Strengthening understanding across complex stakeholder and systems environments.
I work across public health, climate action, economic transition and place-based innovation.
My practice focuses on how organisations, institutions and communities navigate complex challenges where outcomes depend on co-ordination across stakeholders, sectors and different levels of decision-making.I help senior leaders and teams understand how different stakeholders experience and interpret the same issue in different ways, and how this shapes engagement, strategy and implementation in practice.My experience includes work with organisations such as the World Health Organization, Design Council, universities, local authorities and community organisations, supporting the translation of research, policy and strategy into more grounded, context-sensitive approaches to action.Areas of focus:
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
Cross-sector collaboration and systems change
About
I am a systems translator and practitioner with 10+ years’ experience working across government, academia, industry and community contexts in the UK and Europe.
I work in applied research and capability building for place-based systems change and cross-sector collaboration, supporting organisations to understand system dynamics, connect diverse stakeholder perspectives, and strengthen their ability to work effectively within complex environments.This work focuses on how different groups experience and respond to the same issue in different ways, shaped by values, constraints, incentives and local context. Rather than focusing on communication of an issue or proposed solution, it surfaces the underlying differences in meaning, interpretation and lived experience that influence engagement, strategy and implementation.My approach has been refined through more than a decade of independent innovation and design practice, where I applied design as an intervention within behavioural and organisational systems. The complexity of this work led to an MSc in Sustainable Development in Practice (Distinction), which formalised and extended my interdisciplinary practice.Since then, I have worked across public health, climate action, economic transition and place-based innovation, including projects with the World Health Organization, Design Council, universities, local authorities and community organisations. This work has focused on connecting institutional and policy objectives with lived experience in practical, applied settings.I bring a combination of strategic thinking, stakeholder insight and collaborative problem-solving to initiatives where outcomes depend on alignment across sectors, institutions and scales.
"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
Examples of systems-level work across public health, climate action and place-based innovation, focused on strengthening alignment across institutions and stakeholders in complex implementation contexts.
Highlights
Developed approaches for translating global public health evidence into national and regional insight through contribution to the 10th WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, increasing coherence between research, communication and implementation across 194 Member States.
Designed a place-based systems framework (‘Bridge to Belonging’) adopted by the London Borough of Hounslow, enabling cross-departmental decision-making on health, climate and social equity priorities.
Designed and facilitated 30+ cross-sector learning and engagement programmes building capability for systems thinking in practice across public, academic, industry and civil society contexts.
Led city-wide multi-stakeholder engagement initiatives supporting economic development, climate action and systems innovation, strengthening connections between policy, institutions and lived experience.
Built and led an independent innovation and design practice for 12 years, delivering internationally recognised work and major commercial commissions applying design as an intervention for behavioural and organisational change.
Global / National / Place-based
World Health Organisation (WHO), Geneva
External Consultant, Department of Health Promotion
Specialist consultant for the WHO Tobacco-Free Initiative, supporting the translation of global policy into practical, context-sensitive tools for country-level implementation.Key examples:
Applied behavioural analysis across data from 37+ countries to identify culturally adaptable narrative directions for tobacco cessation, strengthening integration of local insight into national guidance.
Conducted qualitative research for the WHO Tobacco Cessation Consortium (60+ organisations), integrating stakeholder and lived-context perspectives to assess real-world uptake of WHO interventions and inform partnership development.
Contributed to cross-institutional collaboration with University of Bath specialists and WHO experts for publication in the 10th WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic.
Design Council, UK
Specialist Expert, Place-Based Capability Building for Systems Change
Programme coach and mentor working with the UK Government’s official advisor on design, supporting systems capability across 6 regional programmes through coaching, reflective practice and structured decision support.Key examples:
Essex County Council: co-developing a youth-informed Net Zero vision using design, futures and systems thinking approaches, informing the establishment of a Youth Climate Ambassador Network.
Bristol Rainforest: supporting development of a community-led urban food-growing initiative through participatory design, funding strategy input and alignment with wider city systems and priorities.
The Village: supporting development of a scalable urban co-working and community hub enterprise model focused on circular climate adapation skills (repair, grow, make), within constrained funding and investment contexts.
Contributed to internal learning and practice development through coaching frameworks, reflective practice and programme learning cycles, producing outputs informing organisational development and place-based systems capability.
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), researching the conditions for effective multi-stakeholder collaboration on BANES Council’s emerging Doughnut Economics-based economic strategy.Key examples:
Designed and facilitated multi-format engagement across workshops, public events and participatory sessions to test efficacy and appeal across diverse stakeholder groups and learning needs.
Convened actors across local government, academia, business and civil society to surface system dynamics including competing priorities, constraints and enabling conditions shaping collaboration in context.
Synthesised findings into strategic insight to inform engagement design, policy development and organisational learning for place-based economic strategy, translating place-based learning into future decision-making.
Publications
Contributor, 10th WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic (10th WHO GTCR), WHO, 2025
Lead Author, “Crafting connections with clothing: values, influence and relationships”, in Accelerating Sustainability in Fashion, Clothing and Textiles, Routledge, 2023
Author, All Sewn Up: Dismantling Fast Fashion Consumption as a Social Practice, UCA Centre for Sustainable Design, 2021
"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, Design Council Expert & Founder, Engine Room Design