How do you do co-creation in global health? Start with this kit.

Bringing together existing knowledge

“Simply put, co-creation means designing and creating something together,” said Danielle Agnello, a co-creation expert and postdoctoral researcher at the Global Health Section at UCPH. “More recently, we are seeing just how valuable it can be when adapted and applied as a scientific approach in global health, particularly when working at the community level.”

Despite increasing interest, existing resources are often fragmented, and few are tailored to the realities of low-resource environments, the team found. This gap can make it difficult for new co-creators to navigate how to even begin with the process.

The starter kit offers practical guidance through real-world docu-narratives based on co-creation projects conducted in Tanzania, along with templates, tools, and curated academic resources fit for co-creating in low-resource settings. This aims to support informed methodological choices with key resources that exist across the field, rather than prescribing a fixed approach. 

Pocket toolkit made for beginners

"I would like a toolkit with real examples from people who have previously done co-creation in practice: what worked, what did not work, tips on facilitation and managing power dynamics... This would help me better visualise what co-creation looks like and decide whether it’s the right approach for me,” says Beatrice Sumali, researcher currently exploring how to use co-creation to engage high school students and staff in Dar es Salaam.

“We received a clear request from our global user panel, comprising both experienced and emerging co-creators across research and practice, to focus on concrete examples of how co-creation principles, frameworks, and methods are applied in low-resource settings,” says Joyce Anne Quinto, science communication specialist from the School of Global Health.“So we followed two projects and illustrated some key co-creation elements through their processes and supplemented that with ready-to-use materials.”

At its core, the starter kit helps you navigate three key questions: WHY co-create, WHAT does it mean, and HOW do you do it in practice?

The online resource draws on concrete examples from projects such as MBD-Free, co-led by Karin Schiøler (UCPH) and Fatma Saleh (State University of Zanzibar), showcasing the team’s application of the PRODUCES+ Co-Creation Guideline. It includes step-by-step approach, from initial setup through evaluation and reporting, and the range of methods they used in co-creating mosquito-free hospitals in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The kit also includes actual templates and tools that were used by MBD-Free, which anyone can reuse or adapt. 

It also features a video on the PartoMa project, co-led by Nanna Maaløe (UCPH), Dan Meyrowitsch (UCPH), and Natasha Housseine (UCPH), where they used co-creation to co-adapt WHO guidance on managing complications in pregnancy and childbirth.

Recognising that effective facilitation can make or break co-creation processes, the starter kit also includes facilitation tips, grounded in research by social scientist Haika Osaki and community health psychologist Morten Skovdal.

In addition to the materials, users are encouraged to join a Reddit community to share reflections, real-world experiences, and actual co-creation projects in low-resource settings.