Meet our Head of Human-Centred Design, Billie Andersen-Waine
I feel really lucky to be doing the work I love in a mission-driven organisation.
Billie Andersen-Waine, Head of Human-Centred Design
What do you do at Social Finance?
As Head of Human-Centred Design (HCD), I am focused on ensuring our work centres the needs, perspectives and lived experiences of communities. We do this through research and co-design, often in collaboration with our specialist and community partners. Designing with, and not for, people is crucial to developing solutions that are inclusive, impactful and sustainable.
My role involves a combination of working on projects, guiding our approach to HCD, and helping to embed our skills and approaches across Social Finance.
How did you get into this line of work?
I’ve always been fascinated by human behaviour. After studying Artificial Intelligence, I fell into my first role as a researcher. I couldn’t believe I could get paid for exploring how people think and behave! I’ve spent the two decades since then working in research and design and have a particular passion for tackling complex problems in health and the public sector. I feel really lucky to be doing the work I love in a mission-driven organisation.
So if somebody at a party asks ‘what do you do?’, what do you say?
I say I work for a non-profit organisation that works with government, partners and the third sector to improve the lives of people and drive social change on a lasting basis. If they are still listening, I might add that I help by making services, products and systems work better for people.
Who do you talk to day to day?
Every day is very different. I regularly talk to our clients and partners, or others interested in commissioning HCD work. I spend time with people across Social Finance to see where we can effectively use HCD in our work. I also love speaking to researchers and designers in similar fields to compare notes and see what we can learn from each other.
What misconceptions are there about what we do?
When I first started exploring a role with Social Finance, I was amazed at the range of work it does. I had expected to hear about social investment, but was impressed to see things like our experience in developing data and digital tools, learning partnerships, and systems change. My role is to see how we can leverage human-centred principles and approaches to drive further impact across these different areas.