Team & Clients
Since 2013 Valuing Voices team’s focus has been on creating a research, design, M&E and post-project sustained and emerging impacts evaluation firm. This includes writing and speaking about international development programming, designing processes and doing fieldwork to build knowledge, and building a network of engaged partners.
Our focus is Appreciative, finding out and building on what participants, partners and organizations do well and can do better, designing and implementing for sustainability and they evaluating it. Much can be learned from what continues locally, and how to design anew.
Our network includes evaluators, advocates, and locally-led sustainability experts in the US, Africa, and Asia.
Leadership
Jindra Čekan/ová, PhD is the Founder and Catalyst of Valuing Voices at Cekan Consulting LLC. An international political economist, she has 38-years of experience in listening to those we ostensibly serve. Dr. Čekan/ová is a speaker, evaluator, and writer about Sustained and Emerging Impacts, including strategic planning, designing, implementing, monitoring & evaluating to foster sustainability. She presents on how to stewarding nature well and invest in regeneration.She has worked in 35 countries on-site and remotely.
Working with many stakeholders, Dr. Čekan/ová aims to raise up national voices for country-led sustainable development and long-term sustained outcomes and impacts years after projects close. Lessons from (ex-post-project) sustained and emerging impacts and final evaluations are invaluable to shape funding, design, implementation, M&E, and learning and inform SDGs and Impact investment strategies. She and her team have consulted to:
* Multilaterals such as the Adaptation Fund (at IBRD) and Climate Investment Funds,
* Non-profits such as CRS, CARE, Save the Children, LWR, the Red Cross/ Red Crescent),
* Foundations (the Rockefeller, the Bill and Melinda Gates, Aga Khan Foundations), bilaterals like USAID,
* For-profits (Price Waterhouse/ Coopers & Lybrand, Salomon Brothers).
Dr. Čekan/ová has also owned and managed our 540ha Czech family forest Lesy Čekanová for 30 years. She firmly believes in preserving our ecosystem and the many gifts it gives and invests in ecological sustainability. She has studied & taught at The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy/Tufts, at Harvard University and was a research fellow at the University of Cambridge (UK). She is also a dual citizen, mother, a Buddhist, and loves giraffes.
Network
ADVISORS
Cindy Clapp Wincek: Consultant, former head of USAID’s Policy Planning and Learning, Learning, Evaluation and Research Bureau (USA)
Scott Bayley: Principal Specialist in Australia’s DFAT Aid Management and Performance Branch (Australia)
COLLABORATIONS
We have a strong collaboration with BetterEvaluation.orgon Sustained and Emerging Impacts Evaluation, featured in 2017 as a new thematic area: http://betterevaluation.org/en/themes/SEIE
EVALUATOR EXPERTS
Musiho Abdala: with over 15 years’ experience of applied research, project monitoring & evaluation especially on livelihood and education projects. Country experience is in 6 Africa countries plus Afghanistan (Uganda)
Abu Ala Hasan: Researcher and development professional, with academic background in social sciences, and 13 years of experience in the NGO sector in programme management, M&E, advocacy, research and human rights and livelihoods.
Rutere Kagendo: President, Ronto Research Company has M&E operations in 15 African countries doing baselines, mid-and end-line evaluations and impact assessments (Kenya)
CV – Rutere Kagendo (Kenya)
Peter Kimeu: co-founder of KUSARD and Decent Living local Kenyan NGOs and 30-year head of Peace and Justice for Africa for Catholic Relief Services (Kenya)
CV – Kimeu (Kenya)
Rituu Nanda: Participation & gender evaluator, extensive UN and NGO work since 2010 (India)
CV – Nanda (India)
Laurie Zivetz: Four decades of international development experience which includes innovation, evaluation, research, mentoring, training, strategy and program design in sub Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia (USA/ Australia).
Thenjiwe Sisimayi: Owner, Psychosocial Support, Research and Training Centre. Over 25 years mixed-method M&E and statistical analysis (Zimbabwe)
CV – T Sisimayi (Zimbabwe)
Chenjerai Sisimayi: Owner, Psychosocial Support, Research and Training Centre. Over 25 years mixed-method M&E and statistical analysis (Zimbabwe)
CV – C Sisimayi (Zimbabwe)
Mutizwa Mukute, Director, Social Learning and Innovation Ltd has 34 years experience in just social change and environmental sustainability, including ex-post.
