I design creative research approaches to help people understand a challenge more fully before moving to ideas and implementation.

This means getting below the surface of a challenge, engaging with different perspectives, and exploring the people, relationships and systems involved.My practice spans public health, climate action, enterprise innovation and place, working with organisations including the World Health Organization, Design Council and University of Bath. Through this work, I help individuals and teams question their starting points, build connections and develop stronger propositions.

One-to-one thinking space

Dedicated thinking space and a fresh perspective to explore a live work challenge, examine what’s emerging, and uncover perspectives and ways forward you might not yet have considered.Book a 30-minute call to say hello and see if I can help →

Project & programme support

Contributing to research projects and designing creative learning experiences that help teams investigate challenges, engage with perspectives beyond their own and develop a broader understanding of the issues they're addressing.See example projects and programmes →

If you have a project in mind or a work challenge you'd like to think through, I'd love to hear from you.

Project & programme support

Contributing to research projects and designing creative learning experiences that help teams investigate challenges, engage with perspectives beyond their own and develop a broader understanding of the issues they're addressing.

Researching & reframing challenges

Helping people look beyond their initial assumptions and understand a situation more fully.

Developing understanding through shared learning

Designing experiences that help people engage with unfamiliar ideas, explore different perspectives and make connections.

Making ideas tangible through creative environments

Using spatial design, objects and shared activity to help people encounter ideas and possibilities.

If you're developing a research project, learning experience or initiative that would benefit from a creative, research-led approach, I'd love to hear from you.

Independent projects

Independent research, writing and framework development exploring how we understand people and places, engage with different perspectives, and connect social, environmental and economic priorities.

When I'm not on a call or commission, this is what I'm working on. If you'd like to hear more about any of these projects or the ideas behind them, I'd love to hear from you.

About

I bring together design, research and creative learning to help people explore complex questions, connect different perspectives and develop a deeper understanding of people, places and systems.

I began my career in design, developing future concepts and immersive environments shaped by an interest in the natural world, community and alternatives to trend-driven consumption. Growing up in rural Northern Ireland shaped my understanding of our relationship with nature and material culture from an early age.As my design practice grew, I sought to keep people and nature at the heart of projects, even as design became increasingly shaped by technology. Working largely intuitively, I wanted to develop a stronger evidence base for the ideas underpinning my work, and the research skills to advocate for them more confidently. This led me to complete an MSc in Sustainable Development in Practice at the University of the West of England, graduating with distinction in 2021.Today, my practice brings together analytical enquiry and creative exploration. My experience spans participatory research, learning programme design, immersive environments and workshops that bring systems thinking and social science into practical, design-led exploration. I've worked with organisations including the World Health Organization, Design Council and University of Bath, as well as local authorities, design practices and community-led initiatives.The common thread in my work is helping individuals and teams understand a situation more fully before moving to ideas and implementation. This means investigating challenges, bringing overlooked perspectives into the conversation and identifying connections across different ideas, sectors and disciplines.Alongside commissioned work, I explore how cities can offer an accessible and exciting way to investigate interconnected systems. Looking at how different sectors, disciplines and everyday experiences meet in particular places can make wider social and environmental questions tangible. This interest informs my independent research, framework and resource development.

Talks & Publications

  • Research contributor, 10th WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, World Health Organization, 2025.

  • “A Different Way”, online talk, RSA South West Coffeehouse, 2024.

  • “Design, differently with Communities”, futures-thinking vision script and presentation, Design Council / Design for Planet, 2023.

  • “Collaborative Bath”, public talk, Extraordinary Earth Day, Bath Abbey, 2023.

  • “Doughnut Economics: Can Bath Thrive like Amsterdam?”, public lecture, Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution, 2023.

  • Lead author and book launch presenter, “Crafting Connections with Clothing: Values, Influence and Relationships”, in Accelerating Sustainability in Fashion, Clothing and Textiles, Routledge, 2023.

  • MSc dissertation (Distinction), Communicating Degrowth, University of the West of England, 2021.

