Laura Warwick

Dr Laura Warwick is a Senior Lecturer in Service Design and Social Innovation at Northumbria University.

She recently completed her PhD, which explored the value of design approaches to Voluntary Community Sector (VCS) organisations delivering public services. The design work resulted in over £650,000 in BIG Lottery Reaching Communities grants for two local charities, and contributed to a successful Arts Council bid of £1.5 million for another local voluntary organisation. Laura continues to research and work in the sector, currently helping to embed service design across the largest mental health network in the UK.

Her continuing social design practice informs all of her research and teaching. She teaches extensively through the medium of collaborative projects with external partners, working with social organisations wherever possible, to introduce students to new issues and contexts to improve their skills.

Laura was also the Associate on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership embedding Service Design methodology within Age UK Newcastle, which won the Research Councils of UK Knowledge Base Impact Award in 2013. She was selected to be a Centenary Young Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) and is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.