Designing a World for Everyone

Becky is co-owner of Revealing Reality, a leading social research agency specialising in ethnographic research on complex social issues. Becky studies multiple topics relating to ageing and the public realm, including social isolation, connectivity in care environments, experiences of older rough sleepers and people with MSK conditions. Becky is passionate about positive social change and asset-based approaches to problem-solving.

Colum is a senior design leader with a significant track record of developing inclusive products and services in the private, public and charitable sectors.  In 2020 Colum joined the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal College of Art as Director for Design Age Institute. He has been Head of Design at the Ministry of Justice, Sainsbury’s, Homebase and the NHS National Patient Safety Agency, and has run design firms Crabtree Hall, CaulderMoore as well as his own consultancy.

Manisha spearheads urban design and masterplanning, regeneration and stakeholder consultation as a Senior Partner with PRP. She leads on major projects including Chobham Manor, where she developed a new typology that facilitates multigeneration living, a design and cultural expression of her upbringing. Her masterplan on Portobello Square won the Mayor’s Prize at the 2015 Housing Design Awards. She acts as a Mayor of London Design Advocate and provides expertise to the Mayor's Good Growth programme.

Head of the Greater Manchester Ageing Hub, Paul leads multi-agency urban ageing partnerships. He has published several articles on ageing and given presentations to high-profile events in the USA, Asia, Europe and Australia. Paul has an MA in Social Gerontology and is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Manchester. A member of the World Health Organisation’s Global Network of Ageing Friendly Cities Advisory Group and the Scientific Steering Board for the joint Age-friendly Environments in Europe project.

Jeremy has been an academic, author and activist in design for over 40 years. In 1999, he set up the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design with Roger Coleman, where he was Director until 2015, pioneering new practices in inclusive design. He holds the Helen Hamlyn Chair of Design at the RCA and directs WORKTECH Academy, a forum for sharing ideas on the future of work. A Visiting Professorial Fellow at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, he has authored over 20 books on art, design, and architecture.

Nic is Director at UK's National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA), an organisation that helps design and bring to market innovative business models, services and products to sustain healthy longevity. Previously a research manager at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab and leader of the AI for Healthy Ageing and AI Ethics practice at IBM Research in the US, Nic has a decade of experience in research on human-computer interactions, supporting older adults’ autonomy through emerging technologies.

Sarah is Clore Professor of Gerontology at the University of Oxford, Director of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, and Co-PI on the Design Age Institute@Oxford Programme. With a background in anthropology, Sarah researches the societal impact of falling fertility, increasing life expectancy, and the interaction of population change with the environment. She served on the Council for Science and Technology advising on scientific evidence for UK policies and was appointed a CBE for services to Demography in 2018.

The Design Age Institute is the UK’s national strategic unit for design and the healthy ageing economy. The Institute works with designers, businesses, researchers and communities to help address the challenges and opportunities of an ageing society through the transformative power of design.