Sharing successes and failures

In an era of fake news, it is easy to put a gloss over any story. The portrait of “perfect” professional and personal lives is putting enormous pressure on our physical and mental health. We believe humans are imperfect and that we have to embrace our “whole” selves with all our lights and shadows. With that in mind, our stories Blog is an honest account of how we feel and the questions we have about the topics we consider. If you want to hear more about a particular topic, get in touch with us!

Current and previous stories

Learning from Women, rather than about them

Learning from Women, rather than about them

What I like most about my work in international development is to travel, to experience different places, to meet new … More info

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5 x Why do I want Learning from Women to Reimagine the Future?

5 x Why do I want Learning from Women to Reimagine the Future?

People say that if you really want to get to the core reason for something, you should ask (and answer) … More info

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First steps in the long journey of mass virtual education

First steps in the long journey of mass virtual education

One Monday in early March 2020 I was taking my class of American students on a field trip to the … More info

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What difference does different make?

What difference does different make?

Everyday we are bombarded with mixed messages about our differences. On one hand, we are encouraged to “think out of … More info

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Quasi-independent evaluation: a hybrid model inspired by ExxonMobil’s OIMS

Quasi-independent evaluation: a hybrid model inspired by ExxonMobil’s OIMS

Whenever I disclose that I started my career as an engineer at ExxonMobil, I get odd looks. ExxonMobil’s environmental reputation … More info

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When gender and immigration biases come together…

When gender and immigration biases come together…

It was a rainy afternoon, with black clouds covering the sky and the thick humid air that is common during … More info

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BEAR: a verb intrinsically associated to women

BEAR: a verb intrinsically associated to women

Interviewing women in a remote rural village in northern Sierra Leone, a tiny young woman told me that she had … More info

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Fly-in/Fly-out development model noticeable on the plane to Sierra Leone and Liberia

Fly-in/Fly-out development model noticeable on the plane to Sierra Leone and Liberia

SDGs, Malaria, HIV amongst sex workers… I have travelled a lot, but I had never seen so many people working … More info

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3rd place AEA’s video contest: What does speaking truth to power mean to me?

3rd place AEA’s video contest: What does speaking truth to power mean to me?

This one minute animation is a snapshot of our thinking on two broad topics: truth and power. Applying the Whole … More info

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Why do we need to talk about the Whole Person Approach?

Why do we need to talk about the Whole Person Approach?

One of the main reasons we were selected amongst almost 30 other proposals to carry out the evaluation of the … More info

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Whole Person Approach (WPA): the power of combining mind, heart, body and soul

Whole Person Approach (WPA): the power of combining mind, heart, body and soul

Corporate speak is a sort of newspeak. Jargon is the norm and it is all very “rational”. “Emotions”, especially in … More info

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Interview with C&A Foundation’s Head of Effective Philanthropy

Interview with C&A Foundation’s Head of Effective Philanthropy

As Head of Effective Philanthropy and C&A Foundation, Lee A. Risby was looking for an evaluation approach that would not … More info

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Beyond participatory approaches

Beyond participatory approaches

The pin dropped! After ten years applying the Whole Person Approach (WPA) to my work, I finally realised it goes … More info

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Interview with a Sustainability, Cross-sector Partnerships and Women’s Empowerment Expert

Interview with a Sustainability, Cross-sector Partnerships and Women’s Empowerment Expert

There are people that we have an immediate connection with. This was the case of Laura Somoggi, Sustainability, Cross-sector Partnerships … More info

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Experimenting with animation to present evaluation findings

Experimenting with animation to present evaluation findings

We are in the information age. Our daily lives are inundated with information. Many of us watch the news, check … More info

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Interview with the Director of the Oasis School of Human Relations Foundation

Interview with the Director of the Oasis School of Human Relations Foundation

In this interview, Chris Taylor, Director of Oasis School of Human Relations Foundation, talks about the Whole Person Approach in evaluations.  … More info

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Interview with Adam Smith International’s former Project Manager

Interview with Adam Smith International’s former Project Manager

Josephine Hetherington, former Project Manager at Adam Smith International (ASI), is used to managing problematic projects, with difficult clients and … More info

