The Relational Infrastructure of Change: Laura Burling on Trust, Power & Co-Design

In this episode of The Spark Changemakers Podcast, Nikki talks to Laura Burling, founder of Co-designed Solutions, an independent relational practice working alongside people, communities and organisations to create the conditions for meaningful change.

Drawing on more than 20 years of lived and learnt experience across health, education, local government, charities and communities, Laura explores why relationships aren't simply a "nice to have" in systems change – they are part of the essential infrastructure that allows change to happen.

Laura shares the deeply personal story behind her work, including the influence of her brother Glynn, who had Down’s syndrome and later developed Alzheimer's. His life and the relationships surrounding him at the end of it helped shape Laura's belief in the extraordinary power of human connection.

Together, Nikki and Laura explore what relational infrastructure actually looks like in practice: creating shared principles, translating those principles into behaviours, surfacing and sharing power, and crucially, learning how to repair relationships when things go wrong.

Drawing on Laura's work with lived experience and parent-carer forums, they discuss the difference between doing things to people and working with them, and why genuine co-design requires organisations to think differently about expertise, agency and participation.

And perhaps most importantly, they explore why meaningful change cannot always be rushed. As Laura puts it: “Things move at the pace of trust.”

In this conversation, you'll hear about:

✨ Why relationships are the “glitter and the glue” that hold change together

🏗️ What relational infrastructure really means and why it matters

🧩 The four foundations of Laura’s approach: principles, practice, power sharing and repair

🤝 Moving from “power over” to “power with” and “power to”

🗣️ Why lived experience needs to influence strategic decision-making

🐢 Why trust is built slowly — and can disappear incredibly quickly

🧭 How shared purpose can bring people back together when relationships become strained

About Laura Burling

Laura Burling is the founder of Co-designed Solutions, an independent relational practice working alongside people, communities and organisations to co-create the conditions for meaningful change.

Her work focuses on relationships, participation, power sharing, collective learning and helping organisations move beyond consultation towards genuine co-design. Laura also writes regularly about relational practice, co-design, participation and more human approaches to public services.

Connect with Laura

Website: https://co-designedsolutions.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-burling-921534304/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/co_designed_solutions

About The Spark Changemakers Podcast

The Spark Changemakers Podcast is for people who want to change the world, fuelled by passion and purpose. Through conversations with changemakers, thinkers and practitioners, we explore what it really takes to create meaningful change – in ourselves, our communities and the systems around us.