Co-design goes wrong in a predictable way. An organisation invites people with lived experience to a session, takes their stories, thanks them warmly and then makes the decisions elsewhere. The contribution was real; the influence was not.
UKind is survivor-led, which means lived experience sits in the decisions rather than the consultation. In practice we hold to a few rules.
Contribution is valued, not volunteered indefinitely. People's time and insight are recognised, and we are clear about what a session involves before anyone agrees to it.
Participation is reversible. Anyone can step back, pause or withdraw what they have shared, at any point, without needing a reason.
Stories are not the deliverable. We ask about needs, moments and reactions to what we are building. Nobody has to relive anything to help us make a better product.
Influence is visible. When a session changes something, we say what changed. When it does not, we say why. That honesty is what makes the next session worth attending.
The result is slower than a design sprint, and considerably better. Almost everything distinctive about UKind — the quick exit, the pacing, the refusal to gamify — came from someone telling us what would have made a hard day survivable.