Our Work
Check our upcoming and past work!
upcoming
Playground un-conference: From Dialogue to Action: Sharing, Documenting, and Advancing Decolonial Alternatives in Development.
We are in the process of organising an unconference. The heartbeat of the unconference is to illuminate and document practices that quietly, yet profoundly, contribute to the decolonisation of development and social justice. The unconference seeks to amplify what is emerging at the so-called margins- those l spaces which mainstream actors often deem as peripheral, where voices often go unacknowledged, and innovative practices are overlooked- but which in fact are the heart of sustainable development practices. Special attention will be given to methods rooted in indigenous cultures, knowledge, and practices, as well as arts-based methodologies already unfolding within various sites- be they public or private sector spaces.
Together, we will seek not only to investigate and discuss, but also to document and support these practices; to celebrate them as a testament to what is possible when we dare to challenge and reimagine the foundations of development itself; and finally, to form a coalition that pushes them forward in the implementation space.
upcoming
Dedicated workshops
Based on the demand of our clients we developed two specialised workshops:​
-
Through Forum Theatre workshops, we are focusing on meeting specific needs related to research and evaluation, exploring donor-grantee relations, conflict resolution and building social movements.
-
Through Theory of Change workshops we are helping organisations to articulate their contribution to social change.
past work
Intersectionality
We have been reflecting on our observations on the difficulty of applying a truly intersectional lens to strategy processes and other processes within NGOs. We put together this reflection article:
​
Intersectionality has become somewhat of a trendy concept in the development sector. On the one hand, CSOs see the value of taking an intersectional approach to their work. On the other, where CSOs have not found a way to integrate the concept, some seem to feel pressured to do so for different reasons.
​
In both cases, several organisations who try to integrate an intersectionality approach to their strategy making seem to struggle to do so, partly because of the stage at which they do this and partly due to limitations in the way they are organised. In this paper we reflect on these factors and suggest practical ways in which organisations can take an intersectionality approach to strategy planning in a useful way.
past work
Decoloniality
On decoloniality our efforts have combined engaging with the broader sector through writing articles to put forward arguments on how coloniality surfaces in our work and proposing alternatives; convening actors to come together to share insights on coloniality and alternatives; engaging with those in power to facilitate introspection on the role they play in reproducing coloniality through concrete practices in MEL and OD; and operationalising our proposed alternatives into processes that represent concrete shifts that donors can make to their MEL practice. We have produced the following:
1. Regional innovation and SDGs​
Using the ACCIONA-ODS EU funded program in Southern Europe, this book chapter showcases alternative bottom-up ways to localise the monitoring and evaluation of SDGs.
​
​
2. Decolonising monitoring and evaluation: from control to learning
International consultancy work in human rights, sustainable development, or humanitarian responses can either perpetuate coloniality, or advocate for, and practice decoloniality. To move to a place where consultants push for decoloniality, it is important that we do more than merely use the correct language. Joining the chorus without action leads to concepts becoming depoliticised and captured by elites. Rather, we need to reflect on how our practice perpetuates coloniality, and what decolonising consultancy means in practice .
In this blog article we focus on one aspect of organisational development often referred to as Monitoring and Evaluation or M&E (also called MEL, MERL, MEAL, etc.). While there are many problematic principles that underlie approaches to M&E (and research and organisational development more generally), here we analyse two fundamental ones and provide thoughts on what alternatives could look like.
Contribution made for Intrac blog as part of their Decolonising consultancy event.
​
​
3. Bridging the gap between NGO discourse and practice in localisation at the research and organisational levels
In this journal article we discuss the new wave of localisation that international development organisations are implementing in the global majority countries. We discuss the contradictions that exist in this approach.
We challenge the principles of coloniality that underlie these approaches and propose research methodological alternatives that we see as contributions to closing the fracture that exists between what organisations claim to be their objectives and the reality of their practice.
​
​
4. Conversations on Alternative Practices Series 1
We organised and facilitated the first of a series of discussions on the practice of decolonisation in the NGO sector, to complement many of the theoretical discussions that are taking place.
This was done through a Forum Theatre in which 6 Brussels-based NGOs/CSOs participated. It was filmed with the intention of sharing it with the participants as a tool they can apply for different purposes themselves, as well as sharing with other stakeholders who will be invited for follow-up discussions which will be part of this series of conversations.
​
Forum theatre held in Brussels on 15 December 2022 with 6 stakeholders (NGOs, CSOs and donors)
​
​​5. Conversations on Alternative Practices Series 2
We brought together a group of diverse actors to reflect further on constructing decolonial futures. The premise of the discussion was that Alternative practices can only be realistic alternatives if they are reflected on from multiple and different perspectives.
In this discussion with a selected group of actors, we presented the ways we see coloniality in practice and some of the alternatives we have proposed. We collectively reflected on how each of us experience coloniality in our own work, thought together on proposed alternatives and explored how to develop and test them.
The discussion was a horizontal exchange among colleagues who are concerned with making contributions to decolonisation in practice.
Through this discussion, we aimed to build a coalition of trusted partners with whom we can continue to think on this issue, develop and test alternatives and advocate for them as a collective. We have continued to engage some of these partners in different ways including applying for projects together.
​​
Roundtable discussion on decolonisation of research and evaluation practice in the NGO sector- May 2023
​
​
Engagement with Philea: 2 Forum theatres and 1 workshop
7. Narrative argument for having a learning practice
A narrative argument on how a learning practice as opposed to traditional approaches to monitoring and evaluation strengthens accountability, management systems, strategic planning and the programme adaptability to a changing context among other elements.
This is based on our work with a donor on making fundamental changes in how they understand MEL, putting in practice all our insights on MEL for learning vs. accountability and de-linking it from traditional frameworks.
past work
Tool development
We have consolidated some of the tools that we put together during projects that we have found particularly useful to the work of several other organisations. This has been in response to many organisations’ requests for templates and tools that enable them to work more efficiently.
1. Background paper on methodology in the context of Mid-Term Reviews
A background paper looking into different methodologies for mid-term review, discussing their advantages and disadvantages. The paper works as a practical guide to deciding what methodological approaches are most useful for intended purposes.
​
2. Theory of Change Development- From theory to process of change
A narrative on the process of Theory of change development and a summary of ODS’ approach to reflecting and documenting how change happens.
​