Evaluation & Applied Research

We understand projects, and we understand people. Our participatory approach inspires our clients to reconnect with, and commit to, their organisational mission.

Our experienced and pragmatic team of expert researchers and evaluators ensure you have the information and knowledge you need to create meaningful social change.

Customised Research and Evaluation Design

Southern Hemisphere understands that every organisation has unique requirements. That’s why we custom design your evaluation using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, and approaches.

Evaluation Approach

We want you to get maximum value from your evaluations. We are therefore orientated towards evaluation approaches that promote use. We select the most appropriate approach to answer your evaluation and learning questions. We frequently combine methods with the typical DAC criteria.

Typically, we make use of:

Appreciative Inquiry
Most Significant Change
Outcomes Harvesting
Contribution Analysis
Gender Transformative Evaluation

Specific Services

Our research and evaluation services can be tailored to meet any organisation’s unique challenges and requirements. We offer a range of custom designed specific services including:

Applied Research to inform program design such as situation analysis; needs analysis; feasibility studies and diagnostic evaluation.

Evaluations that improve program accountability and learning, such as:

Baseline studies
Implementation evaluation
Mid-term evaluation
Summative evaluation
Outcomes evaluation
Impact evaluation
Rapid evaluation

We conduct theory-based and utilisation focused evaluations, which measure effectiveness, sustainability, outcomes impact and coherence. These evaluations are aimed at answering your learning questions.

All consultants at Southern Hemisphere are skilled in facilitating a Theory of Change process as part of theory-based evaluation, or as part of design and implementation evaluations. We use an organisational learning approach to program evaluation, while still ensuring accountability.

We bring you into the evaluation design process and sense-making, and engage your teams and partners in reflective processes so that evaluation is not extractive.

Dreading Your Next Evaluation?

Evaluations do not have to be scary and intimidating. With us they will be a collaborative, stimulating and inspiring experience, while delivering robust findings. You might even find yourself having fun!

Southern Hemisphere’s participatory evaluation process:

Your carefully curated data is useless if you don’t put it to work – that’s why it is so important to bring in a team like Southern Hemisphere who not only know which data you need and how to get it, but what to do with it once we do.

Having this powerful information about your programs enables us to help you identify and implement focused change.