Co-Designing in Regional South Australia: Process, Practice and Early Insights
Tracks
Jacaranda
| Thursday, November 5, 2026 |
| 2:00 PM - 2:20 PM |
Overview
Ben Wells, Neami National
Three Key Learnings
1. Purposeful and structured facilitation strengthens co-design by incorporating clear decision points, defined roles, and transparent translation of community input into service design.
2. Co-design in rural settings requires sustained relational work alongside formal processes, including recognising that not all community members want to participate in design and adapting engagement to meet people where they are.
3. Implementation must remain flexible in practice, requiring adaptation of referral pathways, workforce roles, service delivery approaches, and engagement strategies to reach groups less likely to seek help or engage in formal processes.
Presenter
Mr Ben Wells
Senior Manager
Neami National
Co-Designing in Regional South Australia: Process, Practice and Early Insights
Presentation Overview
This presentation explores the co-design and early implementation of a Distress Brief Support (DBS) program in regional South Australia, in a community experiencing disproportionately high levels of distress, suicide, and challenges.
The co-design process was facilitated by Impact Co in partnership with Neami, and undertaken in collaboration with community members, people with lived experience, service providers, and the funder.
The approach emphasised structured facilitation alongside relational engagement, enabling diverse perspectives to be meaningfully included and translated into a practical service model.
Rather than presenting a fixed or finalised model, this session focuses on the process of co-design in a complex rural context. We will share how the process unfolded in practice, including how trust was built, competing priorities were navigated, and how local insights were translated into service decisions.
The presentation will also highlight early findings from implementation, including engagement patterns, workforce considerations, and the realities of delivering a new model within a resource-constrained regional setting. Reflections will include challenges encountered during rollout, such as responding to community expectations, working across service system gaps, and maintaining fidelity while adapting to local needs.
Participants will hear about the unique challenges of engaging regional communities in co-design, including where individuals are less willing to participate in formal processes and instead seek immediate support. We will explore how this tension was navigated, including adapting engagement approaches and meeting people through existing community networks, with examples of connecting with groups such as farmers and others in male-dominated industries where traditional co-design approaches were less effective.
Participants will leave with practical insights into structuring and facilitating co-design, building and sustaining trust in rural communities, and applying early implementation learnings to refine service models in real time.
This case study provides practical insights for organisations working in rural and remote settings.
The co-design process was facilitated by Impact Co in partnership with Neami, and undertaken in collaboration with community members, people with lived experience, service providers, and the funder.
The approach emphasised structured facilitation alongside relational engagement, enabling diverse perspectives to be meaningfully included and translated into a practical service model.
Rather than presenting a fixed or finalised model, this session focuses on the process of co-design in a complex rural context. We will share how the process unfolded in practice, including how trust was built, competing priorities were navigated, and how local insights were translated into service decisions.
The presentation will also highlight early findings from implementation, including engagement patterns, workforce considerations, and the realities of delivering a new model within a resource-constrained regional setting. Reflections will include challenges encountered during rollout, such as responding to community expectations, working across service system gaps, and maintaining fidelity while adapting to local needs.
Participants will hear about the unique challenges of engaging regional communities in co-design, including where individuals are less willing to participate in formal processes and instead seek immediate support. We will explore how this tension was navigated, including adapting engagement approaches and meeting people through existing community networks, with examples of connecting with groups such as farmers and others in male-dominated industries where traditional co-design approaches were less effective.
Participants will leave with practical insights into structuring and facilitating co-design, building and sustaining trust in rural communities, and applying early implementation learnings to refine service models in real time.
This case study provides practical insights for organisations working in rural and remote settings.
Biography
Ben Wells is a Senior Manager Operations at Neami National, leading community mental health and psychosocial services across Australia. With extensive experience in regional service delivery, Ben is passionate about genuine co-design, partnership development, and implementing community-based support models in complex environments. He has led the development and rollout of innovative programs in areas experiencing significant mental health challenges, with a strong focus on collaboration, lived experience inclusion, and continuous learning. Ben is committed to strengthening rural systems of care and ensuring services remain responsive to local community needs.
