Designing Safely: Safeguarding + Trauma-Informed Practice with Ali Fawkes (Humanly)

We are building an independent global network of people doing human-centred work. Create an account, learn, listen, connect and network - for free → https://www.thisishcd.com/signup________________________Design isn’t just creativity — it’s care. In this episode, Gerry sits down with Ali Fawkes, Head of Social Innovation at Humanly (founded by Jenni Parker) to unpack practical safeguarding and trauma-informed practice in design research. We trace Ali’s unconventional route from fine art and special education into service design, talk honestly about imposter feelings and labels, and get concrete about how to design safely — for participants and practitioners — especially on sensitive, high-stakes work.You’ll learnHow non-traditional backgrounds become real superpowers in designWhat “designing safely” actually looks like (policies, consent, escalation paths)How to prepare teams for disclosures (e.g., hopelessness/suicidality) without freezing the workWhy safer practice reassures clients and improves outcomesGuest: Ali Fawkes, Head of Social Innovation, Humanly (London)Connect with Ali on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alifawkesShout-out to SDinGov for the spark.________________________BRING THIS IS HCD INTO YOUR ORGANISATION→ Train my organisation https://www.thisishcd.com/training→ Video Courses https://www.thisishcd.com/courses→ Private Community (Coaching, Courses, WhatsApp) https://www.thisishcd.com/circle-community→ Gerry's consultancy (Service Design and Design Research) https://humana.design/________________________BECOME A DIRECTORY MEMBER (IT'S FREE!) and get all of this → FREE Introduction to Journey Management course with Marc Stickdorn & Gerry Scullionhttps://www.thisishcd.com/learning/introduction-to-journey-management→ Discover & Connect with others https://www.thisishcd.com/directory → Claim partner discounts https://www.thisishcd.com/partners → Submit an Article https://www.thisishcd.com/blog+ Coming soon - JOB BOARD, FIND A MENTOR...and more________________________Click here to watch a video of this episode. Click here to view the episode transcript. Creators & Guests Gerry Scullion - Host Ali Fawkes - Guest