Nexus Evaluation LTD is a UK-based consulting company committed to:
Help maximise social impact and results with systemic, culturally-sensitive and equitable approaches; and by working in the nexus between strategy, organisational development and MERL (monitoring, evaluation, research and learning)
These approaches and areas of work do not overlap or are used enough; yet they are interconnected, complementarity and better suited to deal with the dynamic and complex contexts in which we operate. More specifically:
1. Many strategies and programmes replicate errors, do not target the right issues or resolve them in inappropriate ways as well as miss transformative opportunities for change.
That is why it is important to use monitoring, evaluation, research and learning (MERL) to complement traditional strategy and programme design approaches. This results in more impact-focused, learning and evidence-based design and a process that allows values and power dynamics to be discussed and constructively challenged to tackle systemic issues.
The goal is to help maximise impact and results’ potential by ensuring relevance, unique-value add and complementarity of design. We do so by helping understand systems, transformative leavers of change, key stakeholders and their needs.
2. A lot of MERL practice is focused at the project level and can be perceived by non-specialists as a technocratic affair. For communities, in particular, it can sometimes feel extractive and reinforce negative structural and power dynamics.
This is why we specialise in portfolio or organisational level insights and use systemic, culturally-sensitive and equitable approaches to develop useful quality insights.
The goal is to support quality improvement, transparency and accountability through evidence-based decision making and learning. We do so by helping organisations track progress, assess impact and understand the role they play in the system.
Our role has evolved from just being an “expert” to a partner and critical friend that supports the professional development of others: helping identify patterns, trends, transformative levers of change and support data interpretation. We develop conclusions, recommendations and actions as a result of joint, evidence-based, reflection and learning sessions.
3. More often than not, organisations lack adequate capabilities to do MERL well. Moreover, MERL can also be siloed and not well integrated into other organisational functions. This means that even when useful evidence is generated, it is not always used for strategic decisions, operational planning, institutional learning or indeed to improve practice.
That is why we do a lot of knowledge management and organisational development. The goal is to improve organisational performance by enabling effective data collection, analysis and its use to improve practice. We do so by developing functions, professional capabilities, processes and a culture of learning and continuous improvement.
We also find ways to embed MERL into key business functions for sustained effectiveness and better knowledge management practice.
Nexus Evaluation LTD 