Systems change and coordination advisor for complex, place-based challenges.
I help public sector and mission-driven organisations improve coordination across sectors, organisations and communities in complex systems.
I work with leaders and teams to understand how different stakeholders experience the same situation, and how this shapes coordination, decision-making and action in practice.My focus is on closing the gaps between insight, decision-making, and delivery, so organisations can make better decisions, align effort more effectively, and focus resources where they will have the greatest impact. I work through place-based systems, where policies, services, organisations, and communities intersect, and where coordination challenges become visible through lived experience.Through facilitation, coaching, learning design, and strategic advisory, I help organisations:
improve coordination across fragmented systems and stakeholders
build shared understanding in complex, multi-actor environments
strengthen decision-making across boundaries
close gaps between insight, decision-making and delivery
translate insight from local contexts into organisational learning and action
Typical areas of work:
Public health and behaviour change
Climate action and environmental transition
Economic transition and the future of work
Food systems and livelihoods
Place-based innovation and urban development
About
My work focuses on how organisations enable coordination across departments, sectors and stakeholder groups in complex, place-based systems.
Coordination is what makes long-term collaboration possible. It relies on multiple actors first understanding the situation in compatible ways, and having the conditions in place for aligned action from the outset.To support this, I identify what enables or blocks coordinated efforts in practice. I help organisations identify assumptions and knowledge gaps early, understand system dynamics in context, close communication gaps, and improve how action is designed and sequenced across organisational boundaries.I’ve worked across government, academia, industry and community settings on challenges spanning public health, climate action, economic transition and place-based innovation. This has included work with the World Health Organization, Design Council, universities, local authorities and community-led initiatives. A significant strand of my work connects to place-based systems, where global and national priorities meet local realities, and where system complexity becomes visible through everyday experience and delivery.My work combines facilitation, systems-informed design, and learning practice to help organisations:
design coordination across complex systems more effectively
strengthen shared understanding before action is taken
improve decision-making in multi-stakeholder environments
translate insight from practice into organisational learning
My practice developed through more than a decade of independent innovation and design work, which led to an MSc in Sustainable Development in Practice (Distinction) in 2021. This formalised and extended my interdisciplinary approach.
"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
Selected engagements
Through strategic advisory and learning design across sectors and scales, I help organisations improve coordination by understanding how different stakeholders experience complex challenges, and closing gaps between insight, decision-making and delivery in real-world systems.
World Health Organisation (WHO), Geneva
External Consultant, WHO Tobacco-Free Initiative, Department of Health Promotion
This work focused on how evidence, policy and interventions are interpreted and implemented across diverse national, cultural and institutional contexts, strengthening the translation of global guidance into practical action.Example work includes:
Analysed graphic health warnings from 37+ countries to identify underutilised narrative approaches for tobacco cessation, generating new evidence and informing policy implementation across diverse cultural and national contexts in line with WHO FCTC Articles 11 & 12. Work was published in the 10th WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic.
Contributed lived-context and stakeholder perspectives to the WHO Tobacco Cessation Consortium, supporting cross-sector partnership strategy and coordination across 60+ organisations and strengthening alignment between institutional and community perspectives.
Developed a Tobacco Industry Interference Timeline mapping industry tactics across policy, marketing and public perception since 1912, strengthening anticipatory insight into recurring system behaviours and informing implementation of WHO FCTC Article 5.3. Published in the 10th WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, in collaboration with University of Bath and WHO specialists.
Design Council, UK
Specialist Expert & Place-Based Innovation Programme Facilitator
This work focused on strengthening the ability of organisations and communities to understand local system dynamics, engage diverse stakeholders and develop practical responses to climate and place-based challenges.Example work includes:
Supported Essex County Council to strengthen youth climate engagement strategy by addressing gaps between Net Zero communication and younger audiences. Participatory research and futures work surfaced underrepresented perspectives, informing a more inclusive engagement approach.
Worked with London Borough of Hounslow to explore how climate action is experienced in contexts of urban deprivation, strengthening cross-departmental alignment and repositioning climate action to combine locally relevant social, environmental and economic priorities.
Supported a place-based social enterprise focused on circular climate adaptation and mitigation skills, clarifying its operating model, strengthening investor engagement and supporting cross-sector positioning for scaling across UK cities.
University of Bath & Bath & North East Somerset Council
Independent Consultant, Economic Development Engagement Strategy
This work focused on how different stakeholders interpret economic transition, and understanding the pre-conditions required for effective collaboration in the first place.Example work includes:
Explored how stakeholder groups understood economic transition, testing engagement approaches that built trust and shared understanding despite competing incentives. This informed more context-sensitive approaches to long-term coordination in a complex system.
Delivered a public lecture introducing Doughnut Economics as a framework for place-based economic transition, translating systems thinking into accessible insight for a mixed audience.
Advised leadership on cross-sector engagement strategy, strengthening early alignment across public, private, third sector and community stakeholders. Synthesised insights into structured outputs informing engagement design and economic strategy.
How I Support Systems Change
Building systems capability across sectors
Designed and facilitated 30+ learning and engagement interventions building systems capability across public, academic, industry and civil society stakeholders, strengthening understanding of system incentives, constraints and collaboration conditions.
Designing frameworks for collaboration & decision-making
Developed, tested and delivered the Bridge to Belonging framework in Bristol, UK, adopted by London Borough of Hounslow, supporting cross-sector alignment and shared decision-making across health, climate and social equity priorities in areas of urban inequality.
