CONSULTANCIES

REJECT GREED, TREAD LIGHTLY, CARE LOCALLY, RESPECT DIVERSITY …

Martina A Nicolls has over 35 years’ experience in the evaluation and implementation of development projects in post-conflict countries and in countries with emerging or transitional governments.

Served in post-conflict environments such as Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Liberia.

Particularly adept at leading evaluation teams for high level change management.

TESTIMONIAL: WASIM N, MULTAN, PAKISTAN
“I am glad to contact you as I am one of your trainees and have completed the Independent Monitoring Unit USAID Office of Transition Initiative training course. The training program was designed to capacitate us for the necessary skills of monitoring and evaluation and in fact it was a comprehensive program as we covered a lot of valuable topics. I especially appreciated your expertise in the subject matter and your ability to deliver the content in a clear and concise manner. Your presentation style and use of real-world examples made it easy for me to understand and apply the concepts to my work.” (April 2023)
 
 
TECHNICAL EXPERTISE:

(Click on the links to know more …)

 
 
 
 
*   primary & secondary & accelerated learning
*   technical & vocational education & training (TVET)
*   skills development & labor market assessments
*   higher education/tertiary education (universities)
*   gender equity & inclusive education 
*   community & rural development
*   boys education
*   peace in education/education in conflict zones
 
 
 
 
 
 

Examples:

2022 interim evaluation of the US Department of Labor Forced Labor Indicators Project (FLIP) in Ghana

2021 final performance evaluation of the USAID Civic Engagement Project (CEP) in North Macedonia

2021 appraisal of the Syria-Iraq Peace and Stabilisation Program

2021 interim evaluation of the US Department of Labor project Engaging Workers and Civil Society to Strengthen Labor Law Enforcement in Georgia

2021 diagnosis of the education sector in Lebanon (Education in Crisis) to support the European Assistance in the context of EU External Policies

2021 final performance evaluation of the USAID Bangladesh Countering Trafficking-in-Persons project

2020 evaluation of the USAID Somalia Alternative Basic Education (ABE) for Nomads and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)

2020 final performance evaluation of the USAID Dignity and Rights anti-human trafficking, safe migration, and migrant rights program in Central Asia – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

2019 rapid labor market assessment in Deir Ezzor Governorate in Syria to support Syrian civil society groups.

2019 European Union CAPFISH program in Cambodia for the sustainable management and resilience of natural resources and supplementary income generation and vocational education (TVET).

2019 evaluation of the UNESCO Sustainable Development Goals for education pilot capacity development in 11 countries across Africa and Asia, including the Right-to-Education human rights reviews.

2019 evaluation of the UNICEF No Lost Generation initiative to respond to the Syria crisis in terms of financial priorities, access to learning opportunities, and the coordination of relief and aid efforts.

2018 mid-term performance evaluation of countering trafficking in persons (CTIP) in Cambodia.

2017 data quality assessment in Afghanistan to review 59 USAID  projects.

2015 impact evaluation of USAID’s small grants interventions for youth in Pakistan that involved a treatment group compared with targeted beneficiaries, and compared with the previous year for both groups resulting in programmatic changes to the follow-on project.

2014 performance evaluation of USAID’s youth initiative in Somalia, across Puntland, Somaliland, and Mogadishu in the Federal Government of Somalia leading to programmatic change and financial accountability.

2013 final evaluation of USAID’s Sudan Transition and Conflict Mitigation program in Khartoum that aimed to mitigate conflict in Darfur and the Three Areas (border regions between Sudan and South Sudan) that led to continued support for the region.

2013 performance evaluation of USAID’s Office of Transition Initiative’s program in Sri Lanka, called the Reintegration and Stabilization in the East and North (RISEN) that aimed to improve social cohesion and civic engagement after 30 years of conflict.

Evaluations of child labor programs in Africa and Asia for the United States Department of Labor and the International Labor Organization, and for AusAID in 2013 that addressed children sexually exploited in the travel and tourism industy in the Mekong Region.

Further examples are provided through the links below.

Extensive experience in project management, monitoring and evaluation, data quality assessments, database management, statistical analysis, strategic planning, facilitating participatory reviews, and programming focused on gender and cultural issues, as well as corporate social responsibility programming.

Qualifications: Master of Science Communication, Bachelor of Education – Primary,  Bachelor of Education – Secondary, Diploma of Teaching

Membership of professional bodies: Association of Tertiary Education Management; Association of Science Communicators; Australian Engineers Association; AusAID Civilian Corps Disaster Relief Expert

Computer skillsAccess, SQL, SPSS, Statistica, STATA, Cognos Database, NVivo, MAXQDA, Excel, PowerPoint

Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E): qualitative & quantitative evidence-based & results-based evaluations (RBM); performance & impact evaluations; participatory M&E; situational analysis; baselines; longitudinal studies; database design & management; data quality assessments & audits (DQA); program evaluations (emergency relief/disaster to recovery, transitional, and development); M&E capacity development/training

Education: primary/basic, secondary, higher education/tertiary; girls’ education; literacy and numeracy; leadership/management; vocational (TVET), youth employment & empowerment & public-private partnerships; teacher training; accelerated learning; educational statistics (EMIS); scholarship programs; curriculum development

Peace & Security: preventing and countering violent extremism (PVE/CVE); stabilization; reintegration; peace building; conflict mitigation; recovery; transition; positive change; social cohesion; M&E of peace-building programs; mediation and negotiation

Other: health (HMIS, institutional strengthening, capacity building), gender; child labor/trafficking; project management; small grants management; institutional strengthening; financial & resource planning; livelihoods/income-generation; community/rural development.