  • Researcher, author and presenter, “All Sewn Up: Dismantling Fast Fashion Consumption as a Social Practice”, Sustainable Innovation Conference, 2021.

Qualifications

  • MSc Sustainable Development in Practice, Distinction - University of the West of England

  • BA(Hons) Fashion Promotion & Illustration, 2:1 - Surrey Institute of Art & Design (now University for the Creative Arts)

  • Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) - Queens University Belfast

Testimonials

Reflections on working together

"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"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 and Design Council Expert"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"A huge boost to the quality of design thinking at the show. Carra's approach to every project is in-depth, practical and passionate; working with her is always a very pleasurable experience and her ability to make things happen both creatively and practically is invaluable."
— William Knight, Director, Material Matters and Renew Consultancy; former Show Director, 100% Design

Feedback from workshops and learning sessions

  • "The workshop exceeded my expectations and broadened my thinking on this subject."

  • "The facilitated discussion while completing the workbook activities really brought the theory into my everyday inside and outside of work. This highlighted the areas that I could focus my sustainability leadership in, and strengthened awareness of how to engage with others not on the same page as me."

  • "Great session overall - learnt more about myself and left feeling energised and empowered to take action."

  • "The report Carra compiled was very fair and honest, it has helped us to focus our goals moving forward."

Contact

I work across research, design and creative learning, connecting ideas, evidence and lived experience to help people explore complex questions and develop stronger propositions.

I welcome enquiries about:

Teaching & education

Contributing to university teaching and professional education through interdisciplinary perspectives, participatory methods and creative learning. Drawing on academic and applied research, design practice and social science, I help learners engage with unfamiliar ideas, question assumptions and explore real-world challenges.

Research design & enquiry

Designing contextual and participatory research approaches to help teams investigate challenges, explore different perspectives and develop a deeper understanding of the situations they're working within. This can include research planning, project reviews, fieldwork, analysis and support in taking findings forward.

Creative learning & resource development

Designing learning experiences, workshops, teaching materials, field guides and creative exercises that bring people into contact with unfamiliar ideas and perspectives, using practical activities and shared experiences to make complex subjects accessible and encourage new ways of thinking.

Research, writing & publications

Research and writing commissions exploring people, places, systems and social and environmental change. Connecting wider ideas and evidence with lived experience and everyday practice through articles, reports and other publications.

I'm UK-based and work internationally. For enquiries about teaching, research, learning design or writing projects, please get in touch via email, LinkedIn, or the contact form below.

Doughnut Economics

University of Bath / Bath & North East Somerset Council
Learning design, interdisciplinary engagement & participatory research

Building shared understanding across different perspectives

Doughnut Economics offers a framework for considering how people can meet their needs within the limits of the living planet. Applying its principles at city level requires people from different sectors and backgrounds to explore what they mean in a local context.

While supporting events across the UK, I noticed that enthusiasm for the framework did not always translate into productive collaboration. Participants were grappling with unfamiliar ideas while also navigating differences in opinion, interests and priorities with people they had only just met. As a result, attempts to apply the framework could become divisive rather than cohesive.I identified a challenge beyond introducing a new economic model and its accompanying materials: how could people develop a shared understanding of the framework while also building relationships and becoming more familiar with one another's perspectives?

Approach

Creating different ways into the framework

Supporting the 'Living Well Now and in 2050' pregramme at the University of Bath, I designed and facilitated a programme of learning and engagement combining preparatory learning, interdisciplinary dialogue, public events and place-based exploration.

The programme included a nine-week online read-along, 24 interactive workshops, two public lectures, an online knowledge-sharing group, an urban photo walk and a crowdsourced repository of inspiring interventions.

Each activity offered a different way to encounter the framework, exchange perspectives and connect its principles with local circumstances. The combination of sustained learning, informal discussion and public engagement gave participants opportunities to build familiarity over time, rather than relying on a single introduction or workshop.

Connecting ideas with place and everyday experience

I designed activities that brought the framework into conversation with people's own interests, professional experience and local surroundings.

