GMCC Health & Well-being Community Co-Design

The Initiative

GMCC Community Co-Design is a consultancy that supports healthcare systems, community organizations, government agencies, and users of our healthcare systems to turn community lived experiences into organizational strategy and action. GMCC Community Co-Design uncovers perspectives and experiences that are not currently captured and thus not considered. Unlike traditional research and engagement approaches, GMCC Community Co-Design provides an innovative structure to turn understanding of lived experiences into practical and powerful solutions. The approach employs supported community members as co-designers in qualitative research, Human-Centered Design (HCD), equity-centered problem solving, and organizational strategy. Co-designers are recruited from underinvested communities that GMCC and our partners hold relationships with and who are most impacted by current disparities.

Here is what GMCC Community Co-Design does that other community engagement and research approaches don’t:

Engages those most affected: GMCC leverages our community connections to deeply engage with those who have lived experiences and who are not regularly involved in community engagement and research. These Co-Designers not only provide their own insights but collect insights and experiences from within their relational networks, thus bringing to the table information that is inaccessible through traditional data collection methods.

Leverages and develops meaningful connections: We collect data that is not readily accessible because we leverage and develop meaningful and trusted connections with the community. Instead of engaging them as subjects, we directly engage and compensate (at a professional level) community members as part of the design team, thus directly investing in the very communities being most impacted by health disparities.

Relies on an organic, rigorous design approach: Instead of expecting customers to come to us, our approach leverages spaces where community members already gather and through activities that community members typically engage in. Members are more likely to feel comfortable sharing valuable insights in spaces and through venues that they are accustomed to.

Activates data: Our approach translates lived experiences into organizational strategy through design rigor. Instead of a static report of what was already known, our approach curates productive on-going collaborative opportunities between community co-designers and key organizational stakeholders to inform practical and implementable solutions.