Carra Santos

Creative Thinking & Communication Specialist

I work on closing the gap between knowledge and action. My focus is on building skills and capacity within organisations tackling climate, health and civic challenges - equipping teams with the thinking tools, learning resources and communication strategies they need to inspire change and move projects from research to implementation.Using creative strategy, behavioural insights and values-led communication, I help people and teams apply fresh thinking, connect more meaningfully, and navigate complex challenges with clarity and confidence.

Skills & Capacity-Building

I support organisations and teams to build the skills they need to think and work more effectively. Whether through tailored workshops, collaborative sessions, or resource development, I help people grow their capacity to think creatively, develop strategy, and communicate for change.

Ask me about sessions designed for researchers, local authorities, innovation leaders and cross-sector collaborators.

Content & Knowledge Translation

I create clear, engaging content that helps people understand, apply and share complex ideas. From explainers and articles to toolkits and workshops, I turn evidence and insight into accessible learning that builds cross-disciplinary understanding and supports long-term capacity-building.

Contact me for examples of articles, explainers, reports or training resources relating to your context.

Creative Thinking & Concept Development

I guide organisations through structured creative thinking processes to explore challenges and opportunities from new angles. This helps teams avoid blind spots, uncover possibilities, and turn good ideas into actionable plans.

Ask me about my work for the Design Council, London Design Festival, and cross-sector leadership groups.

Framing, Narrative & Storytelling

I help organisations communicate with empathy, clarity and impact. Drawing on behavioural insights and values-led principles, I support message development, narrative framing and strategy design - particularly for complex or sensitive topics.

Ask me about my work for the World Health Organisation, Sustainable Soils Alliance, and UK regional councils.

Cross-Sector Collaboration

I support collaboration across teams, departments and sectors - building alignment, bridging knowledge gaps, and identifying shared goals. I help organisations navigate complexity, build trust, sustain momentum, and increase effectiveness.

Ask me about my work for the Sustainable Innovation Conference, World Health Organisation, and London borough councils.

Combining 15+ years’ experience in creative thinking and innovation with an MSc Sustainable Development in Practice, I specialise in building the skills, strategies and communication needed for effective social and behavioural change.

I work with leaders, educators and organisations to turn their research into evidence-based strategies, using creative thinking, behavioural insights, and values-led communication. I'm proud to be trusted by global institutions, industry advisors, local authorities and communities to develop communication that brings people together and moves projects forward.

© Carra Santos 2025.

Case Study

The Interior Design School

Rethinking Interior Design Education in an Era of Change

Curriculum Review, Research and RecommendationsIn the face of urgent global challenges - climate change, biodiversity loss, resource scarcity - and subsequent student expectations, The Interior Design School (IDS), a leading London-based private interior design school, moved to update its curriculum.Analysis revealed - to date - a limited integration of sustainability in private interior design education, and an overly technical emphasis on sustainability from design leadership as a whole. This created space for interior design - which is uniquely focused on human experience - to lead with a more emotionally resonant approach.The strategic opportunity for IDS focused on shaping its brand by combining its notable heritage (dubbed 'Legacy Makers') with a forward-facing aspect (dubbed 'Future Shapers'), embedding a holistic view of sustainability - environmental, social, economic - into its educational offering. It framed sustainability not only as an environmental imperative but as a way to:

  • Support industry, by restoring skills and offering accessible education

  • Build resilient communities, through design that fosters connection

  • Foster an inclusive economy, via diverse course formats and lifelong learning

In addition, place-based insights from Westminster highlighted social divisions, youth marginalisation, and transience. The strategy proposed IDS could build social value by collaborating with local makers and partnering with social enterprises.Recommendations included integrating regenerative design, circular economy principles, wellbeing, inclusive design, stakeholder engagement, and futures thinking into the curriculum. The strategy also explored surprising additions like storytelling, emotion coaching, and resourcefulness - to build creative resilience.This would result in a leading, mission-driven identity for IDS, better aligned with future design needs and global change - empowering graduates to shape more sustainable, inclusive environments from enterprises fit for changing conditions.

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Case Study

Design, differently

Uniting Communities and Local Councils to 'Design for Planet'

Co-facilitation and Coaching for Community-Led Climate ActionThe 'Design, differently' programme, run by the Design Council, supported six cross-sector projects tackling the climate crisis through local, collaborative design. Led by community organisations, councils, and foundations, these projects sought to design regenerative responses to environmental and social challenges- but faced uncertainty, complexity, and the need to build strong community–council collaboration.To strengthen their project premise, refine their focus, and gather momentum, participants required tailored support to apply design thinking methids to their specific projects.Over six months, my colleague Darren Evans and I facilitated workshops, expert site visits and one-to-one coaching calls at key points across the programme.The coaching calls created a safe, supportive space for participants to:

  • Explore challenges in a confidential setting

  • Ask targeted questions about their project journey

  • Receive personalised feedback and guidance

  • Revisit and refine ideas with clarity

  • Reflect on and test assumptions

  • Spot unforeseen opportunities and understand barriers

  • Strengthen relationships between councils and communities

  • Grow confidence to initiate place-based climate solutions

This approach helped participants better apply the tools, mindsets and insights introduced in workshops and visits, and supported progress through the 'Discovery' phase of the design thinking process - from research to first prototype.This tailored support using replicable methods enabled each team to connect local insights and input with wider systems thinking, contributing to the programme’s broader goal: building a movement of collaborative, inclusive, and democratic 'design for planet'.

