapt and adjust how you work through the project. You can collect immediate feedback, for example, by using a brief online or paper feedback form or making time for a feedback session at the end.
It is equally important to understand what co-researchers are learning and how their skills are developing over the course of the project. You can collect data on, e.g., their understanding of the research process, their skills and scientific literacy, their knowledge of city governance and opportunities for engagement, or their trust in institutions, using pre- and post-workshop questionnaires. Alongside the concrete change and outcomes you achieve with your 'Co-Creating Our City' project, pre- and post-project evaluation data can also help you demonstrate the effect participation in the project has on your co-researchers and their communities and help you make the case for a continuation of the project or to attract further funding.
To support this, templates for evaluations and questionnaires can be found in our resource collection.
Improving your own practice
To help you reflect on and improve your practice as a practitioner of co-creation and participatory research, you can present your project and its outcomes at conferences and discuss them with other practitioners.
Engaging with communities such as European Citizen Science Association (ECSA), mit:forschen! or GTPF e.V. and presenting your project and its outcomes can help increase the visibility of your project and provide you with valuable opportunities for reflection and critical feedback from other practitioners. It can also provide avenues for collaboration with other projects and present new funding opportunities.
Such interactions also ensure that your practice remains relevant, and that you have a chance to improve based on insights shared within the broader professional and research community. The organizations mentioned above hold conferences at least every two years to exchange knowledge on various topics related to participatory research.