Creative and practical monitoring, evaluation and design services for our diverse world
Sara Webb created Duniya Consulting in 2011, building on her strong track record in international and community development. Duniya brings together a wide network of individuals and organisations to work with organisations and governments in Australia, and around the world.
Services
Program and project
design
A well-thought-through design is essential for project and program success. We support teams and organisations to do this work early, laying the foundation for effective implementation and well-informed management, using a range of tools including theory of change, program logic and co-design.
Monitoring, evaluation and learning
We bring a practical approach to our work with clients and partners to develop M&E frameworks which inform management, learning, accountability and improvement. Our approach is practical, and we focus on enabling meaningful evidence and analysis, for a wide range of projects, programs, organisations and sectors.
Facilitation and
reflection
Well-facilitated planning, learning and reflection discussions can significantly improve management and implementation. Duniya Consulting designs and facilitates workshops that enable groups and organisations to improve their work through reflection and learning - both face-to-face and online.
Strategy and planning
We collaborate to support strategy and planning that takes a long-term perspective. Duniya helps you bring together people and perspectives to jointly develop a vision and plan for the future, whether for a project, a program, an organisation or a coalition.
Organisational and program governance
Sound governance is essential for performance and integrity. Board and management experience enables us to support tailored management and governance for projects, programs and organisations.
About
Our work is founded on a commitment to learning, listening and supporting. Duniya Consulting is a feminist organisation, based in Naarm/Melbourne, on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin nation. We work all over the world and recognise and value the diversity of culture and humanity everywhere.
Duniya Consulting supports work that improves our world, and the lives of the diverse people who live within it. Whether working with communities close to home in Australia or internationally, Duniya aims to deliver practical program solutions based on connection, partnership and learning. We approach our projects with curiosity, openness and creativity, collaborating with clients to achieve impact and change through realistic program and project designs, meaningful monitoring and evaluation, and useful strategic and implementation advice.
Duniya Consulting is led by Sara Webb, also our lead consultant. Sara draws on three decades of international experience across Asia, the Pacific and Africa to support impactful programs. She also takes the lead in building tailored teams, drawing on her vibrant and diverse network of collaborators and partners.
Formal qualifications in development studies, program evaluation, economics and organisational governance inform Sara’s practice, with clients ranging from Australian government agencies to local NGOs and large international organisations. Thematically, her work has covered wide-ranging topics including vocational education, climate change, gender equality, educational access, food security, tertiary scholarships, infrastructure, governance, trade and humanitarian aid.
Sara is on the Board of the International Development Contractors Community (IDCC) and is also an active member of the Australian Evaluation Society. Most recently, she and her colleague Epeli Tinivata presented at the AES Conference in Meanjin/Brisbane in September 2023. Their paper is available here.
Values
Duniya Consulting supports work that improves our world, and the lives of the diverse people who live within it. Whether working with communities close to home in Australia or internationally, Duniya aims to deliver practical program solutions based on connection, partnership and learning. We approach our projects with curiosity, openness and creativity, collaborating with clients to achieve impact and change through realistic program and project designs, meaningful monitoring and evaluation, and useful strategic and implementation advice.
Our work is founded on a commitment to learning, listening and supporting. Duniya Consulting is a feminist organisation, based on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We work all over the world and recognise and value the diversity of culture and humanity everywhere.
Values
Duniya Consulting supports work that improves our world, and the lives of the diverse people who live within it. Whether working with communities close to home in Australia or internationally, Duniya aims to deliver practical program solutions based on connection, partnership and learning. We approach our projects with curiosity, openness and creativity, collaborating with clients to achieve impact and change through realistic program and project designs, meaningful monitoring and evaluation, and useful strategic and implementation advice.
Our work is founded on a commitment to learning, listening and supporting. Duniya Consulting is a feminist organisation, based on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We work all over the world and recognise and value the diversity of culture and humanity everywhere.
Selected work
Recent highlights
2024 has been a busy year for Duniya Consulting. An exciting new assignment began in January, with Sara taking on a key role working with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to implement its internal Evaluation Improvement Strategy. She led the creation of an Organisational Evaluation Capability Model for DFAT, including a methodology for organisational and team assessments of capability. Sara is also Domain Lead for a package of work supporting capability uplift in several target overseas Posts. Another key consultancy in 2024 was the Mid-Term Review of the Nepal Subnational Governance Program, for The Asia Foundation and DFAT. Later in 2024, Sara also co-delivered training to DFAT staff on Managing Investment Design.
Balance of Power Program
Since 2020, Duniya Consulting has provided monitoring, evaluation and learning services to the transformative Balance of Power (BOP) program, which aims to increase women’s voice, agency and participation in decision making in the Pacific. The program targets deeply entrenched social norms on gender and leadership through a Pacific Islander-led ‘thinking and working politically’ approach. Duniya Consulting developed, and is supporting the implementation of, BOP’s adaptive management approach with tailored processes to collect and analyse data, and support learning, reflection, accountability and decision-making. Methods being adapted for BOP include strategy testing, bellwether interviews and story-based approaches.
ACIAR Capacity Building Program
Duniya Consulting worked with the Capacity Building Program in ACIAR for several years to enhance monitoring, evaluation and learning. ACIAR shares world-leading Australian research with developing country partners to support food and agricultural systems, and build in-country research capacity. After a review of existing arrangements and facilitation of a new theory of change, Duniya developed a program-wide monitoring and evaluation framework and has continued to provide support and advice. Additionally, Duniya Consulting designed and implemented a mixed methods tracer study of alumni from the John Allwright Fellowships program, including a set of qualitative case studies. Other work has included developing an approach for organisational capacity evaluations, and collaborating with ACIAR partners to strengthen their M&E for management, learning and improvement.
Missing School Telepresence Robots Innovation Projects
Using developmental evaluation, Duniya Consulting supported Australian non-profit MissingSchool in a ground-breaking pilot in the use of telepresence robots to support students missing school due to significant illness or injury. Evidence from the pilot showed the robots significantly improved student and family wellbeing, as well as educational outcomes, by keeping students engaged in their school community. Building on this, MissingSchool and Duniya also collaborated on a unique innovation project to explore integration of robots within the NSW Department of Education. Duniya supported the development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation, learning and reflection, and provided critical feedback on both projects.
Sara with close colleagues Jamine Makkikon and Arun Eroshan Alagaretnam at the 2019 Australian Aid Conference.
Sara with close colleagues Jamine Makkikon and Arun Eroshan Alagaretnam at the 2019 Australian Aid Conference.
Who we work with
Duniya Consulting works with a range of clients, including small and large NGOs, Australian government departments and agencies, private sector firms and research bodies.
Over the last several years, clients have included the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Developmental Leadership Program (University of Birmingham, UK), Australian Red Cross, ACIAR, CSIRO, MissingSchool, the Australian Humanitarian Partnership, DFAT Office of Development Effectiveness, and Bluebird Consultants.
Duniya Consulting also collaborates with other companies and colleagues to form larger bespoke teams to deliver to client requirements.