Strengthening collaboration across complex stakeholder environments.
I am a strategic advisor specialising in cross-sector collaboration, stakeholder engagement and early-stage strategic insight.
I work with senior leaders and teams to understand how different stakeholders experience, interpret and respond to the same issue in different ways - and how this affects partnerships, engagement, implementation and long-term outcomes.My work helps organisations strengthen collaboration, identify potential misalignment early, and build more grounded foundations for strategy, communication and delivery.This is particularly valuable where public trust, research impact, policy implementation or cross-sector partnerships are central to success, including in:
Public health and behaviour change
Climate action and environmental transition
Food systems and livelihoods
Economic transition and the future of work
Place-based innovation and urban development
Complex cross-sector and public interest initiatives
Approach
Initiatives can often move quickly from an emerging idea into strategy, engagement or delivery before fully understanding how different stakeholders are likely to experience or interpret the issue in practice.
My work focuses on this earlier stage: helping organisations develop a clearer understanding of the perspectives, constraints, priorities and institutional contexts shaping collaboration, engagement and implementation.Working with senior leaders and teams, I help identify where assumptions, language, organisational priorities or gaps in understanding may affect partnerships, stakeholder relationships or delivery later on.
This involves exploring:
how different stakeholders understand the issue
what operational, political or everyday life experiences shape their responses
where sectors or groups may be working from different language or assumptions
how local realities interact with wider institutional or policy goals
what forms of engagement are most likely to feel credible, relevant and workable in practice
where stronger alignment or partnership coordination may be needed
My approach draws on systems thinking, behavioural insight, participatory research and place-based analysis where appropriate, while remaining grounded in practical implementation contexts.
Where this work sits
This work strengthens the foundations for strategy, partnership development, engagement and implementation before assumptions become embedded within delivery approaches.
An emphasis on early understanding:
Issue or Opportunity Identified
Early Strategic Insight & Stakeholder Understanding, leading to:
Evidence-informed Strategy & Partnership Development
Cross-sector Implementation & Collaboration
Learning, Adaptation & Ongoing Participation
This process helps organisations:
reduce the risk of misalignment across stakeholders
strengthen collaboration and external engagement
improve the relevance and credibility of strategy
identify barriers to implementation earlier
support more effective partnership and communication approaches
build stronger foundations for long-term delivery and trust
"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
Clients
My work spans public health, climate action, economic transition and place-based innovation, with contributions to projects involving the World Health Organization, Design Council, Doughnut Economics Action Lab, University of Bath, regional and municipal councils, urban planning and design teams, and community organisations.
I work with senior leaders, programme teams, policy professionals and cross-sector partners navigating complex stakeholder environments where outcomes depend on effective collaboration, strategic alignment and public trust.
I typically work in contexts where:
multiple stakeholders bring different institutional priorities, expertise or lived experience
policy or strategy requires cross-sector co-ordination to translate into practice
public trust, legitimacy or stakeholder relationships are critical to outcomes
global or national frameworks need to be adapted to local realities
research, policy and implementation need stronger alignment
initiatives benefit from early strategic insight before engagement or delivery begins
My work usually takes one of the following forms:
Strategic Thinking Partner
For senior leaders navigating complex stakeholder and partnership environments.One-to-one advisory support to explore initiatives that are still developing, facing resistance, or proving difficult to implement across different groups or institutional contexts.Together, we examine how different stakeholders are likely to interpret and respond to the issue, including where organisational priorities, language, values or operational realities may be shaping collaboration in ways that are not yet fully visible.This helps uncover hidden misalignment early, strengthen strategic decision-making and build more effective foundations for engagement and partnership development.Outcome: Clearer strategic direction, improved stakeholder alignment and stronger foundations for collaboration and implementation.
