Co-Design for Inclusion in Software Development Design
The Inclusion4EU Charter
The Inclusion4EU Charter is a practical framework for integrating co-design for inclusion into software and service development. It brings together a set of adapted design-thinking tools (created and tested with people with disabilities, academics and industry practitioners) so teams can collaborate effectively during co-design sessions.
What’s inside the Charter
A clear co-design journey
The Inclusion4EU Charter follows five co-design phases that help teams move from understanding a challenge to evolving tested ideas:
- Discover – “I have a challenge. How should I approach it?”
- Interpret – “I learned something. How do I interpret it?”
- Ideate – “I see an opportunity. What do I create?”
- Experiment – “I have an idea. How do I build it?”
- Evaluate – “I tried something. How do I evolve it?”
Ground rules that support good collaboration
The Charter includes simple rules that make co-design sessions more productive and inclusive.
Practical tools and templates
You’ll find ready-to-use activities to support each phase such as:
- What’s Working / What’s Not Working
- Theme grouping to identify key challenges
- Empathy Map
- Brainstorming, Mind maps, Storyboarding tools
- “I Like / I Wish / What If?” for feedback and iteration
How to use it
We created a step by step guide that shows how to use the Charter.
Use it as a set of tools for co-design sessions
Download the Charter and use the activities as printouts or digital templates during co-design sessions. Each phase includes prompts and structured exercises so you can run sessions without starting from scratch.
Use it as a shared co-design space
Place the file somewhere your team can access (e.g., a shared drive). Use it as a single source of truth by linking:
- session notes and outputs
- questions asked and answered
- decisions and changes
- prototypes and feedback
This helps everyone stay aligned and informed, especially across multiple sessions.
Use it as a compass to track progress
At every step, the Charter helps you trace:
- what you already learned
- what still needs to be explored
- your goals and success criteria
- how ideas evolved across iterations