CV – M Mukute (Zimbabwe)
Mohamed Cherif Diarra: Malian expert in education, extensive experience w/foreign aid evaluations
CV – M Cherif Diarra (Mali)
Karen Komiti Samoan expert in climate change sustainability evaluation
CV – Saunoa Karen Komiti CV VV (Samoa)
Consulting Clients & Grants
Clients
Our 10 sustained and emerging impacts evaluation and sustained exit clients for whom we have done 15 ex-post and sustained exit evaluations are:
Ex-post (Sustained and Emerging Impacts) Evaluations
- Adaptation Fund (via ICF Int’l) 5 years post-closure adaptive sustainability and resilience evaluation of an $8 million water project run by Government of Ghana’s MEST and UNDP, of Increased Resilience to Climate Change in Northern Ghana through the Management of Water Resources and Diversification of Livelihoods.
- The Rockefeller Foundation, Ex-post/ Sustainability Strategic & Technical Advisor to the Strategic Learning & Impact (SL&I) team
- Climate Investment Funds (via ICF), 3-5 years ex-post Ex-post sustainability & transformation evaluation consultant Evaluating the PPCR pilot program via a retrospective Theory of Change and sustainability, using transformational change methodology that includes real-time ‘signals’ & 3 ex-post case studies (2024-25 forthcoming) including methods and tools.
- Adaptation Fund at the World Bank, 3-5 years ex-post, Task Team Lead, Ex-post Evaluation Consultant, sustainability and resilience to climate change evaluations in Samoa (2021), Ecuador (2021), two in Argentina (2023)
- USAID/ Mali 7-9 year ex-post evaluation of USAID/Mali Out of School Youth Project, also known as PAJE-NIETA (Project d’Appui aux Jeunes Entrepreneurs) (2022).
- Lutheran World Relief Tanzania 3 years ex-post Agricultural Value Chain “ex-post” project evaluation (2018)
- USAID via Management Systems International Uganda Evaluation of Sustained Outcomes in primary education, 15 years “ex–post” project systems evaluation. Synthesis Report across the four SOBE cases (2018)
- Catholic Relief Services Zimbabwe 2 years ex-post Rehabilitation/ Livelihoods “ex–post” project Sustained and Emerging Impacts evaluation (2016)
- Catholic Relief Services Niger (2015) 3 years ex-post Food Security (Agriculture/ Health) “ex–post” Sustained and Emerging Impacts project evaluation
- The Federation of the Red Cross/ Red Crescent Ethiopia Projected sustainability at final Food Security evaluation, designing community sustainability monitoring (2014)
- Terre des Hommes Italia, “Exit and Sustainability Planning for Jukta Hoe Mukta’ in Bangladesh” (2018-19)
- Lutheran World Relief/ Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Niger Projected sustainability 6 months “ex–post” project drought rehabilitation evaluation (2006)
Fostering Sustained Exit
- Results in Health Netherlands headquarters, Trainings in Exit & Ex-Post Evaluation (2021)
- Sambodhi India/ The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Consultant on Sustainability: “A Learning System for Multiple PAC Investments” (2020)
- American Red Cross “Transition, Graduation and Sustainability Planning” Consultant (2018-19)
Our other international development and monitoring & evaluation clients include:
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Aga Khan Foundation
- US Agency for International Development (USAID)
- Johns Hopkins University
- CARE
- Save the Children
- World Vision
- Mercy Corps
- Geneva Global
- Global Giving
Other qualifications:
D&B #: 017447821
NAICS codes:
541720 – Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities
541618 – Other Management Consulting Services
541611 – Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
541620 – Environmental Consulting Services
541690 – Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
Valuing Voices at Cekan Consulting LLC is a registered Woman-Owned Small Business (WSOB)http://www.sba.gov/content/contracting-opportunities-women-owned-small-businesses
Research Grants
Valuing Voices received a Faster Forward Fund research grant for sustained impact evaluation by expert evaluator Michael Scriven through the Marin Community Foundation (2017).
A review of eight projects with end-of-project and post project evaluation reports suggest that post project evaluations can contribute to better understanding of the sustainability of project impacts and identify unexpected and emerging outcomes years after project close.
The review highlights some of the methodological issues that are unique to post project (as opposed to end of project) evaluation, and point to the advantages of planning for sustainability measurement from the outset of the project. If not, what planning is needed at project end.
Organizations that fund post project evaluations offer a range of reasons for doing so: to learn, to promote a success, to inform replication or scale, to provide justification for future funding, to promote accountability.