Codevelopment

In French:

« Le groupe de codéveloppement professionnel est une approche de formation pour des personnes qui croient pouvoir
apprendre les unes des autres afin d'améliorer, de consolider leur pratique. » (Adrien Payette)

In other (English) words, codevelopment is an approach for people that believe their all can learn from others and improve or consolidate their
practice. This approach takes place in six steps involving:

one client, stating a problem;

several consultants, here only to help the client.

Usually, a codevelopment group meets once a month over 6 to 12 months.

Flow

Step 1: state the problem

The meeting starts by a presentation of the situation by the client. The client has two goals:

solve their problem;

improve their practice.

The presentation of the situation an essential aspect of the methodology because it helps the client to step back and get a better global
understanding of the problem.

Step 2: clarification
This steps allows the consultants to get a clear idea of the situation brought by the client. They are thus led to ask questions and let them re-
specify some points.

Step 3: consultation contract

Once the client has exposed as clearly as possible the situation and that all the consultants have facts and objective elements, it is important that
the client restates clearly their expectations from the consultants as a specific issue.

Consultants should have at this point a clear and common vision of the clients's expectations. The contract is the basis for the consultation.

Step 4: consultation
Consultants share their impressions, feelings, questions, suggestions or experience. They are focused on the client and give everything that
could help them to think and act. The key question of that step is: "How can I help that client?".

Meanwhile, the client does not speak. At all. They do not ask or answer questions. All they do is listening and taking notes (in an extreme form of
codevelopment, somebody else can take notes for the client).

Step 5: synthesis and action plan

From all the data gathered, the client synthesizes the mains topics to make a short-term action plan from them.

On the next session, the client will have to focus on that action plan and the results, whether the goal is achieved or not.

Step 6: share the knowledge

Everyone is to think about their own practice and appropriate the approach. Doing this, they learn to step back about their situations.

Participants often note "I never really took time to think about what I do".
When should you use codevelopment?
When you need to learn to be more efficient, to think differently, to act differently from what you are currently doing.
When you need to enforce yourself to take some time to think and to step back.
When you need a space where people are kind and helpful.
When you need to learn to help and learn to be helped.