Translating complexity through creativity & design
Founded and led an independent innovation and design practice for 12 years, delivering internationally recognised work and major commercial commissions, and applying design as a systems intervention for behavioural and organisational change.
Research & Publications
Contributor, 10th WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic (10th WHO GTCR), WHO, 2025
Supporting coherence between research, communication and implementation across 194 WHO Member States.Lead Author, “Crafting connections with clothing: values, influence and relationships”, in Accelerating Sustainability in Fashion, Clothing and Textiles, Routledge, 2023
Exploring how values, influence and social relationships shape clothing consumption practices, and identifying opportunities for more sustainable fashion systems through shifts in consumer behaviour, design and industry engagement.Author, All Sewn Up: Dismantling Fast Fashion Consumption as a Social Practice, UCA Centre for Sustainable Design, 2021
Exploring how creative and community-led interventions in fashion consumption can restore consumer agency and disrupt unsustainable industry dynamics.
"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
Contact me
I work with institutions, organisations and communities on live systems challenges where progress depends on understanding different perspectives, navigating competing priorities, and strengthening coordination across sectors and scales.
If you are exploring a systems-level challenge and would like to discuss a potential project, please feel free to contact me via email or LinkedIn. Alternatively, send me a message through the form and I'll get back to you shortly.
"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, Design Council Expert & Founder, Engine Room Design
"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, Director, Material Matters; formerly Show Director, 100% Design at London Design Festival
University of Bath / Bath & North East Somerset Council, UK
Independent Consultant, Regional Economic Development Strategy
Independent specialist leading a 2-year city-wide engagement and insight programme in Bath (~100,000 population), supporting the University of Bath’s Living Well Now and in 2050 programme in connection with Bath & North East Somerset Council’s emerging Doughnut Economics-based economic strategy.Example projects include:
Exploring pre-conditions for effective cross-city collaboration
Convened cross-city stakeholders using multi-format methods (workshops, online groups, public events and participatory activities) to explore how different approaches shaped engagement dynamics and supported (or hindered) trust-building, participation and shared understanding across stakeholder groups amid competing priorities and incentives. This helped inform context-led approaches to long-term place-based collaboration.
Translating Doughnut Economics for public audiences
Delivered a public lecture introducing Doughnut Economics as a framework for cross-sector collaboration and place-based economic transition, translating complex systems thinking into accessible insights for a mixed public audience (~80 in-person attendees plus livestream audience). Drew on Amsterdam’s adoption of the model and related initiatives to explore pathways for local application and cross-city dialogue on regenerative economic development.
Incorporating engagement insight into institutional strategy
Advised leadership on cross-sector inclusion to strengthen legitimacy and early-stage alignment across public, private, third sector and community actors ahead of a public launch event. Analysed and synthesised post-launch insights into structured outputs to inform Bath & North East Somerset Council’s engagement and economic strategy development, producing independent public and internal reports on findings and recommendations.
Design Council, UK
Specialist Expert, Place-Based Capability Building for Systems Change
Programme facilitator working with the UK Government’s official advisor on design, embedding systems capability across regional programmes through design research coaching, reflective practice and decision-making tools. Programme reflection, refinement and learning cycles supported ongoing systems learning and capability within the Design Council in turn.Example projects include:
Embedding youth values in council climate communication
Equipped Essex County Council leaders to examine the limited response to Net Zero communication from younger audiences. Participatory research and futures-thinking activities with secondary school students surfaced underrepresented youth values, motivations and priorities, strengthening the development of a Youth Climate Ambassador Programme and wider climate engagement strategy.
Aligning Net Zero strategy with urban equality
Worked with London Borough of Hounslow to address urban inequality through climate action in an area of extreme urban deprivation. Using design research and systems analysis, facilitated cross-departmental collaboration to reposition climate action as a more integrated programme spanning equity, care and social-environmental co-benefits, grounded in local context and implementation constraints.
Translating social enterprise for investment readiness
Supported place-based social enterprise development for an urban co-working and community hub hybrid focused on circular climate mitigation and adaptation skills (repair, grow, make, share), within constrained funding and investment contexts. Helped reposition the enterprise model to strengthen engagement with impact investors, build cross-sector credibility, and support pathways to scalability across UK cities.
Expanding tobacco cessation narratives for practical policy implementation
Analysed graphic health warnings from 37+ countries to identify underexplored narrative approaches for tobacco cessation, generating new research opportunities and supporting policy implementation across diverse cultural and national contexts in line with WHO FCTC Articles 11 & 12. The work was published in the 10th WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, in collaboration with WHO specialists.
Strengthening public-private-civil society partnerships for collaboration
Brought multi-stakeholder and lived-context perspectives into the development of the WHO Tobacco Cessation Consortium, a complex global collaboration of more than 60 public, private and civil society sector organisations. This supported alignment across diverse institutional priorities and ways of working, and helped ground decision-making in real-world implementation contexts.
Anticipating tobacco industry interference through collective foresight
Initiated a Tobacco Industry Interference Timeline mapping how tobacco industry tactics have evolved across policy, marketing and public perception since 1912, highlighting recurring industry behaviours that help anticipate future strategies in line with WHO FCTC Article 5.3. The work was published in the 10th WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, in collaboration with University of Bath and WHO specialists.
World Health Organisation (WHO), Geneva
External Consultant, WHO Tobacco-Free Initiative, Department of Health Promotion
Specialist consultant for the WHO Tobacco-Free Initiative, supporting the translation of global tobacco control policy into practical, context-sensitive tools for implementation within countries and across sectors.Example projects include: