Integrating Co-Design Within Participatory Action Research: Developing an Online Matching Platform to Facilitate Access to Adapted Outdoor Leisure Physical Activities

People with special needs often face barriers to participating in adapted outdoor leisure physical activities. A participatory action research project involving a nonprofit organization, a citizen with motor disabilities, and researchers aimed to co-develop a digital platform connecting people with special needs interested in outdoor leisure physical activities with trained volunteers. The adopted co-design methodology followed four stages: (1) Exploration (identifying users’ needs and preferences), (2) Co-design (defining key information and platform features), (3) Validation (prioritizing features), and (4) Development (implementing and testing the platform). This article focuses on stages 2, 3, and 4. During stage 2, key information and features were identified to support matching people with special needs and volunteers and informing users about adapted outdoor leisure physical activities. In stage 3, these elements were prioritized using eight key considerations, including technological (e.g., ease of use), environmental (e.g., avoiding redundancy with existing initiatives), organizational (e.g., availability of human resources), and financial factors (e.g., grant planning). Stage 4 resulted in the launch of Tandem Actif, followed by user testing to document user experience and guide improvements. This article details the application of co-design within a participatory action research project aimed at promoting safe, ethical, and accessible participation in outdoor leisure physical activities for people with special needs.