When it comes to people powered ways of working, there are different levels of participation, depending on how much or little people are involved and how they are involved.

The words we use to describe the ways we work and partner with people and communities should reflect the level of participation possible.

It is all too common for there to be a mismatch between the words used to describe an  approach and the reality on the ground. This leads to confusion, lack of trust and in some cases harm.

We (Sue Muller and Morgan Cataldo) made the Co-Word Fast Check Tool so you can sense check the level of participation that is actually possible before promising a co-word activity.