Carra Santos
Cross-Sector Learning & Engagement
Bridging perspectives to enable effective cross-sector collaboration on complex challenges.
Getting people from different backgrounds into the same room is easy. Getting them on the same page is the hard part - and that’s where even well-intentioned projects often stall.
From climate resilience and community cohesion to food systems, health promotion and the future of work, today’s challenges can’t be solved in silos. For conversations to flow, collaborations to spark and meaningful solutions to emerge, awareness, trust and alignment must be built before ideas are fully formed. Skipping this stage leads to missteps, false starts, and communication breakdowns that cost time, resources and momentum.I work with public, private and civil society leaders to enable smoother collaboration on 21st-century challenges.Using the city scale as both a practical systems lens and a bridge between global frameworks and local realities, I focus on the early, often-overlooked work that unlocks understanding, closes knowledge gaps and builds relationships - laying the foundation for evidence-based, cross-sector strategies that lead to lasting impact.
Context
I’ve worked at the intersection of systems thinking, innovation and design for over 15 years, starting with ideation and concept development to promote sustainable behaviours. In a consumption-driven, trend-focused market, I continually championed good food, health, nature, creativity and community - unifying work on basic values that led to internationally acclaimed product innovation and prescient concepts for world-class events.These experiences taught me to identify opportunities, design enabling environments, and create immersive learning experiences that inspire perspective-shifting and collective action.In 2021, I grounded this intuition with an interdisciplinary MSc in Sustainable Development in Practice (distinction). Since then, I’ve advised WHO on public-private-civil society collaboration in tobacco control, enabled UK councils to co-create climate strategies with communities, guided enterprises to displace fast fashion, and supported cross-sector initiatives across food, health, urban design and enterprise innovation.This breadth sharpened my ability to navigate complex systems, align diverse stakeholders, and translate theory into practical impact. Ongoing ethnographic research into what inspires - and inhibits - positive change ensures learning experiences and engagement strategies are grounded in behavioural insights, relationship-building and practical tools.
Coaching & Capacity-Building
Through experiential learning and applied capacity-building, I help senior leaders and small teams navigate complexity, align priorities, and drive cross-sector collaboration on 21st century challenges.I work across sectors - from science and research, to policy and public service, to business and investment - to translate insights, navigate competing priorities and design initiatives that deliver measurable impact. My programmes develop practical skills to:
Navigate perspectives: Strengthen cross-sector literacy, connect disparate topics, understand diverse motivations and concerns, and work constructively across organisational constraints.
Communicate with impact: Craft messages that land, open productive dialogue, and build alignment around shared values.
Turn insight into action: Align priorities, integrate evidence, and translate ideas into practical, actionable strategies.
Programmes draw on systems thinking, design thinking, behavioural insights and communication theory to ensure learning is immersive, practical, and immediately applicable.
Signature frameworks and approaches:
New Cross-Sector City Lab
Engages corporate CSR leaders with public sector and community perspectives, translating insights into targeted, impactful urban initiatives.
The Bridge to Belonging Method
Builds consensus between urban planners, developers and communities, connecting environmental and social health in practical, hyperlocal strategies.
The Perspective Shift Approach
Finds starting points for difficult conversations by temporarily setting aside entrenched positions to reveal overlapping values and priorities.
Engagement Strategy & Support
I work with universities, public sector bodies, innovation agencies and global consultancies to develop cross-sector and partnership engagement strategies that create the pre-conditions for effective collaboration.By testing assumptions, identifying overlaps and anticipating barriers early, I help ensure that communication, partnerships and projects begin from a shared understanding.This work prepares the ground for successful collaborations in areas such as:
Public-private partnerships: Aligning multi-stakeholder collaborations around a shared vision, clarifying roles and establishing conditions for long-term co-operation.
Local authority-community participation: Enabling councils and communities to translate climate or social strategies into grounded, equitable action that reflects lived experience.
Academic-industry collaboration: Supporting cross-disciplinary communication and creating structures for constructive, values-led dialogue.