Early-Stage Insight & Direction
For leadership teams developing strategy, engagement or place-based initiatives involving multiple organisations, sectors or stakeholder groups.Short engagements focused on building structured understanding of how an issue is experienced and interpreted across different contexts before decisions or delivery approaches are fixed.This may include:
how stakeholders define the issue in practice
where priorities or assumptions diverge
what constraints shape implementation
how language or framing affects engagement
where stronger collaboration or coordination may be needed
The result is a more grounded and evidence-informed basis for strategy, communication, partnerships and implementation.Outcome: Stronger foundations for collaboration, engagement and delivery that are more likely to translate effectively into practice.
"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
Example Projects
Selected work focused on pre-strategy sensemaking across complex multi-stakeholder challenges - translating insight between global frameworks and place-based action, and strengthening engagement between groups that often interpret issues differently.
Featured Project
Designing youth-informed approaches to council climate communication
Design Council / Essex County Council • UK
Worked with council leadership and secondary school students to explore how Net Zero policy and climate communication were understood by younger audiences.Using participatory research and futures-thinking methods, the project identified ten youth-defined themes reflecting values, concerns and priorities often absent from formal climate engagement approaches.The work informed development of a Youth Climate Ambassador Programme and strengthened the council’s approach to participatory engagement and long-term community collaboration.
Translating global tobacco control policy into country-specific application
World Health Organisation • Geneva
Analysed global datasets and behavioural insights to explore how motivations for tobacco cessation vary across countries and cultural contexts.Developed a structured interpretation framework linking WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control guidance with regionally relevant behavioural, cultural and communication considerations.This supported more locally adaptable approaches to policy implementation, stakeholder engagement and public health communication.
Strengthening cross-sector collaboration in global health innovation
World Health Organisation • Geneva
Supported engagement across public, private and civil society stakeholders within the WHO Tobacco Cessation Consortium.Applied behavioural insight and design research approaches to help strengthen alignment between stakeholder groups operating with differing priorities, institutional constraints and operational contexts.Contributed to improved collaboration and clearer foundations for partnership development across participating organisations.
Integrating climate action and urban equity through place-based research
Design Council / London Borough of Hounslow • UK
Supported municipal teams in applying design research and collaborative methods to strengthen cross-departmental co-ordination on climate and urban equity initiatives.The work helped reposition an environmental initiative into a more integrated and collaborative programme aligned with local social realities, institutional priorities and implementation needs.
Resolving cross-sector tensions in post-growth economics communication
Independent research, UWE • UK
Examined how post-growth economists and UK finance/technology stakeholders often propose overlapping innovations but describe them through different conceptual and linguistic frameworks.Developed a structured comparison of these framings, revealing shared underlying principles and enabling more constructive cross-sector dialogue.
Connecting cross-city stakeholders for a regenerative local economy
University of Bath / B&NES Council • UK
Tested the Doughnut Economics framework to initiate cross-sector stakeholder engagement in Bath, UK.Designed and adapted participatory sessions to explore which methods best supported shared understanding and place-based collaboration, resulting in an independent practice report supporting University of Bath and Bath & North East Somerset Council.
Enhancing complex datasets with contextual narrative insight
World Health Organisation • Geneva
Provided editorial and conceptual input to the 10th WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic (WHO GTCR), contributing a narrative and visual timeline that complemented technical reporting by contextualising long-term industry patterns.This added interpretive depth to technical data, strengthening its usefulness for policy foresight and decision-making.
Establishing shared foundations for sustainable futures across disciplines
Independent learning design • UK & Ireland
Designed and delivered a four-part CPD series introducing shared principles of sustainable development across design, business, finance and technology disciplines.Supported improved cross-sector literacy and alignment in how sustainability challenges are understood and addressed, and incorporated into curriculums.
Using design storytelling to inspire sustainable innovation
100% Design / London Design Festival • UK
Conceptualised, developed and produced a series of public installations exploring local/circular economy approaches to food production, materials use and design.Engaged over 25,000 industry professionals and contributed to wider discourse on practice shifts for systems change within the international design sector.
