When this is useful

I work with organisations developing learning programmes and with individuals and teams working on social and environmental challenges.

This might involve:

What we think through

Together, we practise seeing situations more clearly, understanding the perspectives in play and noticing what might otherwise be overlooked.

Drawing on systems thinking, design research, behavioural insight and strategic thinking, we ask:

These are just some of the questions people need to be able to ask when working on complex challenges in practice.

How we begin

Most engagements begin with a real situation - a project, decision, conversation or learning challenge that needs a wider perspective.

Together we explore the context, challenge assumptions, connect ideas across disciplines and widen the range of perspectives before deciding how to move forward.My role isn't to tell people what to think, it's to help people see more of the landscape before making important decisions.

• My background
• How I work

"When you can't see the angles no more, you in trouble, baby."
— Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way (1993)

I have worked at the intersection of sectors and disciplines for over fifteen years, repeatedly helping people understand and navigate complex challenges at the intersection of environment, society and the economy.

Across work with the World Health Organization, Design Council, universities, local authorities, mission-driven businesses and community initiatives, I have helped people connect research, practice and different perspectives before making important decisions. Before this, I spent over a decade founding and leading an innovation and design practice, creating products, spaces and public installations that explored how design can encourage more sustainable ways of living.Over time, I came to realise that complex challenges are rarely difficult because nobody has knowledge. They are difficult because everybody has knowledge - distributed across many different people, organisations, disciplines and lived experiences - and bringing those perspectives together is rarely straightforward.Most people remember Carlito's Way as a classic 90s crime drama. I remember it as a study in navigating complexity. Throughout the film, Carlito is constantly reading the landscape around him, noticing motivations, relationships, risks and possibilities before deciding how to move forward.When working through complex situations, we often need time to step back, question what we think we know, and look at the situation from angles we may not yet have considered.That is the space I aim to hold: helping people understand the landscape more clearly before deciding what to do next.

"Rigorously creative, in that she combines systems thinking and critical thinking with the spontaneity needed for new ideas. Not many people can do this."
— Darren Evans, Strategic Designer and Design Council Expert

Ongoing research and development

Alongside my teaching and advisory work, I develop learning experiences, frameworks and field guides that help people build the judgement, observation skills and ways of thinking needed to navigate complex place-based challenges.

Selected publications

Relevant qualifications

I hold an MSc (Distinction) in Sustainable Development in Practice from the University of the West of England and a BA (Hons) in Fashion Promotion & Illustration from the Surrey Institute of Art and Design (now University for the Creative Arts).

A thinking space for people working on complex challenges.

Drawing on systems thinking, design research, strategic thinking and fifteen years of cross-sector practice, I help people connect ideas, disciplines and perspectives that do not usually sit alongside one another.Often, the hardest questions are not simply about finding the right answer. They are about understanding the situation well enough to know:

My role is to create space to explore those questions before you decide what to do next.

Where this starts

Most engagements begin with something already happening:

We begin by exploring the context around the challenge, slowing down just enough to build next steps on a stronger understanding of the situation. I ask questions, introduce useful frameworks, recommend resources, and help you see aspects of the situation that may otherwise remain hidden.

Ways we can work together

For organisations developing learning programmes

I work with organisations designing leadership programmes, learning experiences, workshops and courses that want to prepare people for the real-world challenges they will face in practice.This may include:

For individuals and teams navigating complex challenges

"Office Hours"

A dedicated conversation around a specific challenge, decision or upcoming event.
Useful when you need time and perspective before moving forward.

Thinking partner

An ongoing space to explore complex decisions, projects or periods of change.
A place to test ideas, challenge assumptions and think through possibilities with someone outside your immediate context.

Strategic project support

Working alongside a team during a particular piece of work, helping make sense of complexity, connect perspectives and identify what needs attention before important decisions are made.
This might include research, facilitation, sense-making, learning design or finding ways to bring different viewpoints together.

"She approaches complex challenges with care and intellectual rigor, always seeking to understand the deeper dynamics at play."
— Dr Hebe Gouda, World Health Organization

Whichever the format, the purpose is the same: to help people better understand the landscape before deciding how to move through it.

Pre-
Collaborative
City

The work we need to do before we bring everyone into the room.

Place-based collaborations often begin by bringing people together, only to find that people arrive with different understandings of the situation they are trying to change.When those differences remain unexplored, conversations can become debates about positions rather than opportunities to build shared understanding.

What if the most important work happens before collaboration begins?

Pre-Collaborative City is for people designing, leading and supporting collaborative responses to complex place-based social and environmental challenges.

It is a growing collection of field guides and learning resources exploring what happens when different perspectives need to come together.

This project brings together fifteen years of observation, research and practice across design, sustainability, innovation, learning and systems change - exploring what helps people build shared understanding.

From developing shared language and definitions to finding better entry points into conversations, the field guides explore what needs to be understood before people can move forward together: the local context, different perspectives and what matters to people.The aim is to create the conditions for people to collaborate in ways that respond to the realities of a particular place.Whether you work in local government, urban development, public health, climate action, design, research or community development, these resources are designed to help you slow down, make sense of complexity and move forward with greater confidence.

Follow the project

I'm gradually assembling a collection of field guides and learning resources exploring what needs to happen before collaboration begins.

Join the mailing list to hear when new resources are released, or email me if you'd like to explore the ideas together.