Early-stage research guidance for projects rooted in place.

Context • Connection • Coordination

Helping individuals and teams start place-based projects well by developing a clearer understanding of the challenge in context before moving into solutions.Together, we'll sense-check your starting point, then design a research plan to explore the challenge, the people involved and affected, the wider systems that shape local experience, and the questions this reveals.

Who I work with

I work with people and organisations shaping the future of places, including architects, designers, business leaders, local councils and community groups.

This takes place both independently and with organisations such as the Design Council, World Health Organization, Doughnut Economics, Centre for Sustainable Design and the University of Bath.Examples include:

Social enterprises, community groups and local authorities responding to climate-related challenges, developing clearer framing of the challenge and more aligned foundations for decision-making and communication.

Regenerative enterprise designers and business leaders improving how local economic innovation can support ecological systems and community wellbeing, informing future business development and partnerships.

Architects, designers and placemakers implementing circular economy thinking, social value, inclusive design and the reintegration of nature into the built environment, strengthening systems thinking in professional practice.

Public sector, private sector and communities building cross-sector relationships for collaboration on climate, health, enterprise innovation or economic development, through context-sensitive engagement approaches.

Approach

My work takes place at the beginning of a project, before a challenge is fully defined and any solutions have been proposed.

Drawing on systems thinking, design thinking and behavioural science, we explore what is already known, what is assumed, and what is not yet visible in the local context. We then translate this into a structured, practical research plan - helping you decide where to start, who to speak to, and what more to learn before committing to a direction.The aim is not to produce answers, but to avoid overwhelm, false starts and missteps by asking better questions.

Research

Underpinning my consultancy work is Civic Sketchbook - an ongoing creative research practice exploring the relationships between people, place and nature.

It provides a space to develop and test methods of observation, interpretation and sensemaking that connect everyday experience with academic theory and early-stage decision-making.Combined with five years of applied cross-sector research, ten years of independent design and innovation practice, and an MSc in Sustainable Development in Practice (Distinction), this creative practice helps translate lived experience of place into more context-sensitive research approaches for complex projects.

Work with me

I work with individuals, small teams and organisations at the beginning of place-based projects, or when initial direction needs to be revisited.

Engagements are usually shaped around one of the following formats:

1:1 or small team programmes
Tailored support to help you sense-check your starting point and develop a structured research plan for an emerging project or initiative.

Embedded/advisory support
Working alongside existing teams or cohorts to strengthen early-stage framing, often within organisations or wider sector programmes.

Short exploratory sessions
Focused sessions designed to clarify next steps where an obstacle or question has emerged partway through a project.

All work is focused on strengthening the foundations of a project - either while there is still scope to shape how a challenge is understood, or when it becomes clear that deeper understanding is needed before continuing.

Contact

This work focuses on the quality of the starting point that makes meaningful outcomes possible.

If you are at the beginning of a place-based project and want to better understand the challenge before moving into design or delivery, I would be delighted to hear from you.You can email me, connect via LinkedIn, or use the form below: