This is a love song
to the one who knows that wisdom
is in the way we ask questions,
and who wields questions
like a sword beaten
into a plow, planting seeds
that will grow into millet
and mangoes and magnolias,
sustaining earth & her children
generations of grain & flowers
—Zahara Heckscher

 

Demand-driven Learning, Research and Results Measurement

Many organizations experience the process of results measurement (evaluation) in the way one experiences taxes or annual check-ups – necessary to attend to but not an endeavor that thrills. In part, this is because results measurement (evaluation) and the learning that accompanies it—also called monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL)— are often driven by compliance to donor imperatives. This creates a reactive, rather than proactive stance to learning and results measurement.

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However, a demand-driven approach to learning and results measurement can be transformational for an organization because it allows staff to apply their creativity and decision-making, leading to excellence in programming. Our study on demand-driven learning suggests that most organizations have more latitude to set the terms of their learning than they think, including through negotiating different terms with donors. Ignited Word is a thought leader and skilled practitioner in the area of demand-driven learning and supports organization in evaluation as well as setting up organization-wide MEL systems. 

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Research
If you feel as though your team or organization is flying blind, or continually pushing up against large, unforeseen forces, research can dramatically help turn that around. We tackle big, thorny questions through research – questions that, if answered, could reveal the scale, trends, root causes, and high leverage intervention points of problems you are addressing. We delight in mixed and creative research methods, transformational and liberatory frameworks (e.g. culturally-relevant approaches), data visualizations, interactive formats, and our very own data-art. To bring our clients the best results, we continually innovate and combine these methods in order to provide outstanding research that is beautifully communicated. 

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