Global policy and programme design: Developing evidence-informed engagement strategies that connect technical expertise with diverse cultural contexts.
Representative Projects:
WHO Tobacco Cessation Consortium
Strengthening public-private-civil society collaboration
Compiled a strategic review using behavioural foresight and design research to enhance engagement strategies. Curated tools enabling leaders to align stakeholder knowledge, perspectives and resources around the shared goal of reaching 5 million people globally.
Design Council / Essex County Council
Connecting young voices and values to climate communication
Closed a communication gap by designing/co-facilitating a futures-thinking workshop for students, teachers and council leaders to imagine a climate-positive Essex. Outcomes strengthened alignment around ten youth-driven, values-led themes for the youth climate ambassador programme.
Design Council / London Borough of Hounslow
Aligning Net Zero with lived experience
Supported council departments to connect across silos and align Net Zero goals with local realities. Reframed climate strategy around equity, care and social-environmental co-benefits based on long-term, evidence-informed action.
Centre for Sustainable Design @UCA
Displacing fast fashion through brand-customer collaboration
Developed people-centred strategies for creative brand-customer collaboration, helping academic and industry audiences translate circular economy policy, principles and behaviours into practical strategy.
WHO No Tobacco Unit / Tobacco-Free Initiative
Expanding narratives for tobacco prevention & cessation
Produced novel research exploring culture-specific motivations to expand messaging. Introduced actionable tools for policymakers and practitioners to engage local populations globally, supporting WHO FCTC Articles 11 & 12.
Independent Research Framework Development
Resolving tensions in academic-industry communication
Designed and tested a framework for constructive dialogue between academic advocates and UK finance/technology leaders. Revealed overlapping values and actionable starting points for more effective conversations.
Education & Writing
MSc Sustainable Development in Practice (Distinction), University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
BA (Hons) Fashion Promotion and Illustration, Surrey Institute of Art and Design (now University for the Creative Arts), Epsom, UK
Contributor, 10th WHO GTCR
Contributed specialist editorial and communication expertise to the 10th WHO GTCR, developing accessible, policy-relevant content for selected chapters, including context-setting narratives and behavioural insights, and introducing new approaches to analysing existing data to inform innovative policy implementation.
Lead author, Chapter 17
Served as lead author of Chapter 17 in Accelerating Sustainability in Fashion, Clothing and Textiles, contributing enterprise innovation insights on how sustainable fashion brands engaging their customers as active co-creators could shift fast fashion consumption norms. Presented at the book launch, and facilitated a roundtable discussion.
Author, 'All Sewn Up'
Authored a conference paper exploring fast fashion as a social practice, applying Social Practice Theory to examine brand strategy to 'lock in' consumer behaviour, and identifying approaches to empower citizens to 'break the hold' through creative, circular collaboration. Presented at Sustainable Innovation Conference.
The Limits of Big Picture Thinking Knowing when not to teach systems thinking is a systems skill in itself...
The Quiet Craft of Policy Engagement Not all policy impact takes place in the spotlight. Some begins with curiosity...
A Matter of Perspective
Seeing the whole picture means listening to all the truths (even the ones you don't believe)...
Soft Skills Are the New Strategic Why curiosity, empathy and dialogue are the tools for tackling 21st-century complexity...
