Matthew Lievesley

Associate Professor

Department: Northumbria School of Design, Arts and Creative Industries

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With a strong track-record of forming productive partnerships, Matthew works with a range of research and innovation funders to help companies and public-sector organisations benefit from the Design School’s knowledge and expertise.

Trained in both design and business, I manage research and design projects across disciplines, from digital-media through product and brand and into service design. As challenging as that variety can be, I think it’s a great privilege. Improving how users interact with the made world is what it’s all about.

A key area of my activity centres around innovation in business, particularly understanding how design practices and methods drive innovation in such settings. I’m also the School’s lead on KTP, a funded industry-facing programme that helps organisations to adopt and integrate design and innovation in-house.

For more information on KTPs please click here

A second significant area of my research focuses on innovation in Healthcare, through Service Design approaches/methods. For example, this has included developing improved care-pathways for people with Type II Diabetes and better-equipped clinicians advising those people and their carers/loved-ones.

My collaborators in this area of research include: Newcastle University Medical School, AgeUK, Hitachi, Newcastle City Council, NESTA, NHS (healthcare service design), Salford Royal and NIHR.

Prior to joining Northumbria University, I held positions in Design and Product Management in Manufacturing Industry, analysing market opportunities and managing design programmes from a human-centred perspective, from inception to market launch. My experience to date encompasses over forty products and services in production, encompassing national and international Patents and Design Registrations.

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Research Themes and Scholarly Interests

Research Interests

My research investigates how Design's human-centred approach contributes to responsible innovation in different settings. These themes are explored chiefly through a practice-based approach within partner organisations, where competition, compromise, risk and pragmatics are all at play. I work with commercial, social and public sector partners. For example:

Public and Social Sector Innovation: I am currently working on projects concerning Person-Centred Heathcare, mapping and improving pathways through the disjointed health and wellbeing landscape, to improve the experience of patients and their carers. My collaborators in this area of research include: AgeUK, Hitachi, NESTA, NHS (healthcare service design) Tiny Lives Trust, EPSRC and NIHR.

Commercial Sector Innovation: I led a programme of activity to embed customer-centric innovation approaches into Parker Hannifin Corp., the world's biggest filtration company. This partnership was graded outstanding by the funder: InnovateUK, and led the company to launch new product lines and win its first Red Dot design award. I also support small firms in healthtech and other sectors (inc. funding via InnovateUK/ KTN and the UK Treasury's Help to Grow programme).

Research Student Supervision Interests

Design-led Innovation; Design for Person-Centred Healthcare; Design for Behaviour Change; Healthcare Service Design

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Co-designing for behaviour change: The development of a theory-informed oral-care intervention for stroke survivors, Lievesley, M., Powell, R., Carey, D., Hulme, S., Westoby, W., O'Malley, L., Zadik, J., Bowen, A., Brocklehurst, P., Smith, C. 2022, In: Design for Health
Design number: 6206506 - handheld spectrometer, Lievesley, M., O'Neil, S. 30 May 2022
Four Mindsets of Designer-Entrepreneurs, Valencia, A., Lievesley, M., Vaugh, T. 3 Sep 2021, In: The Design Journal
A qualitative exploration of oral health care among stroke survivors living in the community, O'Malley, L., Powell, R., Hulme, S., Lievesley, M., Westoby, W., Zadik, J., Bowen, A., Brocklehurst, P., Smith, C. 1 Oct 2020, In: Health Expectations
Exploring the role of design-as-strategy in consumer product start-ups, Valencia Hernandez, J., Lievesley, M., Young, R., Valencia Hernandez, J. 1 Aug 2018, Academic Design Management Conference ADMC18
How Industrial design Supports a Customer-Centric Innovation Approach in a Technology-Centric Business Engagement, Lievesley, M., O'Leary, D., Hewitt, I., Whitehead, C., McPherson, N., Annal, C. 20 Feb 2018, In: Design Management Journal
The para-disciplinary role of Design transforming innovation in organisations, Lievesley, M., Young, R., Warwick, L., Oleary, D. 7 Jun 2017, Design Management Academy Conference 2017
Design Entrepreneurship in Innovation, Aftab, M., English, S., Lievesley, M., Antonio De Filho, M., Agustine Rusli, H., Smith, P., Hunt, P. 29 Jul 2016, 20th DMI: Academic Design Management Conference Inflection Point: Design Research Meets Design Practice Boston
How Industrial Design supports a Customer-Centric Innovation approach in a Technology-Centric business environment, Lievesley, M., Oleary, D., Hewitt, I., Whitehead, C., McPherson, N., Annal, C. 3 Jul 2016, ADMC16 - 20th Academic Design Management Conference
Systematic development of a theory-informed multifaceted behavioural intervention to increase physical activity of adults with type 2 diabetes in routine primary care: Movement as Medicine for Type 2 Diabetes, Avery, L., Charman, S., Taylor, L., Flynn, D., Mosely, K., Speight, J., Lievesley, M., Taylor, R., Sniehotta, F., Trenell, M. Dec 2016, In: Implementation Science

Current and Recent Projects

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Help to Grow Management 2021-2024, Wales, J. (Principal Investigator), Lievesley, M. (Co Investigator), Chartered Association for Business Scholars, 01/09/21 - 31/07/25, £2,310,820.00
Small Business Leadership Programme, Sutherland, M. (Principal Investigator), Lievesley, M. (Co Investigator), Chartered Association for Business Scholars, 01/10/20 - 31/03/21, £499,668.00

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Invited talk: Family Experiences of Neonatal Care: Co-Design and Piloting of Resources to Promote Positive Family Experiences. 2022
Participating in a conference, workshop, ...: National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NIC-A) 2022
Invited talk: The Growth Department - Design Management Institute ADMC 2016 2016

PGR Supervision

Victoria Frith Start Date: 01/10/2017
Robert Djaelani An account of design research: Framing design practice in the UK’s health and social care system. Start Date: 01/03/2020 End Date: 11/03/2022
Jose Valencia Design Based Entrepreneurship: The Transition from Designer to Entrepreneur Start Date: 01/10/2016 End Date: 17/12/2020

Qualifications

Business and Administration MBA June 22 2004
Industrial Design BA (Hons) June 30 1992

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