EXPERTISE.
Naomi Rouse founded BY DESIGN. in 2026, after years of observing the need and opportunity to improve development practice, in response to challenging contextual and institutional constraints. Her methods draw on 25 years of experience in NGOs, Innovation Labs and bilateral development programmes.
Naomi has Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge and is currently conducting her doctoral research into design methods for forestry development programmes at the University of Bristol.
BY DESIGN. sits at the intersection of three worlds that rarely meet in development practice:
- rigorous research-informed design and behavioural theory
- deep, lived understanding of informal livelihood systems
- skilled facilitation that unlocks organisational intelligence
Together, these insights support organisations to move beyond designs that are coherent on paper, toward interventions that are better grounded in real incentives, real behaviour, and real delivery realities.
Design Intelligence
Research-informed design methods for complex development problems
- Cultural Theory-informed facilitation
- Micro-level Theory of Change and causal pathway design
- Design Thinking for complex, informal contexts
- Quantitative and qualitative research for programme design
Behavioural and Context Intelligence
Lived understanding of informal livelihood and forestry systems in East Africa
- Fluent written and spoken Swahili
- 25 years working in informal livelihood and forestry systems
- Deep knowledge of micro-entrepreneurs’ constraints and ambitions
- Thought leadership on impact and sustainability in forestry development
Sense-Making and Co-Design Facilitation
Helping teams think clearly together in complex, high-stakes environments
- Skilled facilitation of co-design, scoping, and strategy processes
- Surfacing and structuring tacit organisational knowledge
- Bridging technical plans, donor logic and local realities
- Building teams’ design and adaptation capability
“Naomi manages her work very efficiently against tight deadlines. She has strong analytical and problem-solving skills, and can quickly digest complex subject matter and see issues from different angles.
She is responsive and open-minded regarding emerging lessons. She has excellent facilitation skills.
Naomi has a strong self-driven work ethic and considerable resilience under pressure. She is a pleasure to work with, bringing a very dynamic energy with her.”
Dr Peter O’Hara, Chief Technical Advisor
Forestry Value Chain Development (FORVAC)
Career Highlights
Leadership.
Launched Camfed in Tanzania and supported Camfed's exceptional growth as Head of Operations.
Camfed is a model of sustainable development: young women supported by Camfed and their communities supported 1,211,275 students to go to school in Tanzania since programme launch in 2005.
Design.
Led the growth of RLabs Tanzania, generating $1m to consolidate RLabs' flagship Grow Leadership model, resulting in $300,000+ saved in savings and loans groups by young people with no prior income.
Using Design Thinking, RLabs' innovative training and savings scheme enabled 98 street children to move off through the streets into rented rooms, with the model now being adopted by national organisations working with street children.
Consultancy.
Research, data analysis and training design for Finnish-funded programmes PFP, FORVAC, FORLAND; FAO, UN Girls' Education Initiative and Global Partnership for Education.