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Case Study

Make Space for Soil

Placing Soil at the Centre of City Life

Campaign Concept for the Sustainable Soils AllianceThis campaign concept was developed to demonstrate how the Sustainable Soils Alliance, a not-for-profit organisation, could design a communications strategy that reconnects urban populations with soil - an essential but often overlooked natural resource.In the UK, where over 91% of people live in urban areas, soil is frequently buried beneath concrete and seen as 'dirt'. The campaign addressed the question: How can we engage public interest in the hidden realm of soil?The year-long initiative, 'Make Space for Soil,' used a dual-audience approach:

  • For city-dwellers, the campaign 'Corner of the Earth' invited people of all nationalities to reclaim personal spaces for soil in the city - connecting emotionally with themes of wellbeing, nature, and belonging. A central website, downloadable project packs, and a social media campaign supported community participation.

  • For builders and developers, the strategy offered soil-positive design guides and messaging framed around sustainability, innovation, and business opportunity - encouraging soil integration in future-focused urban developments.

The campaign emphasized contextual, place-based messaging, adapting tone and tools to suit local cultural and environmental settings. A Theory of Change/Logic Model guided evaluation, linking activities to tangible outputs and systemic outcomes.Ultimately, the strategy aimed to bridge grassroots engagement with systems-level influence, equipping communities and professionals to integrate soil into everyday urban life and policymaking.

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Case Study

The World We Will Create

Inspiring Essex Youth to Co-Create a Climate-Positive Future by 2033

Coaching, Workshop Design/Facilitation & ReportAs part of the 'Design, differently' programme, Essex County Council and the Essex Climate Action Commission sought to establish a Student-led Climate Ambassador Network. But with young people experiencing varying levels of climate awareness, motivation, and anxiety - exacerbated by a cost-of-living crisis - the team needed a unifying, hopeful story to engage students across the county. Traditional, science-led climate messaging was falling short.Together with my colleague Darren Evans, I developed and facilitated The World We Will Create - a storytelling-led co-creation workshop to help young people envision a climate-positive Essex in 2033. Grounded in futures, systems, and design thinking, the session asked 15-18-year-olds, their teachers and the council members to imagine how they would live, learn, and work in a thriving future. Inspired by tools from Doughnut Economics, students illustrated their visions as 'Doughnut Dreams', later assembled into a collective 'Dream Spiral'.This imaginative storytelling process surfaced ten hopeful themes - from Circular Communities and Clean Energy to Caring Communities and The New Role Models. These themes reflected students’ diverse values, identities, and lived experience, and revealed unexpected but powerful pathways to climate action.The workshop reframed climate action as identity-led and value-based, offering Essex County Council a strategic narrative and engagement framework to explore with its emerging youth ambassadors. Additionally, its replicable format provided tools to support wider participation across the school network and county.

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Case Study

WHO Tobacco Cessation Consortium

Strengthening Cross-Sector Collaboration.

Recommendations for Strategic CommunicationThis strategy supported the World Health Organization (WHO) in developing a strategic communication approach for its Tobacco Cessation Consortium, addressing the critical gap in global access to tobacco cessation services - especially in low- and middle-income countries.Laying the groundwork for a unified effort to expand access to cessation support required increasing coordination between public, private, and civil society actors.The communication strategy to do so focused on three pillars:

  • Defining the Consortium’s Mission Statement and First Mission via participatory workshops, aligning with WHO’s Global Programme of Work 14 (GPW 14) and offering a compelling, unified message.

  • Strengthening collaborative potential by articulating the value of cross-sector partnership and the opportunity derived from contributing to shared impact.

  • Informing stakeholder engagement, using sector mapping to tailor communication and attract diverse partners, while ensuring integration within WHO’s broader strategic framework.

Recommended outputs included a mission statement, a strategic implementation roadmap, and a stakeholder engagement plan. A Theory of Change offered a structure for planning, evaluation, and long-term impact measurement.The importance of inclusive, participatory planning, mission-led messaging, and contextual sensitivity across sectors and countries was emphasised. Collaboration with WHO’s communication team ensured alignment with institutional goals and global visibility.

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Outside the Box:

How to Build Strong Foundations for Social Value and Wellbeing into Property Development Projects.

This feature explores the rising importance of social value within the construction industry, examining how developers can embed wellbeing, inclusion, and environmental care into the very foundations of their projects.

Written in response to the UK government’s evolving procurement priorities, it outlines actionable, human-centred strategies across people, product, and place - highlighting real-world innovation through an interview with Backhouse Housing.

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Smoke Gets in their Eyes

A Brief History of Tobacco Industry Interference in Global Public Health Efforts

Originally prepared for the WHO Department of Health Promotion: No Tobacco Unit, this brief distils over a century of tobacco industry interference in public health, tracing how tactics of denial, distraction, and disinformation have evolved across generations.

Through historical and behavioural analysis, it highlights how values-based framing - such as freedom, modernity, and harm reduction - has been used to normalise tobacco use and resist regulation. By mapping key events, actors, and strategies, the piece supports foresight in global tobacco control efforts, offering clarity and context to strengthen public health strategies against an ever-adapting industry.

Crafting Connections with Clothing:

Values, Influence and Relationships

This book chapter explores innovative ways that fashion brands and customers can collaborate to promote sustainable behaviours, moving beyond traditional brand/consumer roles.

As lead author, I applied Social Practice Theory to highlight how brands can empower customers with knowledge, skills, and a deeper sense of value, fostering a shift from passive consumption to active participation in the circular economy. Craft and social media are explored as methods to reconnect with materials and skills, create transparency, engage customers, and build long-term relationships grounded in sustainability values.•••Chapter 17, published in Accelerating Sustainability in Fashion, Clothing and Textiles (Routledge, 2023)

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