I am interested in questions of food system democratisation, participatory design, and social justice and social innovation. In my PhD in Digital Civics at Open Lab I am researching sustainable and ethical food networks that are just and accessible for all, in particular for communities in deprived areas. I explore the role of participatory design and digital technology to support processes of food system innovation. My work is collaborative and action-oriented and includes the following strands so far:

• I partnered with a local community centre in the North East of England to explore how a local food hub can address questions of health, environment, justice, and democratic participation.
• I collaborated with a local primary school engaging young people as food citizens in critical questions on our food system.
• I worked with a local community group to design and launch a community garden project.
• Together with colleagues at Open Lab, I co-developed a long-term and open-ended partnership with the above community centre to infrastructure community-commissioned action-research and participatory design projects addressing social challenges.

Thesis Title

Infrastructuring Food Democracy: Designing Social Innovations with Food Citizens in North East England

After the PhD

Research Fellow at Northumbria School of Design

Partners

• Meadowell Connected