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Common objections to committing to collaborative (co-design or deliberative) engagement processes

30/09/2020 By Max Hardy Leave a Comment

We know not all projects require, or are appropriate, for co-design (to find out when this is appropriate check this blog and short video). But let’s imagine your situation ticks all the boxes. You have a complex, even a potentially controversial project, and there is quite a lot of uncertainty about the best way forward. There is every chance the project could be delayed, abandoned, or just one of those really drawn out, painful projects to implement.

Yet, there are objections with the sponsoring organisation to giving it a go. They are not uncommon. Here are a few of them.


1. “We shouldn’t go public until we have worked out a solution ourselves; and when we have an answer to nearly every question, we are likely to be asked, or able to defend any accusations that might come our way.”

2. “The public can’t really add much value to this process. It is one for the experts.”

3. “Every time we engage the public we just hear from the same people banging on about their favourite issue, or just giving us a hard time for the sake of it!”


4. We have not got the time or money to do something as resource-intensive as co-design. Imagine if we did this for every issue? All we’d be doing is engaging, as opposed to delivering?

What other objections have you heard? Let us know!


Here are some of my very short responses to these objections – feel free to use them!

1. “We shouldn’t go public until we have worked out a solution ourselves; and when we have an answer to nearly every question, we are likely to be asked, or able to defend any accusations that might come our way.”


Taking this approach will mean your engagement is more likely to resemble ‘marketing your solution’. Once you believe you have figured it out, you are more likely be preparing to defend. It will reinforce views in the community that you are not really committed to engaging in a meaningful way. You will also miss out on what the community could bring to the process. Which brings us to ….

2. “The public can’t really add much value to this process. It is one for the experts.”

Ok, so how do you know that? It is important to recognise there are different kinds of expertise. There is always something to learn from others and local knowledge guarantees a different perspective than a technical expert working from a distance. It is not about either/ or. It’s about both. It’s about tapping into the collective ‘smarts’ of the whole ‘community of interest’. I can honestly say I have NEVER engaged a community on a complex issue when nothing worthwhile has been contributed.

Some projects are merely complicated, in a technical sense, and are not complex in terms of social/political/cultural issues. That is true. If that is the case you would not invest on a co-design process. However, if you think there is a reasonable chance you won’t be able to implement the project due to community concerns, then it is not only a technical issue you are trying to address.

3. “Every time we engage the public we just hear from the same people banging on about their favourite issue, or just giving us a hard time for the sake of it!”


Well, that is probably because you have only designed the processes in the past to suit the ‘hyper-engaged’. You have probably designed perfect processes for alienating the ‘harder to reach’, or people who simply haven’t been able to participate because of methods being offered. You can design processes in such a way that you’ll get much more diverse participation. In fact, designing the process with the help of community members will help achieve this more effectively.

4. We have not got the time or money to do something as resource-intensive as co-design. Imagine if we did this for every issue? All we’d be doing is engaging, as opposed to delivering?


You don’t need to collaborate or codesign with everyone, all the time, about everything. However, if you have a complex project you run the risk of projects blowing up and blowing out. Have you had projects like that? Ones you thought would be relatively straightforward that end up taking 5 times as long and cost you up to five times as much? It may be that investing in a process that builds trust will not only be the most cost-effective way of delivering a project; it will also help you to do ‘business’ with those communities more efficiently in the future.

For more information about addressing challenges and objections you may like to check out our website. Sign on to being part of our ‘community of practice’ for starters! We also have a Linkedin page for Authentic Codesign.

Any other objections you’ve had to deal with? Or have you expressed another objection not listed here.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Filed Under: Co-design

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Recent Posts

  • It’s time to do stakeholder mapping differently! 28/10/2020
  • Common objections to committing to collaborative (co-design or deliberative) engagement processes 30/09/2020
  • Facilitating Public Deliberations 28/08/2020
  • How safe is it to participate? 27/07/2020
  • Debunking myths about ‘deliberation’ 14/07/2020
  • What is your approach to consulting? And… which one best works for co-designing solutions with the community? 06/07/2020
  • Getting the ball rolling on co-design 19/06/2020

Contact Details

Max Hardy Consulting
Email: max@maxhardy.com.au
Phone: 0418 217 261
Twitter: @maxchardy
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Testimonials

Moira Deslandes

'Max is a democracy enthusiast. He finds ways to enable, empower and encourage every voice to be heard and designs processes that foster the principle: every voice is worth hearing.' Moira Deslandes Director, Moira Deslandes  Consulting  

Liz Mackevicius

'Max worked with us to design and execute a series of workshops based on the citizen jury principles, to enable a conversation between community members about the growth and change expected to occur in a challenging inner city municipality. Max understood the key issues at hand, gave expert advice and worked with us to tailor

Lara Damiani

'I had the wonderful opportunity to watch Max in action facilitating the Citizen's Jury for People With Disability Australia in Sydney last month which I was filming. Max's tagline "results through collaboration" is spot on. It was pure magic watching Max create collaboration and results from a randomly selected jury - 12 very unique personalities

Crispin Butteriss, Bang the Table

'Max is a long time colleague, mentor and friend. He has a deft touch as a facilitator and collaboration strategist due his deeply developed empathetic listening skills, along with the experience and wisdom of many years of working on thorny problems with people from all walks of life'. Crispin Butteriss, PhD Co-founder and Chief Practice

Amy Hubbard, Capire

“Max is a trusted and respected colleague and friend of Capire. He is always able to provide us with a sound, strategic and independent perspective – even on the toughest projects in very complex communities” Amy Hubbard CEO, Capire.

