We offer a full range of creative, solution-oriented services to community organizations, institutions, and industry. Some examples of recent projects include:
Project management and Program Evaluation
From local community-based to international collaborative projects, we specialize in program development and conduct monitoring and evaluation. We conduct mid-term and final project evaluations and progress reporting.
Base line studies and case studies
We conduct empirical research and apply a wide range of data collection techniques (e.g. questionnaires, participant observations, focus groups, in-depth interviews, photo voice, participatory video, etc.), bringing hands-on experiences with acquiring and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data. Through empirical inquiry we investigate contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, by in-depth data collection and analysis. Our strength is Participatory Action Research, involving the community we work with as researchers throughout the process. We have extensive experience conducting case studies and base line studies. These studies are applied in Impact Evaluation and Monitoring of specific situations and contexts.
We are experts in interdisciplinary and cross sector collaborations focused on resource assessment and management (ranging from fisheries to solid waste for example), providing policy and technology recommendations. We are specifically trained in participatory approaches and conflict resolution on complex resource issues.
Capacity Building and Training Courses
Participatory Video
The goal of Participatory Video (PV) is to train the participants in video technology, storyboard development, and post-production media as a strategy to improve community-networking opportunities, stimulate awareness and education. The process itself aims at contributing to the personal empowerment and growth of the participants. In addition PV provides opportunities to capture the process of action-oriented research with timely ‘snap shots’ of the current situation of the stakeholders involved. This will support research on social change and community development related to many different aspects.
Community mapping
Community mapping is a methodology to create collective representations of the geography, history, and shared experiences of community members as a tool for planning. It is a technique to jointly develop themed regional and neighborhood maps which will identify the assets, visions, gaps and action ideas for healthy and sustainable communities. Community mapping can involve a web-based mapping system, responsive to the local communities’ demands for knowledge mobilization e.g. on topics related to environmental and social sustainability. An additional result is that the activity creates an array of immediately useful maps for social and environmental planning. So, community mapping is not just a technical process of gathering and displaying information, but it is a process of bringing diverse elements of the community together into visioning and planning actions.
Photo-voice
Photovoice is a process, which aims to enable people to record and reflect their community’s assets and barriers. The technique involves the promotion of communication and knowledge about important issues documented with the photographs of the participants. Photovoice is participatory and empowering because it helps the participants to identify, represent and enhance their community through the photography. Photovoice also has the goal to promote critical dialogue and knowledge about community issues. Thus it is a way for local stakeholders to reach the public and policy makers with their ideas and proposals.
Thematic training and skill development
Implementation of new training programs for government agents, specific stakeholders such as waste pickers, recycling cooperative members or members of the business sector and the wider community on technical aspects of the collection and handling of recyclables, health and risk factors, participatory resource management (co-production, co-management), gender awareness, small business and cooperative development, improving cooperative organization, including the introduction of micro-credit; human empowerment through group dynamics and participatory methodologies, among many other topics.