Leapfrog is a 3 year research project led by ImaginationLancaster in partnership with The Glasgow School of Art Institute of Design Innovation (GSA). The project is funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council Connected Communities programme.
Leapfrog will explore how we can develop more effective, inclusive and creative tools to help consultation processes, involving 2 PhDs and 2 Research Associates in Leapfrog but also the academics involved from both ImaginationLancaster and GSA. This group of academics includes experts in evaluation, digital tool design, engagement and social media.
The primary outcome of this research will be to enable public service providers to gain a great depth in knowledge about salient issues within the communities they support. This research will also explore and define the way the role that co-design could play in developing a step-change in innovative engagement through the creation of adaptable tools for creative consultation. Our research questions are broadly defined as:
- Can new approaches to community co-design develop new innovative consultation tools?
- Can innovative consultation tools and approaches enable more appropriate, effective and engaging consultation?
- Can tools developed with one community be modified to be effective with other communities across the UK?
- How can we evaluate co-design and consultation processes in multiple communities over a long period of time in a way that captures real effects, and the added value that co-design approaches bring, in a non-invasive manner?