The urban photo walk, for example, invited participants to “explore our common ground on our common ground”. Walking together offered a gentle way to meet others while bringing architecture, placemaking and design into the economic discussion.

The workshops also explored connections between social, environmental and economic priorities, creating opportunities to examine issues that are often considered separately.

Alongside the programme, I supported Bath & North East Somerset Council's preparation for the public launch of its regional Economic Development Strategy, contributing participatory research, analysis and post-event reporting.

What emerged

  • Opportunities to connect across perspectives: The programme created spaces for participants to develop relationships and explore how their different interests and experiences related both to the framework and each other.

  • A more connected understanding of local priorities: Discussions brought issues such as affordability, inequality, housing, transport and environmental sustainability into conversation, highlighting relationships that could be overlooked when these concerns were treated separately.

  • An indication of changing perspectives: When groups were asked to choose whether a social or environmental lens should guide their approach to local challenges, every group selected 'social'. This contrasted with more divisive positions expressed earlier in the programme, suggesting a move towards more systemic and collaborative thinking.

  • Resources for continued exploration: The crowdsourced repository brought together examples of interventions connecting social, environmental and economic principles. The online group also provided a space for exchanging ideas beyond individual events.

  • Support for regional strategy development: My participatory research, analysis and reporting contributed to Bath & North East Somerset Council's preparation for the launch of its regional Economic Development Strategy.

Why it matters

The programme highlighted the value of informal, preparatory spaces where people can develop their understanding of both an unfamiliar topic and one another before engaging in more complex discussions.It reinforced a principle that runs through my practice: before deciding how to act, people need opportunities to understand context, encounter different perspectives and develop relationships. These conditions don't eliminate disagreement, but they can help people engage with it more constructively and recognise connections that might otherwise be missed.My contribution brought together learning design, creative facilitation and participatory research, creating a programme that connected an unfamiliar economic framework with the people, places and priorities it was intended to serve.

Further conversation

If you'd like to discuss this project in more depth or explore ideas together, please get in touch.

Design, differently

Design Council programme
Specialist Expert, coaching, research & programme learning

Helping teams investigate challenges before deciding how to proceed

Design Council's Design, differently programme supported six UK place-based climate action initiatives, spanning youth-led climate communication, urban regeneration, community growing and resource sharing.

Across six months of coaching, workshops and site visits, I identified a recurring challenge: teams were keen to develop ideas and prototypes before fully exploring the problems they were addressing, the people affected and the assumptions shaping their approach. I saw an opportunity to help teams return to the discovery phase of design thinking, investigate their local contexts and build a stronger understanding of the challenges they wanted to address before developing their ideas further.

Approach

Supporting research and discovery

I coached teams through the design thinking process, helping them develop and implement research plans tailored to their initiatives and local circumstances. My work included 13 coaching sessions, 10 workshops and nine site visits across the six projects.

The support varied according to each team's needs. This included facilitating futures-thinking and values-based dialogue between young people and local councillors; supporting a grassroots urban regeneration group to refine its strategy and communicate its potential to impact investors; and helping a volunteer-led urban growing initiative explore a transition from grant funding towards a self-sustaining social enterprise aligned with local policy.

Connecting project learning with programme development

Alongside this project-level support, I synthesised learning across the programme. I authored six midpoint reports and six final reports, capturing findings from each initiative and sharing insights with individual teams and programme colleagues.

I also wrote and presented a futures-thinking script for Design, differently with Communities and co-facilitated a related workshop at Design Council's Design for Planet event, extending the programme's learning to a wider audience.

What emerged

  • Research informed teams' next steps: Teams revisited their initial assumptions and explored local contexts and circumstances before committing further to particular ideas or approaches.

  • New directions became possible: In some cases, research prompted teams to reconsider their original direction, revealing possibilities that had not been apparent at the outset.

  • Project-level learning informed the wider programme: Twelve reports captured findings from the six initiatives at midpoint and completion, making insights available to participating teams and programme colleagues.

  • Futures thinking reached wider audiences: The script and Design for Planet workshop extended this approach beyond the individual initiatives.