What people say
"Carra brought insight, thoughtfulness, and a deep sense of curiosity to the work we did together at the WHO on tobacco control. She approaches complex challenges with care and intellectual rigor, always seeking to understand the deeper dynamics at play. At the same time, she brings real joy and warmth to a team - Carra made a lasting impact on the work and on me personally."Dr Hebe Gouda, Project Officer, World Health Organization
"I would describe Carra as rigorously creative, in that she combines systems thinking and critical thinking with the spontaneity needed for new ideas. Not many people can do this. She questions everything and because she's also a terrific person, connects with people on many levels. It's an impressive combination of skills for change-making. Working with Carra definitely made me a better designer."Darren Evans, Strategic Designer, Agency Founder & Design Council Associate
"Carra is a driven, intelligent and curious colleague - when working with us at the Design Council, she helped to deliver a complex project with a range of stakeholders. She pushed participants to think deeper about the work they were aiming to deliver, and ultimately created a more meaningful process. This, in turn, led to longer-lasting outcomes."Emily Whyman, Senior Programme Manager, Design Council
“A special talent for looking at projects delivering solutions that satisfy the requirements from all stakeholder perspectives, are truly relevant and have undeniable integrity.”William Knight, former Show Director, 100% Design London
“Working with Carra is a fantastic opportunity that all businesses should be lucky to have. You need to know more than you think you know, and I would highly recommend that Carra be the person to bring the passion and creative solution to your business.”Studio Manager, international design studio (place-centric design services)
“We engaged with Carra when we, as a studio, felt we needed to really understand sustainability properly. Carra set out [...] a very simplified approach that has worked well for us ever since and as we have progressed in our development in this area. More education planned for the team this year which will help us focus even more on the details that help to improve design within these parameters. I highly recommend!!”Simon Clark, Co-Founder, Lumsden Design (place-centric design services)
Contact
If your projects involve cross-sector collaboration or strategic capacity-building, let’s explore how I can help. Email me or connect on LinkedIn, or use the form below to arrange a call.
Carra is UK-based and works internationally.
© Carra Santos. All rights reserved.
Carra Santos
Navigating perspectives to keep complex social and urban projects moving forward.
Getting people from different backgrounds into the same room is easy. Getting them on the same page is the hard part - and that’s where even well-intentioned projects stall.From climate resilience and community cohesion to food systems, health promotion and the future of work, big challenges can’t be solved in silos. For conversations flow, collaborations to spark and meaningful solutions to emerge, awareness, trust and alignment must be built before ideas are fully formed. Skipping this stage often leads to missteps, false starts, and breakdowns in communication.Where I come in:
I help leaders and teams across the public sector, private sector and civil society develop cross-sector literacy, behavioural foresight and strategic clarity for collaborative change. Drawing on systems and design thinking, urban ethnography, social psychology and values-based communication, my approach helps stakeholders:
Navigate and integrate different perspectives, motivations and constraints
Co-develop communication for productive dialogue
Translate theory into aligned, actionable strategies that drive tangible impact
Whether a project is just starting, experiencing misalignment, or facing stalled progress, I support high-impact collaborations to start strong and stay on course.
Capacity-Building
Alongside leadership consultancy, I design original tools, methodologies, and CPD-accredited/non-accredited learning experiences that equip established and emerging leaders for collaboration on 21st century challenges. My creative origins ensure learning experiences aren’t just informative - they spark curiosity, shift perspectives, and enable participants to adopt leading practices for lasting impact.Recent examples include:
The Basics of Sustainable Futures CPD series for design, business, finance and technology academics, integrating a sustainable futures layer across curricula.
The Sustainability Spectrum A CPD learning series for creative services, demonstrating the full scope of sustainable futures beyond 'green', and their potential to drive environmental, social and economic innovation.
Design for Thriving Cities CPD series for architects, urban planners and designers, enhancing practice on circular economy, social value, inclusive design and nature restoration.
Doughnut Economics Workshop adaptation and facilitation translating Doughnut Economic principles into place-based, cross-sector learning and collaborative action.
Transdisciplinary frameworks for collaborative decision-making include:
The Perspective Shift Approach
Identifies evidence-based starting points for difficult conversations, temporarily setting aside entrenched positions to uncover overlapping values and priorities.
The Bridge to Belonging Method
Builds evidence-based consensus between urban planners, developers and communities, connecting environmental and social health, and generating actionable, hyperlocal strategies.
New Cross-Sector City Lab
Creates space for corporate CSR leaders to consider public sector and community perspectives and translate CSR strategies into targeted, meaningful urban initiatives.
