Co-designing Banc GISDA: A youth hub built with young people
The challenge
GISDA, a youth homelessness charity in Caernarfon, was developing Banc GISDA: a new hub for young people. They were committed to embedding young people’s voices in the design, but needed support to move beyond consultation toward genuine co-design while building their team’s capacity to sustain this approach independently.
The approach
Co-production Lab Wales worked bilingually with GISDA over several months, using our “with you, not for you” approach:
- Co-design lab workshop: We supported the GISDA team to plan and facilitate a workshop where young people explored what the hub should look and feel like, and what services would genuinely make a difference in their lives.
- Voice board series: Four workshops with GISDA’s young people’s voice board examined how services could better join up and the role a hub could play. We trained GISDA staff to facilitate these workshops themselves and supported them to analyse emerging themes.
- Joint workshop: As opening approached, we brought staff and young people together to build on previous ideas and address practical questions about how the Banc would function day-to-day.
- Reflective practice: Regular sessions with the GISDA team embedded co-production as an organisational value and created space to process learning.
The outcome
Banc GISDA opened with design, services, and operations directly shaped by young people’s insights. GISDA staff gained the skills and confidence to design and facilitate co-production workshops independently. Young people became genuine partners in development, experiencing authentic voice and influence rather than tokenistic consultation. The bilingual approach made participation accessible to all.
The Learning
- Co-production takes time, and that’s valuable. Building relationships and trust produced better outcomes than rushing to opening day would have achieved.
- Training staff to do it themselves transforms practice. GISDA staff discovered they could facilitate workshops independently, changing their ongoing approach to youth engagement.
- Young people are the experts on their own lives. Given genuine opportunity, they contribute sophisticated insights about service design that professionals working alone would miss.
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