Why it matters

The programme demonstrated the value of making time for discovery before committing to solutions. By helping teams investigate their circumstances, question assumptions and identify what they still needed to understand, I supported them to make more informed decisions about their next steps and develop stronger, more contextually grounded approaches.My contribution combined hands-on coaching with programme-level research and synthesis, connecting the learning from individual initiatives with wider programme development.

Further conversation

If you'd like to discuss my work or explore ideas together, please get in touch.

Farm Kitchen

Media 10 / 100% Design, London Design Festival
Concept development, curation & creative direction

Making alternative visions of everyday life tangible

Visions of the future kitchen are often dominated by technology, with clinical interiors of white surfaces and stainless steel. Developed for an international design audience, Farm Kitchen explored a different direction: how could food production become an integrated part of domestic life, connecting growing, cooking, nature and social experience?

The concept

I developed the concept for a 272m² immersive design installation and pop-up restaurant, bringing together interior design, micro-agriculture, contemporary products and experimental approaches to growing food.Rather than presenting food-growing technology in isolation, I wanted to show how it could form part of a more integrated domestic environment, where growing, preparing and sharing food were connected activities.

Bringing it to life

My role extended across concept development, curation, team assembly, communications and delivery. I coordinated the installation with Media 10's operations team and took part in the physical build, bringing contributions from different fields together in a coherent spatial experience.Vertical planting, hydroponics and automated irrigation sat alongside reclaimed and natural materials, furniture, cooking and social space. I curated products and emerging innovations from contributors including Bulbo, the University of Bath, Greenworks and Modern Sprout, integrating their work into the wider interior.I structured the visitor journey around three stages: Cultivate, Convert, Enjoy. This sequence connected food production with preparation and consumption, allowing visitors to experience these activities as part of a connected system rather than as separate functions.

What it made possible

  • A different way of imagining the home: It brought food growing, cooking, technology and social life together, challenging the idea that a future kitchen had to be primarily about technological innovation.

  • An experience rather than an exhibit: Visitors could move through and experience the relationship between growing, preparing and sharing food, rather than simply look at an installation.

  • An integrated design environment: Designers, growers, technology specialists and product makers contributed different forms of expertise to a shared vision.

  • Recognition and visibility: The installation attracted international press attention, secured sponsorship from Gaggenau and Dornbracht, and was named by ICON as one of three highlights of 100% Design.

What it demonstrated

Farm Kitchen demonstrated how an immersive environment could make an alternative vision of everyday life tangible. Rather than presenting the future home as a collection of technological innovations, it brought together the relationships between food, nature, technology and social experience.The project reflects an enduring interest in using creative environments to help people encounter unfamiliar ideas, explore different possibilities and reconsider what everyday life might look like in a more sustainable future.

Further conversation

If you'd like to discuss this project in more depth or explore ideas together, please get in touch.

World Health Organization

Tobacco-Free Initiative
Specialist consultancy project, tobacco control & health communication

Bringing wider human motivations into public health communication

Graphic health warnings on cigarette packaging communicate the serious consequences of smoking. However, concerns that audiences were becoming desensitised to established warnings prompted WHO Tobacco-Free Initiative programme leaders to look for additional approaches.

I explored whether a broader understanding of human values could reveal which motivations were missing from existing warnings, and how public health communication might connect with things people actively value and aspire to, rather than relying predominantly on the threat of illness and death.

Approach

Analysing existing health warnings

I analysed 595 graphic health warnings from more than 37 countries, using the WHO Pictorial Health Warnings Database and Schwartz's Theory of Basic Human Values to examine the themes and motivations represented in their messaging.

The analysis found that warnings focused predominantly on health consequences, with different health impacts represented unevenly. Other potential motivations, including financial considerations and environmental concerns, were rarely or not represented in the warnings examined.

I also explored how tobacco marketing had historically drawn on human values and aspirations such as freedom, confidence, rebellion and belonging. This provided a basis for considering how public health messages might connect positively with motivations people actively pursue.