"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
About
I am a strategic advisor working across stakeholder engagement, systems thinking, behavioural insight and cross-sector collaboration.
I help organisations understand how different groups experience and respond to the same issue in different ways, so that strategy, partnerships and engagement are better grounded in real-world conditions.My work focuses particularly on complex public interest challenges where successful outcomes depend on collaboration across institutions, sectors or stakeholder groups.Over the past five years, I have contributed to projects spanning public health, climate action, economic transition and place-based innovation, working with organisations including the World Health Organization, Design Council, universities, councils and community organisations. This work has given me insight into how the same issue can be understood differently across levels of governance, institutional responsibility and lived experience - and how this affects collaboration, implementation and public trust.Before this, I spent more than a decade founding and leading an innovation and design practice delivering products, spaces and public installations focused on sustainable behaviours and systems change.My approach connects research, policy, partnerships and implementation, supported by an MSc in Sustainable Development (Distinction) and long-term interdisciplinary work across public, civic and organisational contexts.I bring a combination of strategic thinking, stakeholder insight and collaborative problem-solving to initiatives where outcomes depend on stronger alignment between people, organisations and systems.
“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
When to get in touch
If you’re working on a complex, multi-stakeholder challenge:
The most valuable time is before engagement or communication strategies are defined.
The next best time is when misalignment or uncertainty is emerging.
The most critical time is when progress has stalled or trust has broken down.
Email me or connect on LinkedIn to arrange a call. Alternatively, send me a message and I'll get back to you shortly.
Example Talks & Publications
2025 10th WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic
Creative editorial input supporting the development of accessible, policy-relevant content in selected chapters, identifying new narrative angles for existing data to support innovative policy implementation.2024 DEAL Tool: '3 Horizons for Systemic Change'
Contributing to the Doughnut Economics 'Doughnut Design for Business' adaptation of the Three Horizons framework by Bill Sharpe, inspiring futures thinking around enterprise innovation.2024 The RSA (Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) 'A Different Way'
An online talk for the RSA highlighting the role of creatives to shift sustainability-thinking ‘beyond net-zero’ and create the conditions for everyone to thrive within the means of the living world.2023 Design Council: 'Design, differently with Communities'
Scriptwriting, delivery and recording of a futures narrative imagining life in circular communities in the year 2033 - on themes of energy, mobility, land use, food, education and circular skills - including co-facilitation of the related Design for Planet workshop.2023 'Accelerating Sustainability in Fashion, Clothing and Textiles' (Routledge)
Lead author of Chapter 17: Crafting connections with clothing: values, influence and relationships. Book launch chapter presentation and facilitation of a roundtable discussion on a sustainable future for the fashion industry.
2023 Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution ‘Doughnut Economics: Can Bath Thrive Like Amsterdam?’
An in-person lecture at BRLSI exploring the potential of the UK city of Bath to thrive like Amsterdam - the first European city to adopt Doughnut Economics as its economic development strategy.2022 'Designed for Life' Design & Technology Association (DATA)
Invited to take part in an ongoing podcast series considering the future of design and technology education within industry, aiming to inspire "tomorrow's solutions today".2021 'All Sewn Up: Dismantling Fast Fashion Consumption as a Social Practice through Creative Empowerment and Consumer Collaboration' UCA (University for the Creative Arts) Sustainable Innovation Conference
Academic research paper and presentation on enabling sustainable social behaviours through post-growth fashion design and business model innovation. Published by UCA Centre for Sustainable Design.2018 'Talking Trends: Waste Not Want Not' at the International Food & Drink Event (IFE) London
Panel discussion on food waste, exploring various topics including how food and design meet in the circular economy through enterprise and materials innovation spanning clothing, packaging and construction.2018 'Powering Change: Women in Innovation and Creativity' ACID Female Design Champion Award, Runner Up
“For the imaginative boundary breaking work she is doing between different individuals” - Sarah Weir OBE, former CEO, Design Council