Hey I’m Chris

Strategist,system's thinkeranddesign researcher.

About

  1. Bio

    I'm a strategic designer - I use participatory approaches and human centred design to help organisations navigate complexity and make clearer decisions. Often, this includes working across complex, multi-stakeholder environments to turn vague problems into practical next steps. My passion for participatory research and background in community organising ensures the people closest to the issue are always at the table shaping the solutions being designed for them.

    Typically, my work has been at the intersection of policy, systemic design, and climate change. In complex systemic work, my starting point is recognising that silver bullet solutions don't exist. Rather, multiple actors and multiple interventions need to work alongside each other. In this context, my focus is on enabling stronger collaboration to increase the likelihood of collectively shifting the needle.

    In practice, this means designing and facilitating research processes that give space to local voices, translating high-level insights into actions, and building frameworks that support strategy.

    I’m used to working in ambiguity. I thrive in collaborative, cross-disciplinary environments and am open to opportunities across design research, facilitation, and strategy to help teams co-create meaningful solutions.

  2. Values

    I'm guided by the below values, which shape how I work and the type of projects I want to contribute to:

    🌏 Social-ecological lens

    I approach challenges with a social-ecological lens, recognising that people and nature are deeply interconnected.

    🌾 Resilience building

    Climate change disproportionately affects communities already experiencing structural inequalities. I'm driven to support those most at risk by designing programs and policies that strengthen adaptive capacity, promote justice, and elevate community voices.

    📚 Continuous learning

    I'm always exploring new topics, perspectives, and approaches. I see learning as vital part of navigating complexity and finding a way through the grey area.

    🌿 Regenerative mindset

    I design in ways that strengthen relationships and promotes ongoing learning. I aim to leave people, places, and practices more connected than when we started.

  3. What I bring to the table

    When working in complexity and uncertainty I embrace:

    💛 Curiosity and care

    My curiosity prompts questions that help reframe challenges and spars an interest in others' perspectives, helping consider new pathways forward. I pair this with a deep care for the projects I work on and the people I'm working with.

    🤝 Collaboration

    I'm a good communicator, open-minded and an active listener. This helps me align stakeholders, gain support for participatory methods, and deliver feedback that strengthens strategies.

    🕸️ Zooming out with a systems lens

    I take a step back to zoom out and find the root cause of a problem, which primarily involves acknowledging the interconnectedness of the system we're examining. This enables different leverage points to be identified for driving change, requiring diverse and local perspectives, a long-term view, and an openness to changing direction if needed.

  4. Technical expertise

    I have a diverse skillset across design, policy and climate change adaptation.

    Strategic design

    Experience leading and applying human-centred and participatory methods to complex organisational and community challenges. Confident designing research plans, facilitating co-design and engagement processes, and translating findings into strategic recommendations and tools that teams can act on.

    Systemic design

    Application of systemic and strategic design approaches in complex policy and organisational contexts. Experience designing and facilitating participatory research processes; mapping systems and actors, and framing ambiguous problems to support strategic direction-setting. Skilled in synthesis and knowledge translation (turning qualitative insights into informed decision-making). Experience prototyping and iterating early concepts to test assumptions and surface constraints.

    Policy and governance

    Strong understanding of local government processes for climate action and the practicalities of multilevel governance. Familiar with multilateral climate frameworks (including the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement) and the link to national and local policy contexts (NDCs, NAPs and the GST). Experience in policy research, advocacy, and coalition-building across governments, NGOs, and civil society, with a focus on enabling coordination across complex institutional environments.

    Climate change adaptation and DRR

    Academic and applied understanding of climate change adaptation, climate risk, and vulnerability. Experience contributing to funding and programme development processes. Familiar with disaster risk reduction (DRR) and anticipatory action approaches, including early warning systems. In 2025 I was invited by the German Red Cross to attend the Global Dialogue Platform in Berlin, representing the Future Leaders Network on Early Warning Early Action.

  5. Who I've worked with

    Professional experience

    Today Design
    Systemic Designer (Freelance)
    Founders4Impact
    Systemic Designer (Freelance)
    FairPlanet
    Strategic Designer (Freelance)
    Kausal
    Strategic Designer (Freelance)
    The Climate Council
    Climate Projects Officer
    The Academy

    User Researcher
    Impressive Digital
    Digital Campaign Manager

    Education

    University of Melbourne, Australia
    Monash University, Australia
    Monash University, Australia
  6. Published research

    Examples of reports I've authored:

    Many hands make light work: connecting governments to accelerate climate action

    Illustrating what a multilevel approach to Australia's national climate policy could look like (See projects: Bringing multilevel governance to life in Australia).

    Embracing complexity in cities

    Making sense of city-level climate action to guide systemic design, including insights from conversations with city sustainability officers (See projects: Making sense of climate change officer's day-to-day decision making environment).

    Exploring how closed-end funds can contribute to collective change

    A research report examining how closed-end impact funds can engage with systems change, and what this means for fund strategy, governance, and impact measurement (See projects: Applying a system's lens to impact investing).

    Tracking progress: 2022 snapshot of council action on climate change

    A report summarising climate action progress, barriers, and decision-making across 158 Australian councils (See projects: Supporting a network of 182 Australian council's to take climate action).

Projects

Strategic and systemic design

Strategy sprint for an independent journalism platform

Role —
Strategic designer
Organisation —
FairPlanet
Learn more
Strategic and systemic design

Research-informed product direction

Role —
Strategic designer (freelance)
Organisation —
Kausal
Learn more
Project & programme development

Elevating young voices in a federal election campaign

Role —
Community organiser
Organisation —
MP Zoe Daniel, Independent
Learn more
Project & programme development

Supporting a network of 182 Australian councils to take action on climate change

Role —
Climate Projects Officer
Organisation —
Cities Power Partnership (The Climate Council)
Learn more
Policy innovation

Making sense of climate change officer's day-to-day decision-making environment

Role —
Lead author and researcher
Organisation —
Kausal
Learn more
Policy innovation

Bringing multilevel governance to life in Australia

Role —
Lead author and researcher
Organisation —
Cities Power Partnership (The Climate Council)
Learn more
Project & programme development

Facilitating kitchen table conversations

Role —
Community organiser
Organisation —
Voices for Goldstein
Learn more
Project & programme development

Organising and mobilising community-led climate action

Role —
Community organiser
Organisation —
The Wilderness Society Bayside
Learn more
Strategic and systemic design

Applying a system's lens to impact investing

Role —
Lead researcher
Organisation —
Founders4Impact
Learn more
Master’s Thesis

Opportunities to ratchet-up international climate commitments

Role —
Student
Organisation —
The University of Melbourne
Learn more