Developing alternative narratives

Drawing on the analysis, I developed alternative, values-informed narratives and cigarette-pack mock-ups to demonstrate how different motivations could be brought into tobacco-control communication.

One example connected the cost of smoking with the aspiration of saving for a house deposit. In a questionnaire and follow-up conversation, a UK smoker who smoked 20 cigarettes a day reflected on this connection in a way he had not previously considered. Naturally, a single response cannot establish the effectiveness of an approach overall, but it was a useful illustration of how a message linked to personal goals might prompt reflection.

I presented the analysis and alternative narratives to WHO programme leaders, contributing to internal discussions that brought together communications, legal and practitioner perspectives.

What emerged

  • Research findings: A systematic analysis of 595 warnings, identifying the values and motivations represented and those receiving comparatively little attention.

  • A values-informed communication proposition: Alternative narratives and cigarette-pack mock-ups demonstrating how cessation messages might connect with a broader range of human motivations.

  • A contribution to WHO programme discussions: Presentation of the research and examples to programme leaders, bringing communications, legal and practitioner perspectives into the discussion.

  • Published research contribution: Key findings included in the 10th WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic (2025).

  • A transferable research approach: An application of Schwartz's Theory of Basic Human Values that could be shared with and taught to country practitioners, supporting further locally relevant research. The research related to WHO FCTC Articles 11 and 12, covering tobacco product packaging and labelling, and education, communication, training and public awareness.

Why it mattered

The project brought human values theory, design history and communication research into a specialist public health challenge, offering WHO programme leaders a different way to think about tobacco cessation communication. Rather than relying predominantly on the consequences of smoking, the research explored how messages might connect with the things people value and aspire to. It also demonstrated how an established framework for understanding human motivations could be applied to public health communication and adapted for further exploration in different national and cultural contexts.

Further conversation

If you'd like to discuss this project in more depth or explore ideas together, please get in touch.

Essex County Council / Design Council

Place-based climate action
Design thinking, systems thinking, coaching, facilitation & participatory research

Connecting young people's aspirations with climate action

As part of its regional net-zero strategy, Essex County Council and the Essex Climate Action Commission were developing a student-led Climate Ambassador Network to bring climate action into schools and wider communities.

Coaching the council team through the design thinking process revealed a complex landscape of stakeholders, including students, teachers, headteachers, parents and communities, with different levels of knowledge, interest and motivation around climate change. This was a context shaped by the cost-of-living crisis, concerns about climate anxiety, disconnected efforts and the responsibility placed on young people.The challenge was to develop an initiative that could be genuinely student-led and work across the region, without assuming that young people shared the same priorities as the Council or would respond to conventional climate messaging.I helped the team reframe the challenge and reconsider its starting point. Rather than beginning by communicating the climate actions the team believed young people should take, we explored how young people's values, interests and aspirations might connect to climate action.

Approach

Imagining a future worth working towards

Working with my Design Council colleague, I designed and co-facilitated The World We Will Create, a visioning workshop with young people aged 15–18 and their teachers.

Drawing on design thinking, futures thinking and systems thinking, we invited participants to imagine a climate-positive Essex in 2033. The intention was to look beyond today's conflicts and constraints and explore what a thriving future might look and feel like.

The session opened with a reading from The Future We Choose by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, followed by a short futures narrative to stimulate imagination. Participants then explored three interconnected themes - Our Living World, Our Cities & Communities, and Our Working Life - through creative exercises and group discussion.

Identifying themes and priorities

The workshop generated ideas spanning environmental, social and economic life, including growing and green spaces, technology and AI for good, circular communities, caring relationships, and future work and learning environments.

I synthesised the contributions into ten youth-led themes. A follow-up questionnaire invited participants to select their five priorities, giving the council a clearer basis for deciding which themes to explore further.

What emerged

  • Ten youth-led themes: The research captured a range of aspirations for Essex's future, extending beyond conventional climate messaging to include community, relationships, technology, work and wellbeing.

  • Five priorities for further exploration: Participants' questionnaire responses helped the council identify which themes to take forward first.

