About me
I am an independent researcher and program evaluator; right now I am co-founder and Director at Causal Map Ltd.
Links
- PhD
- CV
- PDFs of reports and publications
- LinkedIn (I write frequently on evaluation issues)
- Publications on Google Scholar
- Research Gate
This blog is like an attic where I put stuff that doesn’t fit in any of those categories. Up to January 2024 there was quite a lot of old stuff here which I have now removed. Contact me if you are looking for something ancient and can’t find it.
Bio
I was based in Sarajevo 1997-2017, where I did a lot of research in B&H and the Balkans.
In Sarajevo I cofounded proMENTE social research, where I also worked. Prior to proMENTE, I worked as Programme Manager of a series of academic and training projects for students and psychosocial professionals in South-East Europe for the University of Munich with Prof. Willi Butollo.
Now I have moved with my family to Clevedon, near Bristol in the UK, where I am working with Causal Map Ltd to build the first (we think) app for causal QDA. This is a really exciting voyage of discovery.
As you might be able to guess from the above, I have studied philosophy, maths and psychology.
Work
Projects
I have over 25 years’ experience in research, monitoring and evaluation, as well as communicating the results, in about 30 different countries (mainly SE Europe, S & SE Asia / Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa) on a wide variety of topics from disaster response in Haiti and psychosocial programming after the 2004 tsunami to social capital in the former Soviet Union, biodiversity in W Africa, community resilience in East Africa and counting stray dogs in Sarajevo.
I am strong in both quantitative (GIS, “big data”, online & mobile, SPSS; R) and qualitative (Outcome Mapping, text analysis) research and evaluation approaches. I try to make my evidence-gathering transparent and am convinced of the importance of reproducible research.
As a freelancer, I mostly deal with monitoring, evaluation and research for international development and disaster recovery programmes. This has meant working with some great people, especially at the IFRC. So I set up M&E systems and also conduct evaluations and carry out research. Subject-wise I try to remain a generalist, because I love dipping into different themes as necessary, from environmental protection and beneficiary communication to volunteerism and PTSD.
Theories of Change in evaluation
My special interest is causal mapping and theories of change in evaluation.
A while ago I wrote a set of slides on Theories of Change.
I also provide a free web app for constructing graphical Theories of Change using a visual and written language I call “Theorymaker”. It is text-based. I’ve lost the code for the original version, but I recently made an AI version for fun.
Publications
My academic research has been mainly in the field of clinical psychology especially after war, covering Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and post-traumatic growth.
This work was mostly together with colleagues from Sarajevo and the University of Munich, especially Maria Hagl. My PhD sums it up.
