Cocreation can only really work if everyone knows what each of the others wants to achieve. It’s therefore important to be open about the ambitions of all partners from the start:

• For instance, a local government is looking for an efficient solution for the public space but is not interested in marketing the solution themselves.
• A designer wants to have a good understanding of current trends in order to integrate them into other projects.
•  (A group of) local residents would like to be involved in the reflection process but are not really eager to monitor the development of the project from start to finish.
• A company will want to protect the innovations or will be looking for the widest possible market.

The partners sitting around the table may have highly divergent interests and that's OK,  as long as everyone communicates openly about it and clear arrangements are made.

As the partners may change depending on the phase of the cocreation process, you will have to repeat this exercise regularly.