Co-Creating a Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Students and Staff

• Published in: Student success Vol. 14; no. 3; pp. 136 - 144
• Main Authors: Cooper, Berni, Border, Nicole, Couperthwaite, Felicity
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Southern Queensland 11.12.2023
• Subjects: appreciative inquiry; health and wellbeing; strategy development
• ISSN: 2205-0795; 2205-0795
• DOI: 10.5204/ssj.2781

This paper reports on the application of culture change methodology to co-design a whole-of-university health and wellbeing strategy. We outline considerations that necessitate a change in the way higher education contributes to student and staff mental health and wellbeing. We provide an overview of an Appreciative Inquiry culture change methodology; a map of the process followed; the benefits of applying Appreciative Inquiry principles; and a description of outcomes, which include funding for a new health and wellbeing strategy implementation team. We argue that by co-designing a strategy, with representatives of the whole system taking a strengths-based perspective, we enabled self-determined change. We also argue that the process of co-designing and co-developing a strategy can be a wellbeing intervention in and of itself.