We are

About

Capability is an international team of experts supporting foundations, donors, governments, INGOs, and networks to tackle complex development challenges. We bring adaptive learning tools, systems thinking, and interdisciplinary expertise to create space for understanding the gap between programme design and impact.

We partner with organisations and funders to build programs that are truly adaptive and locally led. We provide the technical expertise and creative facilitation needed to design and manage complex initiatives, ensuring they address the root causes of development challenges. By helping our partners bridge the gap between evidence and action, we provide the tactical insights and clarity needed for critical, effective decision-making for adaptive management.

Our offerings include

Programme design

To design impactful programmes rooted in local realities, organisations need a deep understanding of local context and relationships. Capability provides expert advice and facilitation to design projects that address complex governance, poverty, and environmental challenges through a problem-driven, inclusive, and locally led approach.

  • Political economy analysis, systems and stakeholders’ mapping, gender and inclusion analysis
  • Articulate the climate rationale of the proposed project or investments
  • Design of theory of change and adaptive MEL frameworks
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Learning approaches

Organisations navigating complex development challenges must turn data into strategic, actionable insights. Capability accompanies organisations and programmes as they move beyond static reporting to embrace a culture of continuous learning—ensuring strategies can pivot based on real-world feedback from partners, communities, and funders. Our Learning Approaches services include:

  • Design of monitoring and learning frameworks using tools like Outcome Harvesting and Portfolio Sensemaking.
  • Accompany programmes and organisations through ongoing evaluation for learning and strategic decisions.
  • Facilitate the documentation of lessons learned about influencing policy and practices.
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Evaluative research

To truly understand whether—and why—intended results have been achieved, teams require distinct types of evaluative research and deep-dive analysis. Capability conducts deep-dive research to uncover the mechanics of change in complex environments. Moving beyond standard, compliance-based assessments, we apply rigorous research methodologies tailored to specific learning and evaluation needs throughout the entire programme cycle. Our Evaluative Research services include:

  • Delivering mid-term and end-of-programme and project reviews.

  • Conducting focused research on policy influence and policy systems change.

  • Using Contribution Analysis and Process Evaluation to trace how interventions contribute to results.

Partnership brokering on climate change adaptation

Funders empowering local climate adaptation must embrace diversity and devolve decision-making. Capability bridges the gap between funding and locally led climate action by connecting funders with innovative civil society organisations, community-based groups, and local governments. We find, manage, and nurture the relationships that matter most to ensure impactful climate action. Our services include: 

  • Identification of new partners
  • Facilitation, networking, and sharing of good practises among existing partners
  • Packaging and reporting results and the impact of the partnerships.

Our work

WHAT WE ARE DOING

The BRAC Ultra Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI) operates in seven countries—Rwanda, South Africa, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and the Philippines—focusing on government-led extreme poverty reduction through the Graduation approach. As part of the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) team of the UPGI, we lead the Strategic Learning component. Our contributions include designing  and updating the adaptive MEL system of the programme, facilitating strategic discussions with country teams to address challenges in poverty governance using systems thinking and sensemaking, documenting and harvesting outcomes, and supporting strategic decision-making to adapt strategies, approaches, and work plans.

 
Client: BRAC International | Funder: Ted Foundation Audacious Project | Duration: 01/2022- To Date
 
WHAT WE ARE DOING

We have led a three-year collaboration with the Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Performance team of the Kemitraan Indonesia Australia untuk Infrastruktur (KIAT) facility. Moving away from traditional retrospective evaluations, we successfully adapted and integrated the Outcome Harvesting methodology into KIAT’s continuous monitoring systems across its entire portfolio. We designed a custom outcome tracking system to capture and tag incremental progress and change. This innovative approach enabled the facility to systematically document institutional and behavioral changes, providing high-quality evidence of its plausible contributions to complex infrastructure policy shifts to both DFAT and the Government of Indonesia, while serving as a real-time compass for adaptive management.

Client: KIAT (Kemitraan Indonesia Australia untuk Infrastruktur) | Funder: Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) | Duration: 01/2022 – 06/2026

WHAT WE ARE DOING

In partnership with ODI Global, we have led the strategic midterm evaluation of the Ford Foundation’s ten-year China in the World (CITW) strategy. The strategic  evaluation analysed applies an adapted Outcome Harvesting approach to assess both the design phase and five years of portfolio-level implementation to provide forward-looking strategic considerations for the next five-year cycle. We utilizing a mixed-methods approach and developed a a grading system to assess progress towards outcomes and inform the foundation’s strategic refresh.

Client: ODI Global / Ford Foundation | Funder: Ford Foundation | Duration: 05/2025 – 05/2026

Full list of projects

Our Team

Arnaldo and Katja are the founding members of Capability and established the organisation in 2018 to support social development through adaptive development and policy innovations that effectively address locally identified problems.

Arnaldo Pellini

Arnaldo is an experienced  researcher and development practitioner with over two decades of experience in the international development sector. His expertise lies working alongside teams in problem-driven political economy analysis, designing change strategies, and co-designing MEL systems for adaptive management. He has lived and worked for extended periods in Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Arnaldo holds an MPhil in Economic Development from the University of Glasgow and a PhD in Education from the University of Tampere (Finland). His extensive portfolio of publications across academic articles, book chapters, working papers, research briefs, blog posts, and opinion pieces underscores his commitment to promoting evidence-based policy and practice.

Languages spoken: Italian, English, Spanish, and German.

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Katja Pellini

Katja is a technical expert on climate resilience, social forestry and gender, focusing on participatory governance and learning. In her current role at Plan International Finland, she advises the organisation’s development cooperation and humanitarian assistance programme at the intersections of climate change and gender equality, strengthening the capacity of staff and partner organisations on gender transformative climate change adaptation. She has lived and worked for extended periods in Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Katja holds an MSc Ecology degree from the University of Oulu (Finland) and a Master’s degree in degrowth from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain). Her commitment to democratic governance and climate justice is showcased by the title of her latest thesis: Plurality as a basis for political action and democratic space in degrowth.

Languages spoken: Finnish and English.

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Antonio Godoy Pellini

IT Specialist 

Paris, France

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Cecilia Luttrell

Sustainability and Policy Consultant

Bath, UK

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John Young

Evidence to Policy Systems Consultant 

Oxford, UK

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Faysal Abbas

Engagement and Communications  Consultant 

Helsinki, Finland

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Our partners

Indonesia

Based in Indonesia, the Dala Institute is dedicated to elucidating and identifying durable solutions to contemporary issues at the nexus between nature and society. Dala consists of a team of highly experienced researchers and consultants who understand that
environmental and societal challenges are inseparable. Its core services are social science research, performance and impact evaluations, and technical assistance.

Nepal

FDM is a consulting  company based in Kathmandu (Nepal). Over its past two decades it has conducted a number of assignments pertaining to research, monitoring and evaluation, capacity building, and institutional development on various social development issues and for a range of international organisations.

Canada

Using Evidence is a research and evaluation consultancy founded by Fred Carden that focuses on development and research evaluation. Using Evidence is concerned not only with high quality research, but in exploring ways to enhance the use of results.

Our clients