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External evaluation

Applying mixed method approaches to process, impact, outcome, and summative project evaluations of education and skills programmes, and civic engagement initiatives.

We are experts in implementing quantitative and qualitative methodologies to monitor and evaluate programmes from national and international providers. Our monitoring and evaluation services adopt a theory-of-change-based approach to understand how and why changes occur and identify the likelihood of impact using experimental and quasi-experimental evaluation designs.

Our evaluations follow OECD/DAC criteria and components, measuring Effectiveness, Sustainability, Relevance, Efficiency, Coherence, and Impact.

Higher education sector analysis

Analysing the environment in which higher education institutions operate.

Higher education is an increasingly complex sector which faces a range of challenges. Our team has expertise in diverse methods to conduct context analysis and to engage with stakeholders from sectors that are strategic to the development of higher education. We help emerging and established higher education institutions and systems identify development opportunities in their region and internationally.

Our consultancy work is characterised by strategically identifying sector priorities and work alongside clients to synthesise the main trends in the higher education ecosystem into insights that are actionable and communicable to policymakers.

Evidence and policy reviews

Synthesising evidence to inform public policy- and decisionmakers, employing systematic approaches that ensure the use of clear and verifiable information.

Policies focused on education and skills, youth and civic engagement are a dynamic domain which involves the interplay between internal and external agents, local, national and international institutions, and the demands of diverse stakeholders. Evidence-based decision-making is fundamental to effective policymaking, from securing buy-in from stakeholders to ensuring an efficient use of resources to have the desired impact. Our experts are versed in employing systematic approaches to explore, screen, and summarise evidence to identify interventions that have been successful in delivering impact, to understand best practices and their applicability to different contexts, and to assess the feasibility and potential for success of a specific programme or intervention.

We work with rigorous standards to conduct systematic reviews and rapid evidence reviews, and with flexibility to make evidence accessible to different audiences.

Toolkits

User-oriented resources providing guidance for problem identification, action plan design, equality assessments, and communicating best practices.

We adopt a social inclusion lens to develop toolkits and guidelines that help strengthen the work of practitioners across the education and skills, youth, and civic engagement sectors. Among many others, anti-racism, gender equality, disability inclusion, well-being, and fair employment are issues that youth environments, educational systems and participatory settings need to tackle permanently. Novel approaches have been developed and shown to be effective while others declared obsolete. In this context, decisionmakers and programme designers need up-to-date guidelines to integrate inclusion and equality principles in their actions, prevent and mitigate risks of discrimination, and create social environments that foster well-being.

Our work gathers knowledge from cutting-edge policy research and the voices of practitioners and beneficiaries, to generate well-grounded resources that facilitate practitioners’ work and institutional development.