Policies, systems and tools built to be run by the organisation afterwards, without us.
As part of our action research practice, we develop and field-test methodologies aimed at reaching development outcomes faster and more reliably. Where an off-the-shelf approach does not fit the question, we build one — and we test it before we recommend it.
In practice, this means
- Indicator and metric design — measures that track what actually matters, rather than what is easiest to count.
- Baseline and performance indicators — the values against which all later progress will be judged.
- Objective clarification — sharpening programme goals where they are ambiguous, which is more often than most organisations expect.
- Data architecture — identifying data needs, sources, collection methods and strategies before instruments are drafted.
- Knowledge management — writeshops, dissemination plans and institutional repositories that outlast the staff who created them.
Most monitoring and evaluation fails not because data is collected badly, but because the wrong things are being measured. We spend disproportionate time on indicator design because that is where the leverage is — and because it is far cheaper to fix at design stage than at midterm.
Training and capacity building
We provide task-oriented training for trainers, facilitators, managers and staff across companies, non-governmental organisations, government departments and community-based institutions. Our approach is skills transfer, not lecture delivery: the measure of a successful engagement is that the client can do the thing themselves afterwards, without us.
- Monitoring and evaluation: M&E system design, indicator development, data collection and quality assurance, evaluation methods, and results-based management.
- Natural resource management: rangeland management, environmental and social impact assessment, and climate change adaptation.
- Disaster risk reduction: community-managed disaster risk reduction (CMDRR), drought cycle management, and sustainable development practice.
6 assignments between 2014 and 2021, commissioned by Save the Children, CESVI, International Rescue Committee, Oxfam Novib and World Vision. Each one is listed below.