Ms Rachel A. Wood

Rachel A.Wood (MSc, GMBPsS) - She/Her (Rach-el) 

Leading service, systemic and organisational design | PhD Researcher | Pracademic | Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society

I first joined the Open University as a part time undergraduate in 1998, which started a lifelong interest and passion for the Social Sciences, Criminology and Psychology, and later in human centred design

Practice Experience

I am experienced in leadership and management in service, systematic and organisational design, and strategy, as well as user and customer research, and evaluation. I have a proven track record in central and local government, strategic partnerships, and the charitable sector.

I have practice skills in frameworks development, and design best practice (e.g., co-design, discovery research, communities of practice, and e-learning), social policy and strategy development, as well as customer and user experience (CX/UX)

I am committed to telling the story of real people lives and needs through customer journeys, service blueprints and patterns, user story development, personas and other design tools and techniques which make a real positive difference to communities and individuals

I also have evidenced experience in service improvement projects, and programme management, business case development, change readiness and management, policy and bid writing, training, facilitation, coaching and mentoring (NLP Practitioner)

Through my own recent lived experience of disability, I have gained a real understanding of the difference that accessible and inclusive technology, and services can make. This has given me a fresh perspective on the impact that designing for services can make on those that need them the most

Research and Educational Experience

Alongside my current practice experience, I am also a part time mixed methods PhD Researcher in service co-design, and a Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society

I joined the Open University Design Group in October 2022. My previous educational experience is as follows:

• MSc in Forensic Psychology (Coventry University)
• Postgraduate Certificate in Early Years Leadership (National Professional Qualification in Leadership) (Middlesex University)
• BSc in Psychology (Open University)
• BSc in the Social Sciences with Social Policy (Open University)
• Diploma in Social Policy and Criminology (Open University)

Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0407-9403

I am passionate about designing justice, outcomes in the early years, trauma informed and participatory practice, the economics of prevention, parenting education, and behavioural and improvement/implementation sciences