Dr Sara Howard is a Senior Researcher and Organisational Psychologist with more than 15 years of applied research experience and five years of consulting experience. She also has experience as a Senior Lecturer and Course Coordinator for the Masters of Psychology program at the University of Adelaide. Sara is Focus Area Lead for 'Optimising human and technology performance in small and medium-sized enterprises' in support of the Manufacturing Growth Accelerator Program as part of the Flinders Factory of the Future.

Sara has an extensive background in quantitative research methods including the design of questionnaires, statistical analysis and reporting. She has managed a diverse range of research projects coordinating both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, including a randomised controlled trial about chronic disease self-management. Sara has strong expertise in workload and usability assessment and in facilitating technology adoption through application of socio-technical systems framework/human factors and ergonomics approach. Sara is also skilled in delivering psychological assessment and debriefs, workshops and training, 360-degree feedback reviews and engagement surveys. 

Sara is experienced in and enjoys liaising with a range of stakeholders and industry representatives spanning private and not-for-profit businesses and government within education, defence, finance, health, agriculture and manufacturing settings. She is adept at working in multidisciplinary teams and developing shared understanding. Sara is passionate about helping people build more meaningful connections and work more effectively.

Sara works with a range of different enterprises to support their adoption of digital technologies. This is achieved by applying a socio-technical systems framework involving end user consultation and drawing on human factors, human behaviour and change management principles. She frequently undertakes:

• Literature reviews, report writing, workshops and presentations for both academic and non-academic audiences
• Engages in site visits and conducts workload and usability assessments
• Plans, conducts and analyses the results of technology trials in real world environments providing recommendations for next steps
• Communicates applied research projects to a range of stakeholders during tours of our Factory of the Future site, Tonsley.

Working in a multidisciplinary team, Sara both formally and informally mentors other staff about research methodologies, best practice approaches and how to navigate team dynamics and stakeholder engagement.