How I can help

Organisations come to Crafted for the Future when good ideas are getting stuck: between strategy and delivery, between research and impact, between partners, or between ambition and the systems needed to make it real.

I help organisations design, strengthen and sustain the systems that allow innovation to work in practice.

Where I can help

I work across four connected areas: innovation strategy, partnerships, capability building and innovation ecosystems. Most projects involve more than one, because the real work often sits between the boxes: where people, institutions, funding and purpose meet.

01

Innovation Strategy

  • Innovation strategies often fail when they are too abstract, too disconnected from delivery, or too focused on activity rather than purpose.

    I help organisations clarify what innovation is for, where they are best placed to act, and what needs to change for good ideas to move from ambition into practice.

    • Developing innovation, impact or knowledge exchange strategies

    • Reviewing existing innovation activity and identifying what is working

    • Designing programmes that connect purpose, people, funding and delivery

    • Helping teams make sense of complex policy, funding or organisational landscapes

    • Translating broad ambitions into practical choices and next steps

    • Strategy frameworks

    • Delivery roadmaps

    • Options papers

    • Programme designs

    • Opportunity maps

    • Facilitation sessions and decision-making workshops

Helping organisations clarify where they are going, why it matters, and how to get there.

  • Innovation rarely happens inside one organisation. It depends on wider systems of relationships, incentives, infrastructure, funding, trust and shared purpose.

    I help organisations understand and strengthen the ecosystems around them, so ideas, people and resources can move more effectively across boundaries.

    • Mapping innovation ecosystems and identifying gaps, strengths and opportunities

    • Designing programmes that connect universities, funders, businesses, civic partners and mission-led organisations

    • Helping places or sectors build stronger routes from research to impact

    • Supporting mission-led innovation approaches

    • Making sense of complex stakeholder landscapes

    • Designing systems that support both commercial and social value

    • Ecosystem maps

    • Stakeholder analysis

    • System diagnostics

    • Programme and intervention designs

    • Mission-led innovation frameworks

    • Recommendations for funding, governance and delivery models

Strengthening the relationships, cultures and structures that help ideas move across organisations and sectors.

02

Partnerships & Collaboration

03

Capability Building

  • Partnerships are often treated as structures: agreements, meetings, governance and workplans. Those things matter, but they only work when there is real trust, shared purpose and a clear understanding of what each partner brings.

    I help organisations design and strengthen partnerships that create value in practice, not just on paper.

    • Developing partnership strategies and collaboration models

    • Designing cross-sector partnerships between universities, businesses, funders, civic organisations and mission-led partners

    • Facilitating early-stage conversations where aims, incentives or expectations need to be aligned

    • Reviewing partnerships that have become stuck, transactional or overly complex

    • Helping partners move from shared interest to shared action

    • Partnership propositions

    • Collaboration frameworks

    • Workshop design and facilitation

    • Governance and decision-making models

    • Shared value propositions

    • Action plans for partnership development

Building the confidence, tools and habits people need to sustain innovation beyond a single project.

  • Innovation depends on people having the confidence, tools and permission to act. Too often, organisations invest in strategies or programmes without building the capability needed to sustain them.

    I help teams develop the skills, habits and practical methods they need to make innovation work beyond a single project.

    • Designing and delivering training for academics, professional services teams, postgraduate researchers and innovation staff

    • Building capability around impact, knowledge exchange, enterprise, partnership working and systems thinking

    • Supporting teams to develop practical tools, templates and routines

    • Helping organisations reduce dependency on external support

    • Creating shared language and confidence across mixed groups

    • Training workshops

    • Learning programmes

    • Practical toolkits

    • Facilitation guides

    • Internal playbooks

    • Reflection sessions and after-action reviews

Strengthening the relationships, cultures and structures that help ideas move across organisations and sectors.

04

Innovation Ecosystems

How we might work together

Every project is different, but most work begins with a conversation about what is stuck, what needs to change, and what kind of support would be most useful. Sometimes that means a focused piece of advice or facilitation. Other times it means designing a programme, strengthening a partnership, or working alongside a team over time.

01

A sharper way through

Focused support to help you understand what is really going on, make sense of complexity, and decide what to do next.

Examples include diagnostics, reviews, workshops, options papers and strategy sessions.

02

A better system by design

Collaborative work to design or strengthen a strategy, programme, partnership or innovation system that needs to work in practice.

Examples include programme design, partnership models, stakeholder engagement, operating frameworks and delivery plans.

03

A trusted thinking partner

Ongoing support for leaders and teams navigating complex change.

Examples include advisory support, critical friendship, facilitation, programme support and help making sense of complex policy, funding or organisational landscapes.