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.

What we offer

Design

Capability provides expert advice and facilitation to design projects and programmes that address governance, poverty, and environmental challenges through inclusive, locally led, and problem-driven approaches. 

– Political economy analysis, systems mapping, stakeholder mapping, and gender and inclusion analysis to inform project design.  

– Support for design teams to articulate a clear climate rationale with climate risks, vulnerabilities and opportunities. 

– Creating compelling theories of change and adaptive Monitoring Evaluation and Learning frameworks. 

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Learning

Capability fosters continuous learning and adaptive management, helping organisations adjust strategies and improve impact based on real-world experience and feedback from communities, and funders. 

– Design of monitoring, evaluation, and learning frameworks using approaches such as Outcome Harvesting and Portfolio Sensemaking. 

– Facilitation of reflection and sensemaking workshops that help tems interpret evidence and adapt their approaches. 

– Accompany programmes and organisations through ongoing evaluation for learning and strategic decisions. 

Evaluation

Capability conducts tailored evaluative research to understand how change happens in complex contexts, generating evidence that supports learning, adaptation and co-creation for effective programme delivery. 

– Rigorous research methodologies tailored to specific learning and evaluation needs.  

– Conducting mid-term and end-of-programme reviews. 

– Research on policy influence and systems change.  

– Analysis of how interventions contribute to results through approaches such as Contribution Analysis and Process Evaluation. 

Partnerships

Capability supports locally led climate action by connecting funders with civil society organisations, community groups, and local governments, strengthening the partnerships needed for lasting impact. 

– Identification, assessment, and onboarding of new partners to strengthen local delivery and impact.

– Capacity strengthening of partners in project management. 

– Facilitation of networking and exchange of good practice among partners and stakeholders.  

– Documentation and reporting of partnership results, learning, and impact. 

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

Policy and Learning Expert

Tampere, Finland

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Katja Pellini

Climate and Governance Expert

Tampere, Finland

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Antonio Godoy Pellini

IT Specialist 

Paris, France

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Cecilia Luttrell

Sustainability and Policy Expert

Bath, UK

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John Young

Evidence to Policy Systems Expert

Oxford, UK

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Faysal Abbas

Engagement and Communications Expert 

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