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Interview with C&A Foundation’s Programme Manager

Interview with C&A Foundation’s Programme Manager

Ilan Vuddamalay, Programme Manager at C&A Foundation, knows how easy it is for evaluation reports to be put on the … More info

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Creative Picture Cards

Creative Picture Cards

Creative picture cards can be used in a number of situations, from brainstorming in groups to one-to-one conversations. They allow … More info

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Objects

Objects

Along with my creative picture cards, my facilitation kit would be incomplete without my box of objects. I just love … More info

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Communicating the results of the Global Humanitarian Partnership Evaluation

Communicating the results of the Global Humanitarian Partnership Evaluation

A maximum of 20 pages! That was our main requirement for the final report on the findings of the evaluation … More info

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Only leaders publish their corporate partnership evaluation results

Only leaders publish their corporate partnership evaluation results

Corporate partnerships with non-governamental organisations (NGOs) to deliver international aid are on the rise. This is good news for those … More info

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The “traditional” evaluation full report

The “traditional” evaluation full report

Writing evaluation reports can be as daunting as reading them! With the information collected by three consultants, in more than … More info

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Daring to change the way we do business

Daring to change the way we do business

We change all the time, the world changes, people around us change, animals change, nature changes, the planet changes, the … More info

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Double life? Triple life? How many versions of you are out there?

Double life? Triple life? How many versions of you are out there?

For some of us 24 hours in a day is not enough. For others, there is plenty of time to … More info

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Why sincere apologies matter

Why sincere apologies matter

“Sorry” is perhaps the most used expression in the English dictionary after “Thank you”. Yet, most of the times it … More info

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Finding Your Flock

Finding Your Flock

I have been working in the environmental area for almost 15 years now. As such, I often wonder if my … More info

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Is talking about our own vulnerability allowed in the workplace?

Is talking about our own vulnerability allowed in the workplace?

Almost 29 million people have watched ‘The power of vulnerability 2010’s TED TALK’ by Brené Brown. The sheer volume of … More info

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Life Is A Journey

Life Is A Journey

I first came across the poem by Rabbi Alvin Fine, Life is a journey and death a destination when looking … More info

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Living As A Whole Person – Not As A Facebook Profile

Living As A Whole Person – Not As A Facebook Profile

When people ask me what I do for a living I often ponder if I should give them the short … More info

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Embracing Uncertainty

Embracing Uncertainty

How many times have we heard: “… and then something else happened.” No matter how much we plan, when it … More info

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It is time we change the way we teach: a revolution is needed

It is time we change the way we teach: a revolution is needed

It is not uncommon for us to keep doing things the way we have always done them. The definition of … More info

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Dealing With Technology

Dealing With Technology

That technology changes the way we live is not surprising. How much it is ingrained in our behaviour, though, is … More info

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The Joys and Pitfalls of Co-facilitation

The Joys and Pitfalls of Co-facilitation

My facilitation career started with co-facilitation. I was invited by Chris Taylor to run the People Planet and Purpose Open … More info

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Don’t Ask More From People Than What They Can Give

Don’t Ask More From People Than What They Can Give

Having studied in a Catholic school, from a very early age I was told to follow the Golden Rule: “You … More info

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Cities and urban poverty

Cities and urban poverty

Today, 33% of city dwellers live in slums. By 2050 half of the world’s population will live in slums. “How can … More info

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What To Do When Things Don’t Go Right?

What To Do When Things Don’t Go Right?

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

Albert Einstein
Life is always beautiful and successful … More info

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Consequences of Failing to Re-contract

Consequences of Failing to Re-contract

Oasis’ Seven Stage Model has become a bible to me. I use it as a framework to design all the … More info

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First Impressions Count: How Perceptions Influence Outcomes

First Impressions Count: How Perceptions Influence Outcomes

It is common knowledge that first impressions count. I learned this in my teenage years. Before going on a date, … More info

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Don’t Forget Your Homework: The Importance Of Risk Assessments

Don’t Forget Your Homework: The Importance Of Risk Assessments

What is the worst thing that can happen? Can anyone die? This may seem dramatic, but in the beginning of … More info

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