Our work in practice

Made sense

  • A global fund needed to understand the changes from an entire portfolio of work to inform strategic funding choices going forward. 

    We conducted a theory-based evaluation across nine grantees and five years of work, using Outcome Harvesting to name and understand the systemic changes underway. 

    The client and grantees got a theory of change clearly identifying pathways to continued change and synergies for future work.

    Peek at the final product here.

  • A small nonprofit needed a clear pathway from a start-up to an organization that could withstand growth and staff turnover.  

    We gathered input and facilitated several group discussions on the organizational model and differentiators. 

    The organization has new, shared understandings of itself and measurable and concrete goals for formalizing and growing their practice.

  • A resource center moved quickly and responsively during the covid pandemic and needed to understand their impact and be accountable for funds spent after-the-fact. 

    Used an interwoven mix of interviews, surveys, participatory community site games, and a modified delphi method to track down use cases and explore best practices. 

    A final report with clear material profiles, 20 case studies, impact profiles, and key learnings formed the basis for peer-reviewed publication and federal reporting.

Fixed it

  • A fund knew they could meet the technical assistance needs of their grantees better, but needed to know how.

    Used key informant interviews, document review, interactive activities, and participatory sense-making sessions to orient to needs, status quo, and co-design new possibilities. 

    Client understood, in an evidence-based way, strengths and pain points alongside actionable, phased recommendations for going forward.

  • A pre-service training for trainers needed updating to improve overall programmatic scalability. 

    Combined evaluation, research, and design to identify key concepts, update definitions, adapt cases to local contexts, and rework pacing and sequences.

    A clean and clear, six module curriculum with training aides, guides, and slides and modular case examples for easy customization. An accompaniment for trainers of this curriculum.

  • In-person operational coaching to rural cooperatives was interrupted by COVID protocols, despite ongoing and urgent need for technical assistance.

    Hosted a rapid human-centered design sprint with existing coaches to quickly co-design, pilot, and iterate alternative solutions rooted in lived experience and existing evidence base. 

    A new remote coaching model that transfers ownership of learning to cooperative leaders, making creative use of multiple technologies and group facilitation techniques.

Created it

  • A new fund needed a theory of change to build buy-in and guide funding decisions. 

    Conducted both a literature review and a co-design sessions with community experts to find common language and understanding within larger systems. 

    The foundation has a framework that has been instrumental in fundraising, as well as orienting new grantees and others to the work.

  • Association members needed technical expertise on measurement and reporting for multiple audiences. 

    Secondary research, indicator development, and key stakeholder interviews in alignment with a steering committee shaped a global guidebook to meet member needs. 

    A definitive Global Digital Inclusion guide to set standards and framing for the mobile network industry.

Accompanied

  • Organizational strategy shifted and it needed a new Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework to support the new strategy.

    Walked alongside the organization for a year providing executive coaching, board interviews, document review, staff training, and piloting of new MEL tools. 

    Foundation had new MEL tools, a framework to grow from, and staff with skills to execute.

  • A grantee innovation team was building a new app for deployment across three distinct contexts and needed evidence and feedback during the development process.

    A mixture of reflective team practices, prototype testing, literature review, user feedback, and expert interviews were used to inform the innovation team across 18 months of product development. 

    The team could pivot in real time based on evidence, the foundation’s investment was supported by a business case, site profiles, adaptive action memos, and a software iteration report for ongoing work.

  • The internal communication and staff engagement function was named as a strategic enabler to the organization and needed to step into this role in a practical manner.

    A carefully designed developmental evaluation collected real time evidence for reflection, learning, and discernment about internal structures through surveys, interviews, outcome harvesting, and case studies. 

    Client has approved the management plan based on final recommendations for structure of a key internal function as well as a shared understanding across actors internally.

Past clients include: CARE Canada, Catholic Relief Services, Citizens League, Comic Relief, Delta Dental, EagleBluff Environmental Learning Center, Family Tree Clinic, Fondation Botnar, The GSM Association (GSMA), The GSMA Innovation Fund, IREX, Land O' Lakes Venture 37, M2; The Mindfulness Movement, Maestral, Native American Community Clinic, One Village Partners, Opportunity Partners, Poa Internet, Reboot, Sherwood Foundation, Shobi's Table, Tanager International, The Kaizen Company, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), University of Minnesota School of Dentistry


Work delivered across the following geographies: Bangladesh, Chile, Côte D'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Hungary, India, Kenya, Kosovo, Malawi, Moldova, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, South Africa, Switzerland, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Zimbabwe