  • A basis for future engagement: The findings gave Essex County Council and the emerging Climate Ambassador Network material to explore how climate action could connect with young people's own interests and concerns.

  • A potentially transferable research approach: The workshop offered a practical format that could be adapted by teachers and students to gather further insights through school and community networks, extending the potential reach of the research beyond the initial group.

Why it mattered

The project showed how participatory research can help organisations reconsider how they approach a challenge. By exploring the futures young people wanted to create before focusing on prescribed climate actions, the work gave the council a different starting point for engagement.It brought a wider range of aspirations into view and created opportunities to consider how climate action might connect with young people's social, environmental and economic priorities.My contribution combined design thinking coaching with systems and futures thinking, the design and co-facilitation of a participatory research activity, and the synthesis of findings into themes and priorities for further exploration.

Further conversation

If you'd like to discuss this project in more depth or explore ideas together, please get in touch.

Lumsden Design

Design practice & sustainability
Sustainable development, creative learning, design research

Connecting wider sustainability principles with design practice

Lumsden Design is an international museum, heritage and destination retail design practice working in contexts steeped in local identity, cultural meaning and social value.

As expectations around sustainability evolved, the practice wanted to understand how it connected with its creative work. However, the team's understanding had largely been shaped by a narrow environmental lens, particularly the use or non-use of materials, which reduced the frame to operations.I saw an opportunity to broaden the conversation: how could the team explore a more rounded understanding of sustainability, recognise connections with its existing strengths and identify possibilities for future design work?

Approach

Expanding the team's understanding

I designed and facilitated Declutter the Landscape, an interactive workshop combining an introduction to sustainable development with a collaborative exercise grounded in the team's own understanding and experience.

Drawing on the UN definition of sustainable development, I developed a presentation to establish a shared foundation. Before the session, I invited team members to submit words they associated with sustainability. I transformed their responses into a word cloud and a set of printed word cards, using the team's own language as the starting point for exploration.

Working collaboratively, participants grouped related concepts, examined connections and considered what was represented, what was missing and what might warrant further attention. This made the team's collective understanding visible and created an opportunity to question existing assumptions.

Connecting wider principles to design practice

To make these principles tangible, I introduced examples such as Totomoxtle, a material developed by designer Fernando Laposse using discarded maize husks. The example illustrated how a product for luxury interiors could connect several dimensions of sustainability: making use of an overlooked material, drawing on traditional knowledge, supporting local livelihoods and creating economic opportunities.

It brought the wider concept into the context of Lumsden's work, showing how material choices could be considered alongside the social relationships, cultural knowledge and economic conditions involved in their production.

Following the workshop, I synthesised the discussion into a written summary and recommendations organised around three areas: further learning, reviewing existing projects, and researching materials, local suppliers, social enterprises and circular approaches relevant to the practice.

What emerged

  • A broader framework for discussion: The workshop introduced social and economic dimensions of sustainable development alongside environmental considerations, giving the team a basis for exploring sustainability in relation to its own practice.

  • A visible picture of existing knowledge: The collaborative sorting exercise helped surface shared ideas, connections and areas for further exploration.

  • Practical recommendations: The written summary translated the workshop into potential next steps across learning, project review and further research.

Why it mattered

The project demonstrated how creative learning can make a complex subject relevant to the everyday decisions and creative possibilities of a particular design practice. By starting with the team's own knowledge and experience, I created a way to introduce wider principles, explore their relevance and identify connections that might otherwise have remained overlooked.The studio's co-founder, Simon Clark, reflected on the value of the work: “I wish we'd done it sooner. It blew away some myths and helped me realise there is so much more to sustainability than the use or non-use of materials.”My contribution brought together research, visual communication and creative facilitation, translating a broad sustainability agenda into an engaging learning experience and a practical basis for continued development.

Further conversation

If you'd like to discuss this project in more depth or explore ideas together, please get in touch.

London Borough of Hounslow / Design Council

Place-based climate action
Design thinking, systems thinking, place-based research & workshop facilitation

Reframing a challenge through a deeper understanding of place

Hounslow's Net Zero team wanted to enable climate-positive community in an area facing significant social and economic challenges.

