Our mission
Development initiatives can struggle to reach their objectives, and sometimes the results achieved at the end of a project are not sustained. Organisations and people targeted by initiatives lack power, those who can make a difference are alone, and too often political barriers hamper success. The pathways to sustainable solutions are not simple or obvious.
We support development programmes to find sustainable solutions to governance problems identified by local partners.
Our work
We co-design enabling environments for joint problem solving using different approaches agreed with the client.
We facilitate participatory processes, design projects, evaluate results, conduct training workshops, and mentor, co-design and conduct research and analysis, embracing the Doing Development Differently principles.
We work with development partners, local governments and government agencies, the private sector, foundations, NGOs and think tanks to improve programme or project implementation and results. We also facilitate organisational learning.
We have experience working in Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Somalia, Honduras, Serbia and Albania.
We provide advice on the design and use of problem-driven approaches for social change, including problem-driven political economy analysis, problem-driven project design and problem-driven evaluation.
About us
Expertise: Problem-driven iterative adaptation (PDIA); planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning (PMEL); tenure, livelihoods and land rights; co-management, participatory land-use planning (PLUP); climate finance, reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+); payments for ecosystem services (PES).
Expertise: Problem-focused political economy analysis; problem-driven iterative adaptation (PDIA); design of monitoring and learning systems for adaptive programmes; design of sensemaking workshops to extract learning and spot connections between project activities; mapping of country-level knowledge systems for publc policy; design and meta analysis of cases studies and stories of change to document projects’ and programmes’ learning and contribtuion to complex change.
Our projects
We provide technical inputs and strategic advice to the following projects:
Leads the ODI’s team for a political economy analysis of the evidence systems in three policy areas: education and employment, child labor, economic policy and planning in Pakistan. The study has been conducted in collaboration with three national think tanks and is part of the initial phase of DFID’s Strengthening the Use of Evidence for Development Impact (SEDI) project. (ODI 7/2019-3/2020)
Leads the revision of the feasibility study concept and report for the Forest Programme V – Support to Social Forestry in Indonesia funded by BMZ and KfW. (AHT Group AG 3-6/2019)
Strategic advice and participation in the steering committee of the Learning Partnership of the Youth Forward Initiative in Ghana and Uganda which is implemented by ODI, PDA Ghana and DRT Uganda. (Master Card Foundation 10/2018-02/2020)
Technical assistance and methodological inputs to the design and implementation of a knowledge system for public policy mapping in Cambodia for the DFAT-funded Polonk Chomes: Data and Dialogues for Development in Cambodia project. (The Asia Foundation 6-8/2019)
Our partners
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Common Thread is a social and behaviour change company that bridges well-meaning public health plans with actual human behavior. We design creative, compassionate and strategic tools to help people make healthier choices.
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Fortiko is a Finnish think tank and service provider offering science-based solutions for sustainable development pathways, with extensive experience in applied multidisciplinary research, education and capacity-building, and expertise in climate change adaptation and mitigation, sustainable management of forest resources, rural livelihoods, poverty reduction, and social inclusion.
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Mlup Baitong is a Cambodian NGO working to increase environmental awareness and conservation, seeking solutions for sustainable and equitable use of natural resources through education, training, advocacy, community-based natural resource management, and eco-tourism activities.
Contact us
We would love to hear from practitioners, researchers, consultants and organisations committed to testing and applying problem-driven approaches. Let us know your thoughts and ideas!