Dr. Jen Ballie is a Research Manager, where she leads research and innovation for a design-led business support programme titled ‘Design for Business’ - positioned within the V&A Dundee – a Design Museum in Scotland. Design for Business aims to broaden the current remit and focus of design by using Design Thinking methods and approaches, to enable businesses, organisations and even citizens themselves to tackle complex problems.

I am currently a Research Fellow within the Institute of Design Innovation at the Glasgow School of Art.I worked within the Experience Lab team alongside an internationally trained design team of designers and researchers. We apply person centred approaches to design innovation and apply inclusive approaches to work with end users, to ensure their needs are addressed appropriately and that new produce and service development is aligned to their requirements. I am also working within the area of material culture and the circular economy. I am leading a research project that explores how maker spaces might be used to catalyse, inspire and education designers around textile waste. We are piloting new micro manufacturing processes, repurposing waste streams and experimenting with new product development - wouldn't it be nice if a product can be adapted to improve over time? Within this role I design and facilitate workshops, write project reports and disseminate research findings through conferences and have published peer reviewed papers both collaboratively and independently.

I have worked as a design freelance design consultant for approximately 5 years. Through this time I have worked across both industry and academia. I have experience of designing, managing and delivering research projects, alongside collaborating with others across different disciplines and industry sectors. My areas of expertise cover sustainable fashion and textile design theory and practice, aligned to the circular economy and service design. I have worked within other design domains and also have experience of inclusive design research within the health and well-being sector.I have an international network of academic researchers, design thinkers and strategists, business entrepreneurs in the UK, Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia and the US that I can draw on and work with.EXPERIENCE:Auditing: case studies, monitoring and evaluation through qualitative methodsWorkshop Design & Facilitation: the production of bespoke methods, tools and resourcesEvent Management & Curation: from Pop Up showcases to research seminars or symposiumsResearch Presentations & Reports: visual analysis and info-graphics, presentation design and writingWriting: portfolio of peer reviewed research articials and papers, guest blogger for Textile ToolboxCLIENTS I'VE WORKED WITH:Zero Waste Scotland, ScotlandVictoria and Albert Museum, LondonTextile Futures Research Centre and Textiles Environment Design, LondonEdinburgh International Fashion Festival, ScotlandFashion Revolution, Regional Co-Ordinator for ScotlandThe Danish Fashion Institute (DAFI)The Scottish Textile and Leather Association (STLA)

This was a Post Doctoral Research Associate role within Design in Action a knowledge exchange hub funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). This research project aimed to support design-led innovation to kick-start new produce and service development by connecting academics, designers and SME's across Scotland.Within this role I played a pivotal role in leading the design and development of an open source toolkit titled DESIGN KIT and I developed work packages around sustainability and circular innovation.

This project was awarded £10K by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and showcased within an exhibition showcase aligned to the creative economy. DiA KIT supports and enables small to medium enterprises to innovate through knowledge exchange. The methods included within the kit provide creative and engaging ways to expand upon existing networks, to work across disciplines and industry sectors with those outside of your own field to develop new ideas and to align these connections and ideas to position yourself within emerging future markets.

Through practice based research, I am interested in how social and digital domains are enabling amateurs to create and curate their own content at a surprisingly sophisticated level. Through enthusiasm and shared interest these connected individuals propose an alternative future to mass production and marketing campaigns through cloud manufacturing (online) and local production hubs (offline).My research explores how online media can be a powerful tool to inspire agency on a local scale, globally. Through sharing textile design processes, I aim to challenge the traditional role of the textile designer. How can we effectively engage people and enable them to interact with materials sustainably?PhD studentship is sponsored by Neal's Yard Remedies

I worked as a Research Fellow specialising within the area of sustainability for fashion. I worked across the Centre for Sustainable Fashion and DISC expanding research into the area of 'made in london' exploring the sustainability agenda and working towards identifying new business models for high-end fashion designers designing and manufacturing in London.Within this role I developed a workshop package titled Unpick and Remix which was implemented within a program of other talks, workshops and seminars within an interactive exhibition to promote Marks and Spencers' Shwopping Campaign. This new platform promotes take-back services within the fashion industry to address the environmental impact of over consumption.

Masters of Design with Distinction awarded Sep 2008

Textile Design undergraduate course