Summary Overview of the Engagement Tool/Innovation:
Cake-decorating was used to facilitate ‘co-design with community-run non-profit, third sector and charitable organisations that address material inequity and poverty among local populations’ (Clarke et al 2018). Cakes were used to explore the idea of trust and trust-building. They are useful in a context where budget is constrained. By using cakes as a metaphor for a project or concept, the ‘ingredients’ for success can be discussed with a group. Cakes are ‘communicative artefacts’. They enable discussion. Cakes can also encourage people to get involved where they might not usually participate. The activity involves decorating pre-made cakes in a workshop. It would not involve baking cakes as it is difficult to decorate freshly-made cakes, and there are additional risks when using ovens. Below is an example of what participants might be asked to do. In this case, the group were asked to decorate cakes as imagined gifts for people the group might engage with. They also wrote words on postcards which represented the ‘ingredients’ needed to build trust. This encouraged discussion about trust-building and partnerships.
Role in decision-making:
This method is best used at an early stage such as agenda-setting or strategic direction, because it is designed to elicit participants’ ideas on less tangible, practical aspects of a project. It is best used to highlight important qualities in a project or organisation such as values. It works as a way of making visible the ‘invisible’, intangible concepts that can be difficult to discuss. However, there are ideas below for incorporating this method into later stages of planning by using cakes as a more literal representation of a park or other space.
Good for various themes:
- Collaborating
- Building trust with communities
Suitable for:
This will only work in-person, in a space where it’s possible to move around.
It is most suitable for fairly small groups.
It is an inclusive method, on the whole, but if cakes are going to be eaten, care should be taken to include those with allergies, diabetes etc. If your organisation prioritises healthy eating, it might be helpful to make lots of fruit and vegetables available as snacks alongside the cakes which are made.
This method could work with any age group, and if someone lacks the dexterity to decorate a cake, they could give input while someone else does the physical work. If someone might struggle with spoken word, they could use an AAC device of their choosing. It’s worth noting that similar techniques have been used to facilitate communication with people who might struggle with communication, alongside those from different community groups. This could include autistic people and people who do not speak English as a first language. Because hospitality and sharing food can be ways to cross cultural barriers, it is particularly ideal for people from marginalised cultural backgrounds.
HOW TO DO IT:
It’s important to leave enough time to explain what you’re all doing. You’re going to decorate cakes together, but also think about the important ingredients for the project or strategy you’re discussing.
Introduce the project or strategy and why it’s important. Also, explain why the group members’ contribution is important, and how they will make a difference by participating. You could offer several topics for discussion or only one, but each topic should have a different cake for participants and clear delineation of what’s being discussed.
For example, cakes are laid out and participants are asked ‘what are the qualities of a good organisation? What are the ingredients that make up an organisation that really makes a difference? What would you add to the mixture to get the organisation you would like?’
It would be possible to adapt this method into a more literal representation of an aspect of a park by asking things like ‘what makes a good park?’ or ‘what would a pollinator-friendly park look like’ by using mouldable icing to make bees, flowers and play equipment etc. If you do this, it’s important to set time aside to explain any concepts that might be new to participants.
With recruitment, you could leave this open and ask people to book into a session, but the activity links to trust-building, so an established group might be the most appropriate setting. Either way, it is important not to leave it as a drop-in, because it would then be hard to have a relaxed discussion and to calculate how many cakes etc are needed.
Good practice and case studies
In Clarke et al (2021), there is discussion of cakes being created as ‘imagined gifts for the influential people the group were interested in engaging with. Using single words written on postcards to articulate different facets or ‘ingredients’ of trust next to the cakes [they] used these to prompt further discussion on what participants felt were important for building their future relationships with potential partners as part of the PTC’. The participants were able to identify suitable cake styles for imagined people, which helped them to think about how to engage those people.
Introduce the project or strategy and why it’s important. Also, explain why the group members’ contribution is important, and how they will make a difference by participating. You could offer several topics for discussion or only one, but each topic should have a different cake for participants and clear delineation of what’s being discussed.
For example, cakes are laid out and participants are asked ‘what are the qualities of a good organisation? What are the ingredients that make up an organisation that really makes a difference? What would you add to the mixture to get the organisation you would like?’
It would be possible to adapt this method into a more literal representation of an aspect of a park by asking things like ‘what makes a good park?’ or ‘what would a pollinator-friendly park look like’ by using mouldable icing to make bees, flowers and play equipment etc. If you do this, it’s important to set time aside to explain any concepts that might be new to participants.
It’s important to leave enough time to explain what you’re all doing. You’re going to decorate cakes together, but also think about the important ingredients for the project or strategy you’re discussing.
With recruitment, you could leave this open and ask people to book into a session, but the activity links to trust-building, so an established group might be the most appropriate setting. Either way, it is important not to leave it as a drop-in, because it would then be hard to have a relaxed discussion and to calculate how many cakes etc are needed.
ADVANTAGES
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Opening up discussion of quite abstract concepts with a physical anchor
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Relatively low cost
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Food is a good way to engage people!
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It will likely appeal to a range of people especially kids as it is fun and engaging.
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Allows people to be creative and for the facilitator to engage the participant in discussion while they design the cake – which gives them an opportunity to make notes.
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Allows for interpretation.
CHALLENGES
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Has to be done in-person
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Some equipment and materials necessary
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Dietary requirements could be an issue.
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The results will be qualitative and not quantitive which limit the uses for this tool.
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Some participants may overuse some of the ingredients.