The Honourable Andrew Powell MP

'I have always been impressed with Max’s ability to navigate and resolve the thorny issues through collaboration.  He involves all participants right from the beginning: asking “what’s the question that needs answering here”? His efforts alongside John Dengate in the journey that was The Queensland Plan were stellar and he was a significant contributor to

Carol M Anderson

'If one were to ask me who was the best facilitator and facilitation trainer in the world, I would unequivocally answer “Max Hardy.” As the public involvement manager at one of the largest U.S.-based environmental engineering firms, I often took along my notes from Max’s facilitation class to meet with clients and, on their behalf, with the public.

Anna Kelderman

'Max's extensive experience with deliberative engagement, as well as his uniquely calming facilitation style, has helped bring about a step-change in the type of public engagement expected in Western Australia. It has been an absolute pleasure to partner with and learn from the best in the business, and I continue to look for opportunities to

Lindy Fentiman

'I have had the pleasure of working with Max when he ventures up to sunny Queensland!  He is a generous, insightful and highly skilled professional who absolutely practices what he believes in.  Nobody understands the importance of collaboration, engagement and the challenges this brings for organisations better than Max!  He is an excellent coach, facilitator

Amber James

'I have known Max for more than ten years. I was a student of his doing the IAP2 Certificate, engaged him as a consultant for in-house work in local government, and then worked alongside him on a consumer engagement capacity building project at the Royal Brisbane Womens Hospital. He is great to be around and

Vivien Twyford

'I worked with Max for 17 years and appreciate his honesty, integrity and ability to connect with people at all levels. I learned much from him, particularly around Appreciative Inquiry, the appreciative approach and the value of deliberation. While I miss him, I have confidence that he will continue to be a wise advisor and

Eugene McGarrell, FACS

'Max Hardy has worked with my senior executive team and local stakeholders to facilitate the co-creation of social wellbeing strategies. Max’s style is both collaborative and supportive and he gets the best from people involved. I highly recommend Max to anyone who is embarking on a process of co-creation.' Eugene McGarrell District Director, Northern Sydney

Kellie King

'I have had the pleasure of both being a participant in a fantastic training session run by Max, and also as a client. Max was of tremendous assistance navigating through a challenging engagement process with great support, advice and good humour. Thank you Max.' Kellie King General Manager – Community & Corporate Services, Wannon Water

Courtney Brown, Director, BDR Projects

'I have known and worked with Max for about two years, however I have been very aware of his career and engagement experience applied to major projects across industry sectors for a much longer period. Max has been at the forefront of pioneering new mechanisms and methodologies for genuine engagement and this resonates for his

Amanda Newbery, Articulous

'Max Hardy has a unique ability to build the confidence and capacity of teams working in engagement. He brings a wealth of experience and insight. We have worked together on a number of deliberative projects and he is a delight to work with!' Amanda Newbery Articulous

Becky Hirst

'Max is one of the leading superstars of community engagement and collaborative governance in Australia. Since I first met him as my trainer in Adelaide back in 2007, I've admired his approach. He's passionate, dedicated, admired in the field and I look forward to seeing the next steps of his career unfold. Watch out world!'

Beatrice Briggs

'Max Hardy brings to his work a delightful combination of common sense, integrity, experience, laced with a sly sense of humour.'   Beatrice Briggs Director International Institute for Facilitation and Change (IIFAC) Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico

Craig Wallace

I have worked with Max Hardy on two complex projects which took deliberative democracy and applied it to new problems. In 2007 at a ceremony in Arizona, USA Max along with the ACT Disability Advisory Council was awarded the IAP2 (International) Award for "Project of the Year" for our Citizens Jury project which provided scorecard

Barbara Dart

Max recently facilitated a two day course for us at Council about tackling the internal and external challenges of community engagement. Max is an exceptional facilitator and his ability to draw on experiences across such a broad and diverse background in CE is invaluable to those before him. I would highly recommend Max to anyone

Jessie Keating

Working with Max is a delight. Max’s facilitation, collaboration and problem solving style is respectful and calm, along with being both accessible and professional. The most significant project we have worked on with Max was the planning and undertaking of a community symposium, focused on the drafting of our city’s 20 year strategy, MV2040. We

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