Project-Based Support
My project work focuses on building connections between people, sectors, topics and lived experience, helping people get on the same page before moving forward together. I work upstream to identify untapped opportunities, while anticipating and addressing typical barriers to their progress, such as when:
Complex issues aren’t communicated in ways that resonate with real-world stakeholders.
Theory or ideology doesn’t translate into easily-adoptable practices.
Ideas have been imposed rather than co-developed with the people they affect.
Partners from different sectors operate at different speeds, with different knowledge bases, motivations and terminologies.
I typically come in at one of three key points:
Starting Point
When the challenge is still being defined and the solution isn’t yet in sight. I help ideate, anticipate resistance, align expectations, and set a clear direction before energy and resources are invested.
Checkpoint
When there's a sense of misalignment or uncertainty emerges. I help test assumptions, strengthen weak spots, and make adjustments while there’s still flexibility.
Crisis Point
When progress has stalled and trust or communication has broken down. I diagnose root causes, restore alignment, and help rebuild momentum for meaningful outcomes.
You work in science or academic research, needing to translate insights across the research lifecycle into clear, engaging narratives that inform policy, strengthen impact, and build trust with wider audiences.
You work in policy or public service, navigating competing priorities, resistance and shifting variables, while requiring processes and evidence to connect practice and policy objectives.
You work in business or investment, aiming to elevate CSR/impact strategies into initiatives that fully engage stakeholders, enhance visibility, and deliver measurable community outcomes.
Cross-sector literacy Strengthening connections and enabling participants to navigate different perspectives, motivations and organisational constraints.
Values-led communication Helping participants craft messages that land well and open productive dialogue.
Evidence-informed strategy Aligning priorities across complex agendas and translating insights into practical action.
I prepare public, private, and civil society leaders for smoother collaboration on 21st-century challenges - from climate resilience and community cohesion to food systems, health promotion, and the future of work.Using the city scale as a systems-level lens, I focus on the early work that builds relationships, closes knowledge gaps, and informs evidence-based strategy for effective collaboration across sectors - explore diversing perspectives, identifying connections, anticipating barriers, and avoiding missteps.This approach is for you if:
Let’s talk
If your programmes or projects require careful navigation across sectors, let’s find out how I can help.Email me or connect on LinkedIn, or use the form below to arrange a call.
WHO Tobacco Cessation Consortium
Strengthening public-private-civil society collaboration
Snapshot
Client: World Health Organization (Geneva)
My Role: WHO Tobacco Cessation Consortium strategy development
Focus Area: Public–private–civil society collaboration, health communication
Outcome: Strategy review and recommendations to position the Consortium as a cohesive, sustainable and attractive network for scaling tobacco cessation
Challenge
The WHO Tobacco Cessation Consortium unites public, private, and civil society partners - from ministries of health and NGOs to industry and digital health providers - around accelerating global tobacco cessation.The ongoing challenge for the Consortium is to enable cohesion across the different sectors while anchoring it within WHO’s 14th General Programme of Work (GPW14), ensuring strategic and policy relevance. This, in turn, avoids any potential fragmentation, duplication of efforts, relationship strain or loss of momentum that may arise along the way.
Approach
Acting as both cross-sector translator and strategist, I reviewed current developments before recommending enhanced guidance to ensure all members are clear on the Consortium’s mission, and guardrails to keep members aligned and moving forward together to fulfil it. In summary: strengthening the Consortium’s collaborative potential, and the application of their expert knowledge and resources to best effect, through achieving the following objectives:
Define the Consortium’s First Mission.
Strengthen the Consortium’s case and collaborative potential to fulfil the First Mission.
Inform Effective Stakeholder Communication surrounding the First Mission.
Combining Design Thinking and Mission Mapping, this approach created a shared baseline for trust and alignment from different insights and motivations.