An early proposal was to design and install a parklet: a small, sociable pocket of green space intended to bring people together. But would another physical intervention address the underlying conditions affecting residents' opportunities to participate in community life to begin with?I helped the team look beyond the initial proposal and consider a wider question: what was happening in the neighbourhood, what mattered to residents, and what might need to change before greater community participation – including climate action – could become possible?

Approach

Looking at the place before the intervention

I introduced a ward walk to explore the neighbourhood together. This gave the team an opportunity to observe its physical environment, local amenities and everyday conditions, and consider what these revealed about the possibilities for community participation.

We encountered valuable community assets, including well-used community centres, a library, a park and spaces for play. We also observed signs of inequality, concerns about safety, difficult road crossings and working patterns that could limit opportunities for residents to connect.

These observations raised questions about why some existing facilities and investments were not being used as intended, and what conditions needed to be in place for community participation to flourish.

Connecting local observations with wider priorities

I used my Bridge to Belonging framework to structure a cross-departmental workshop, helping council representatives consider neighbourhood needs from the ground up and explore connections between social, environmental and economic priorities.

The framework provided a way to organise observations, examine relationships between local priorities, and identify barriers, possibilities and questions for further investigation.

The process focused attention on Redwood Estate, where overlapping challenges around housing, financial security, access to facilities and opportunities for participation appeared particularly acute.

The council team then undertook further design research to understand residents' everyday experiences in greater depth. This identified concerns about safety and a lack of trust in the Council as significant barriers to using existing public spaces and facilities.

What emerged

  • A broader understanding of local conditions: The ward walk and workshop brought community assets, barriers to participation and connections between local priorities into focus.

  • A shift in the direction of research: Attention moved beyond the initial parklet proposal towards understanding residents' experiences and what might enable greater participation.

  • A new brief for further exploration: The council's subsequent research informed a brief focused on exploring a community hub and a more reassuring Council presence on Redwood Estate.

  • A basis for cross-departmental collaboration: The emerging approach identified the need to explore resources across council departments and external partners, and investigate practical local needs in greater depth.

Why it mattered

The project showed how contextual research and systems thinking can help teams reconsider an intervention in light of the wider conditions shaping people's lives. It highlighted the importance of understanding the social and economic circumstances that influence people's opportunities to participate in community life, including climate action.The council's subsequent research reinforced the importance of understanding residents' experiences before deciding what to introduce. My contribution combined place-based observation, framework development and cross-departmental facilitation, helping the team move from an initial physical intervention towards a more grounded direction for further research and the use of resources.

Further conversation

If you'd like to discuss this project in more depth or explore ideas together, please get in touch.

Civic Sketchbook

Independent Creative Research
Walking, Photography, Writing & Creative Ethnography
Ongoing project

Place-noticing through walking, writing and creative ethnography

Before deciding what a place needs, it's important to understand what's already there: the people, stories, routines and relationships that shape everyday life and how change happens.Civic Sketchbook is my creative research practice for exploring places through walking, photography, observation, reading and writing. By slowing down and paying attention to the details of everyday life, I explore the stories and relationships that reveal a richer understanding of a place and the possibilities it holds.Each exploration is an opportunity to develop my ability to notice more. Through photographs, reflections and stories, I invite others to see familiar places differently, question what they might otherwise overlook, and become more curious about the meanings we make and the worlds we shape.

Explore Civic Sketchbook

Discover photographs, reflections and stories exploring places through walking, observation and creative research.

Pre-Collaborative City

Independent Research & Writing
Field Guide, Research & Learning Resources
Ongoing project

Exploring the conditions for constructive collaboration

Bringing people together doesn't automatically lead to better outcomes. Differences in knowledge, assumptions, values and priorities can quickly shut down conversations, particularly when people have little opportunity to understand one another or the context they're working in.Pre-Collaborative City explores what needs to happen before people can work constructively across different perspectives. Drawing on research, design and learning, it examines how we can better understand context, question assumptions and develop the awareness needed to engage with viewpoints unlike our own.Through writing, I'm exploring connections between professional experience, research and ideas about what makes collaboration possible. I'm developing a practical field guide that brings together ideas, examples and exercises to help people approach shared challenges with greater understanding and establish a stronger basis for collaborative responses.

