Curriculum:
Evaluating co-creating
The basic principle for evaluating co-creation is that it happens throughout the process and that the co-creators decide together from the beginning how to co-evaluate the co-creation.
In a co-creation process you can focus on co-evaluation in a formative form throughout the co-creation process, but it is also important to carry out summative evaluation at the end. What you would consider a success needs to be decided together at the co-define stage explicitly enough so that when you reach this final stage, you are clear as a team whether your co-creation has been successful. You also need to decide what exactly is being assessed.
Are you examining the success of the final output?
Are you examining the success of the application of co-creation processes themselves?
Or maybe you wish to examine both?
Think about how you can gain collective and collaboratively developed feedback from people, as well as individual feedback to help you evaluate.
Co-evaluation in co-creation processes
A core principle of our Co-creating Wellbeing project is that co-evaluation should be embedded throughout the entire co-creation process — formally agreed upon from the start and carried out collaboratively by all involved. Co-evaluation can be both formative, happening iteratively during the process to support learning and adjustment, and summative, taking place at the end to assess final outcomes. Importantly, evaluation in co-creation is not one-size-fits-all. It can focus on the outputs (e.g. tools or services developed), the co-creation process itself (e.g. stakeholder engagement, transparency, mutual learning), or the broader impact on systems, services, or communities — or ideally, all three. These goals must be clearly defined together during the Co-define phase to ensure meaningful assessment later.
Our approach is underpinned by the Three Co’s Framework (Pearce & Magee, 2024), which positions co-evaluation as a continuous and cyclical part of co-creation — embedded across the Co-define, Co-design, and Co-refine phases. You can view the framework and read more about our model in the Pearce & Magee (2024) publication.
By grounding evaluation in participatory values and shared decision-making, we aim to avoid reverting to traditional, top-down assessment models and instead build evidence that reflects the collaborative spirit of co-creation.
Image: Three Co’s Framework with co-evaluation embedded – from Pearce & Magee (2024)
During the Co-creating Wellbeing project, we explored co-creators ideas about how to embed co-evaluation into the three co’s framework in more depth. This work is currently being written up for publication. Please keep an eye on our website for updates.
Embedding co-evaluation into our handbook of tools
We have brought together a curated collection of tools designed to help evaluate co-creation processes effectively. These tools have been thoughtfully embedded within our comprehensive Handbook of Tools, offering practical guidance and resources to support meaningful evaluation at every stage of co-creation.
The Co-creation Reporting Standards
There is significant inconsistency in how co-creation is defined, applied, and reported in research, making it difficult to evaluate or replicate studies. As a result, we are developing the COcreation REporting Standards (CORES) with the protocol registered on the Equator Network (link)
We have completed a systematic meta-review (review of reviews) to examine the current co-creation reporting literature and an e-Delphi study with an international panel of experts to develop a prototype COcreation REporting Standards (CORES) checklist. This work is currently being submitted for publication.
We are currently undergoing consensus meetings with a core team of international co-creation experts to finalise, test and translate the COcreation REporting Standards (CORES) for final publication.
This work is currently in progress. Please keep an eye on our website for updates.
Examining co-creators engagement and motivations in the co-creation evaluation process
Understanding what drives people to engage in co-creation is vital for designing effective and sustainable processes. In Co-creating Wellbeing, we explored co-creators’ motivations using Roberts et al.’s (2014) typology — distinguishing between personal (intrinsic), social (altruistic), and goal-driven (opportunity-based) motivations — and grounded in Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985). The aim was to gain insights on how to better evaluate participation and encourage sustained engagement in co-creation processes.
This work is currently being written up for publication. Please keep an eye on our website for updates.