Outcome
The consultancy project produced a strategy review and set of recommendations, offering a clear, evidence-based pathway to define the Consortium’s first mission, anticipate challenges, and align cross-sector partners with GPW14 priorities.The review outlined next-step opportunities for participatory workshops to define the First Mission, a Theory of Change to map milestones and outcomes, and a Stakeholder Mapping exercise to identify key actors, their contributions, and their collaboration needs. It also recommended engaging members through mixed-methods research, applying values-based communication before consolidating insights in a final report and stakeholder communication.By providing this shared framework and clearer reference points, the review helped senior leaders at WHO support cross-sector Consortium members to get on the same page from the outset - clarifying roles, expectations, and priorities - so public-private-civil society partnerships start with confidence, alignment and clear purpose.
Design Council / Essex County Council
Connecting young voices and values to climate communication
Snapshot
Client: Design Council & Essex County Council (UK)
My Role: Design, differently Programme Coaching, Workshop Design/Facilitation & Report
Focus Area: Climate strategy, youth engagement, futures thinking
Outcome: Ten co-created, values-led themes supporting Essex’s climate communication and youth ambassador programme
Challenge
Essex County Council and the Essex Climate Action Commission wanted to launch a Student-led Climate Ambassador Network, supported by the Design Council's Design, differently programme. But young people across the county had varying levels of awareness, motivation and climate anxiety - exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis and conflicting social influences. Traditional science-led messaging was falling short, leaving the team searching for a strategy that would meaningfully engage students and inspire them to act.
Approach
Working with my Design Council colleague, I co-developed and facilitated The World We Will Create - a storytelling-led co-creation workshop grounded in futures, systems and design thinking.The session brought together 15-18-year-olds, their teachers and council members to imagine life in a thriving, climate-positive Essex in 2033, and journal how they would live, learn and work in a thriving future. Drawing inspiration from Doughnut Economics, the session concluded with students illustrating their visions as 'Doughnut Dreams', which were assembled into a 'Dream Spiral' as a shared roadmap to a climate-positive region.This process created a safe, imaginative space for dialogue, shifting the approach to communication from science-driven to local identity-led and values-based.
Outcome
The workshop surfaced ten hopeful themes - from Circular Communities and Clean Energy to Caring Communities and The New Role Models. These reflected students’ diverse values, identities, and lived experiences, revealing unexpected yet powerful pathways for climate action.Essex County Council gained:
A strategic narrative and engagement framework for its youth climate ambassadors.
A replicable workshop format to extend participation across the county’s schools.
Stronger trust and connection between young people and their local council.
Overall, the project demonstrated how storytelling and design-led facilitation can bridge gaps between technical strategy and community voice, creating space for fresh, youth-driven climate leadership.
Design Council / London Borough of Hounslow
Aligning Net Zero with lived experience
Snapshot
Client: Design Council & London Borough of Hounslow (UK)
My Role: Design, differently Programme Coaching, Workshop Design/Facilitation & Report
Focus Area: Interdepartmental collaboration, Net Zero strategy, equity
Outcome: Climate strategy reframed around equity, care, and co-benefits, with a new community hub brief
Challenge
The Council’s Net Zero team set out to strengthen community spirit and tackle climate change in the London Borough of Hounslow, an area of extreme inequality. Early ideas focused on air quality, transport and public space, and their solution was to install a new parklet - a small seating area/green space usually in a former roadside parking space. But questions remained: were resources being directed to the right problems? Would residents use it?In addition, departments were set up to work in silos, limiting shared knowledge and alignment across policy, housing, environment and social services.
Approach
Working with my Design Council colleague, I guided the team through a design and futures-led process that combined field research with collaborative workshops.
Discovery: A ward walk with multiple council departments highlighted both community assets (centres, artwork, green spaces) and significant barriers (unsafe parks, poor crossings, unhealthy retail, inequality between neighbouring streets). Each department could clearly see the issues linked to their remit. Importantly, previous investments such as gym equipment and cycle storage were going unused - raising questions about the parklet, the deeper needs, and indicating the importance of a combined social and environmental response.
