Theory: Collaborating With Others - Networking & Co-creation

Co-creation, a concept popularised in the field of innovation and marketing, involves collaborative efforts among different stakeholders to jointly create or develop value-added products, services, or experiences. There are typically three levels of co-creation:

1. Basic level co-creation: At this level, co-creation involves gathering feedback and insights from customers or end-users to inform the design or development process. It may involve conducting surveys, focus groups, or interviews to gather customer preferences, needs, and ideas. This level of co-creation is typically focused on obtaining customer input to enhance existing products or services, rather than involving customers in the actual creation process.
2. Intermediate level co-creation: This level of co-creation involves a higher degree of collaboration between the organisation and its customers or end-users.

It may involve joint brainstorming sessions, workshops, or collaborative platforms where customers and stakeholders actively participate in generating ideas, designing solutions, and prototyping. The goal is to involve customers and/or other relevant stakeholders in your ecosystem more directly in the innovation process and leverage their knowledge, creativity, and expertise to co-create new products, services, or experiences.

3. Advanced level co-creation: At this level, co-creation involves deep collaboration and integration of customers/stakeholders or end-users into the entire value chain of the product or service development process. Customers or end-users become active partners and co-creators, contributing to various stages of the innovation process, including idea generation, design, development, testing, and implementation. Advanced level co-creation may involve forming co-creation communities, living labs, or innovation ecosystems where multiple stakeholders collaborate closely to co-create solutions that meet the needs of all participants.

It's important to note that the levels of co-creation can vary depending on the context, industry, and specific goals of the co-creation initiative.

Organisations can choose the level of co-creation that best aligns with their objectives, resources, and customer engagement strategies.