Explore Pre-Collaborative City

Follow the field guide as it develops, with new sections published as they're ready.

Bridge to Belonging

Independent Research & Framework Development
Interdisciplinary Research, Place-Based Analysis & Sustainable Urban Development

Connecting neighbourhood needs with wider ambitions

Bridge to Belonging is an interdisciplinary research framework I developed during my MSc in Sustainable Development in Practice at the University of the West of England. It brings together quantitative and qualitative evidence with wider sustainable development priorities to build a fuller picture of a neighbourhood's social, environmental and economic needs, and identify opportunities for more joined-up responses at a hyperlocal level.Developing the frameworkI first developed Bridge to Belonging through research into a brownfield site in Redcliffe, Bristol. The study established six guiding principles for sustainable development, arranged in priority order, and explored how evidence about a particular place could inform decisions by connecting local conditions with wider social, environmental and economic priorities.“An outstanding report, written and presented to an exceptionally high standard.”
— Professor Danielle Sinnett, Director, Centre for Sustainable Planning & Environments, University of the West of EnglandApplying the framework in practiceI later adapted the approach into a workshop and supporting resources for Design Council's work with the London Borough of Hounslow. The project brought local social and economic conditions into conversation with the team's net-zero ambitions, helping council representatives consider neighbourhood needs and identify connections between different priorities.The framework provided a shared structure for exploring these relationships. The council's subsequent research into residents' experiences informed a different direction for further exploration, focused on a community hub and a more reassuring Council presence on Redwood Estate. The team leader subsequently reported that the team continued to think about its work in these terms beyond the project.Why it mattersBridge to Belonging offers a way to connect wider ambitions for a just transition with the realities of the places they are intended to serve. It explores how place-specific evidence can help people recognise relationships between priorities that are often considered separately, and inform responses grounded in local circumstances.

Discuss this approach

If you'd like to discuss the framework, the Redcliffe case study, its application in Hounslow or potential future uses, please get in touch.

Communicating Degrowth

Independent Research & MSc Dissertation (Distinction)
Degrowth, Academic & Business Discourse, Human Values

Finding a starting point for conversations about degrowth

How might degrowth advocates have constructive conversations with UK business leaders when the word 'degrowth' itself meets resistance?To explore this question, I set aside the term and focused on its underlying principles, investigating three questions:

  • What business practices align with degrowth goals?

  • How are these practices represented in UK industry-facing publications?

  • What motivates UK business leaders to engage in them?

Research approachMy MSc dissertation combined a review of academic literature with qualitative language analysis. I first identified 25 business practices aligned with degrowth goals, then analysed 116 articles from the Financial Times and Wired. I selected these publications through a systematic process designed to identify influential industry-facing sources within the service-dominated UK economy.Using inductive grounded theory, iterative coding and Schwartz's Theory of Basic Human Values, I examined how degrowth-aligned practices were represented and what the language suggested about the values and motivations associated with them.What the research revealedAs the analysis developed, the focus shifted from sustainability discourse to the future of work.Degrowth-aligned business practices appeared more prominently in future-of-work discourse than in material explicitly framed around sustainability, where environmental and technological themes predominated. Within this discourse, meaningful work emerged as a promising starting point for further research into how business leaders might engage with degrowth principles.I developed an accompanying creative narrative, The Meaningful Work Workplace, to explore how this framing might connect concerns about innovation, human skills and job security with wider social and environmental goals.The analysis also raised a further question: if better-quality work and reduced working hours are part of a more sustainable economy, how might the time and opportunities they create support wider social and environmental benefits, rather than simply making more room for unsustainable consumption?The research identified meaningful work as a potential point of connection between degrowth principles and business leaders' existing concerns. It suggested that recognising shared motivations could provide a starting point for further research and engagement.

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