Workshops: Building on these new insights into inequality, we introduced my Bridge to Belonging evaluation tool. Departments mapped resident needs, from basic safety and shelter through to community and education. This process pinpointed the Redwood Estate as a critical area where unmet basic needs and fear were preventing participation in community life.
Design Research: Further investigation revealed financial insecurity, reliance on sibling care, limited access to green space, and distrust of the council. The parklet idea was set aside in favour of deeper engagement with residents - including through trusted intermediaries - to ensure basic needs were met and future interventions would be relevant and used.
Outcome
The process shifted the project from installing a parklet to designing a community hub and council presence at the heart of the Redwood Estate - a far more relevant intervention for building safety, trust and cohesion. Key results included:
A reframed strategy rooted in equity, care and co-benefits, aligned with lived experience.
Stronger interdepartmental collaboration and shared accountability across council teams.
A replicable model for design-led policy making, where initial assumptions are tested, challenged and reshaped into evidence-based solutions.
This project demonstrated the power of starting with people’s everyday realities: the council entered with a clear idea, discovered it wasn’t the right solution, and developed a stronger, more community-driven brief to move forward.
Centre for Sustainable Design @ UCA
Displacing fast fashion through brand-customer collaboration
Snapshot
Client: Centre for Sustainable Design (UK)
My Role: Research Paper, Presentation, Book Chapter and Roundtable Discussion
Focus Area: Sustainable fashion, brand–customer collaboration
Outcome: People-centred strategies for a more sustainable future for the fashion industry
Challenge
Fast fashion dominates the global clothing system, with such brands seemingly strategically disconnecting consumers from the lifecycle, value and production of their clothes. The challenge was to explore how sustainable fashion brands might work with their customers to restore that connection, enabling more sustainable behaviours and reducing fast fashion consumption.
Approach
I began by presenting my independent research paper All Sewn Up: Dismantling Fast Fashion Consumption as a Social Practice through Creative Empowerment and Consumer Collaboration at the Sustainable Innovation Conference by the Centre for Sustainable Design at the University for the Creative Arts.The paper used Social Practice Theory to evaluate the strategy of fast fashion brands to 'lock in' consumers to unsustainable consumption practices, and the potential to break their hold through restoring creative agency and enabling enterprise innovation.This led to my role as lead author for Chapter 17, Crafting Connections with Clothing: Values, Influence and Relationships, in Accelerating Sustainability in Fashion, Clothing and Textiles (Routledge, 2023). The chapter examined how to empower people to move from passive ‘consumers’ to active ‘participants’, using craft skills, social media, and collaborative approaches as methods to co-create value with sustainable fashion brands.I presented the chapter at the book launch and facilitated a roundtable discussion with industry professionals on a more sustainable future for fashion.
Outcome
The book's global reach and holistic approach brings together both academic and industry perspectives on actions to move towards a more sustainable fashion, clothing and textile sector.In collaboration with my co-authors, the chapter focus positions fashion enterprise innovation as a credible driver of citizen-led change, offering strategies for reconnecting people with materials, skills and meanings to enable long-term sustainable behaviours.This emphasis on social and cultural behaviours has helped secure people-centred approaches to sustainability in fashion within academic and industry discourse.
WHO No Tobacco Unit / Tobacco-Free Initiative
Expanding narratives for tobacco prevention and cessation
Snapshot
Client: World Health Organization (Geneva)
My Role: Opportunity Analysis & Presentation
Focus Area: Tobacco prevention and cessation, behavioural insights, civil society engagement
Outcome: Evidence-based recommendations for values-driven, culturally tailored messaging supporting WHO FCTC Articles 11 and 12
Challenge
For nearly a century, the tobacco industry has embedded smoking into culture by shaping its meaning - aligning it with values like freedom, status, and tradition. By contrast, tobacco control messaging has leaned heavily on fear and health risks, which can limit resonance across diverse or desensitised populations. WHO asked for insight into how what fresh narratives might inform broader prevention and cessation communication.
Approach
I conducted novel research applying Social Practice Theory and Schwartz’s Theory of Universal Human Values to analyse tobacco communication, including WHO’s own pictorial health warnings. This naturally revealed both the dominance of health-focused messages, but also the underuse of values such as Hedonism, Achievement, and Tradition - frames long leveraged by the tobacco industry. I produced a suite of outputs:
Research and data analysis to identify the untapped values to inform policy guidance within the 10th WHO GTCR.
A presentation highlighting creative opportunities for practitioners to expand messaging from predominantly health-based to include social and cultural meanings through citizen engagement.
A discussion article exploring the potential for a standardised yet adaptable global framework for WHO regions to develop culture-specific cessation messaging at a country/city level.
Outcome
This work provided WHO with fresh perspective, showing how values-based and culturally-informed approaches could complement existing strategies. By reframing communication around deeper motivations, WHO gained practical opportunities to engage civil society more effectively, strengthen FCTC implementation (Articles 11 and 12), and position tobacco prevention/cessation messaging to counter industry narratives while respecting cultural differences.
Independent Framework Development
Resolving tensions in academic-industry communication
Snapshot
Client: Independent Project (UK)
My Role: Research Paper & Presentation
Focus Area: Academic–industry communication, UK finance and technology sectors
Outcome: New framework and frames to support calmer, more constructive dialogue on sustainability challenges
Challenge
Conversations between sustainability advocates in academia and business leaders can sometimes collapse into tension and hostility. Even where interests overlap, misaligned language and negative framing (e.g., 'degrowth') can risk wasted opportunities, damaged relationships and stalled collaboration before conversations start. The challenge I set was to identify common ground before positions hardened.
Approach
I designed and led a grounded theory study that analysed academic and industry-facing publications through the lens of Schwartz’s Theory of Basic Human Values. This values-based approach uncovered what truly motivates/concerns business leaders and how certain sustainability concepts were being framed - occasionally in ways that alienated rather than invited dialogue.The research focused on 'degrowth' - a term chosen for its tendency to cause hostile reactions. However, my findings revealed that while 'degrowth' was rejected as a term, many degrowth-aligned practices were already being adopted under the banner of the 'future of work'. Notably, the concept of 'meaningful work' emerged as a powerful frame that resonated with both advocates and business leaders. This suggested a way to reposition the degrowth conversation from austerity and limitations to purpose, innovation, and human potential.
Outcome
The project tested an interdisciplinary framework for identifying overlapping values and uncovering new frames to begin difficult conversations more constructively. Specifically, it showed that:
'Meaningful work' provides a neutral, motivating entry point into degrowth dialogue with UK finance/tech leaders.
Reframing sustainability in terms of stimulation, innovation, and collaboration aligns with business values while advancing degrowth-aligned goals.
Communication strategy matters: 'one-size-fits-all' advocacy can backfire, while context-led and value-sensitive frames open space for dialogue.
These insights now offer academics and advocates practical ways to reframe discourse with industry, moving beyond any potential antagonism toward collaboration on shared sustainability values.
The Perspective Shift Approach: Finding common ground in difficult conversations.
The Bridge to Belonging Method: Building consensus between planners, businesses and communities in areas of urban inequality.
“Extremely knowledgeable and passionate - these two qualities don’t always come together.”Founder, early-stage digital innovation company
What capacity-building looks like in practice:
Reframing challenges at the systems level for greater effectiveness
Bridging perspectives across sectors and scales to enable lasting collaboration
Mapping dynamics to uncover shared values and narratives that strengthen communication
What project support looks like in practice:
Auditing progress and introducing methods that close research gaps and aid decision-making.
One-to-one consultancy and document review for discreet guidance when urgent clarity is required.
Ongoing project coaching supported with clear, design-led communication that inspires confidence among audiences and decision-makers.
What capacity-building looks like in practice:
Creative workshops that sense-make, spark new ideas and reframe challenges to strengthen direction.
Learning resources and CPD modules that close knowledge gaps, connect disciplines and define next steps.
Self-guided exercises with scheduled check-ins for reflection, discussion and review.