Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
Gesem is an Ethiopia-based monitoring and evaluation company providing MEL frameworks, baseline and endline studies, data quality assurance and learning support.
Explore this consultancy service
Research and consultancy services in Ethiopia
Research, evaluation and consultancy services in Ethiopia.
Gesem Research and Consulting PLC supports organisations that need credible evidence, reliable field implementation and practical institutional advice. Our services cover research and assessments, evaluation and MEL, digital data collection, data analytics, strategic planning, organisational development and capacity building across Ethiopia.
Ethiopia-based delivery
Full consultancy assignments or defined Ethiopia workstreams can be scoped around the evidence, implementation and decision needs of each client.
Consultancy service portfolio
Specialist support from evidence generation to organisational implementation.
Clients can commission a complete assignment or a defined component. Each specialist page explains when the service is appropriate, how Gesem approaches the work, typical deliverables and relevant experience.
Baseline and Endline Evaluation
Gesem designs baseline surveys, endline evaluations, household surveys and comparison studies for development programmes across Ethiopia.
Explore this consultancy serviceResearch and Assessments
Gesem conducts needs assessments, feasibility studies, market and policy research, and mixed-methods development studies across Ethiopia.
Explore this consultancy serviceData Management and Analytics
Gesem provides data cleaning, statistical analysis, qualitative coding, codebooks, dashboards and decision-oriented analytics for research and evaluation.
Explore this consultancy serviceKoboToolbox and Digital Data Collection
Gesem provides KoboToolbox and XLSForm programming, enumerator training, field monitoring and data quality assurance for surveys in Ethiopia.
Explore this consultancy serviceQualitative Research, KII and FGD Facilitation
Gesem conducts qualitative research in Ethiopia using KIIs, FGDs, case studies, Most Significant Change and rigorous thematic analysis.
Explore this consultancy serviceStrategic Planning Consultancy in Ethiopia
Gesem provides strategic planning consultancy in Ethiopia for NGOs, CSOs, institutions and development programmes, from diagnosis and consultation to implementation and MEL frameworks.
Explore this consultancy serviceTraining & Capacity Building
Gesem designs and facilitates capacity building, technical training and organisational learning in research, MEL, data and institutional systems.
Explore this consultancy serviceOrganisational Development and Institutional Systems
Gesem supports organisational assessment, governance review, policy manuals, systems strengthening and institutional development in Ethiopia.
Explore this consultancy service
Not sure which service fits?
Use the service selector to match the problem to the right consultancy support.
The portfolio above shows what Gesem delivers. This decision guide helps procurement and programme teams translate a problem, TOR or evidence need into a clearer service scope before requesting a proposal.
| What the client needs to decide or solve | Best-fit Gesem service | Typical evidence or outputs |
|---|---|---|
| Establish starting values or measure change over time | Baseline & Endline Evaluation / MEL | Indicator framework, survey, comparison analysis, qualitative explanation and evaluation report. |
| Understand needs, feasibility, context, markets or institutions | Research & Assessments | Needs assessment, feasibility study, household or institutional survey, policy or market analysis. |
| Explain experiences, mechanisms and stakeholder perspectives | Qualitative Research | KIIs, FGDs, IDIs, case studies, thematic analysis and explanatory findings. |
| Implement a defined digital survey or Ethiopia fieldwork package | Digital Data Collection / Country Implementation | Localisation, programming, recruitment, training, supervision, quality assurance and clean handover. |
| Clean, reconstruct, analyse or visualise existing data | Data Management & Analytics | Data audit, cleaning, codebook, derived indicators, analysis, visualisation and reproducible outputs. |
| Choose organisational or programme direction | Strategic Planning & Programme Design | Situation analysis, theory of change, strategic choices, implementation matrix and monitoring framework. |
| Strengthen governance, policies, systems or operating procedures | Organisational Development | Capacity assessment, policies/manuals, structure options, accountability systems and improvement plan. |
| Close a technical capability or practice gap | Training & Capacity Building | Needs assessment, curriculum, facilitated learning, practical exercises and follow-up plan. |
Avoid scope confusion
Research, evaluation, strategy and organisational development answer different questions.
Using the wrong label in a TOR can produce incomparable proposals, unclear deliverables and unnecessary methodology. These distinctions help define the assignment more precisely.
Research & assessment
Use when the primary question is what is happening, what is needed, what is feasible, what barriers exist, or what conditions should inform a programme or decision.
Research & assessment optionsEvaluation
Use when the primary question is how a programme performed, what changed, why results differed, and what should be learned or adapted.
Evaluation & MEL optionsStrategic planning
Use when evidence must be converted into priorities, strategic choices, a theory of change, implementation pathways and monitoring arrangements.
Strategic planning supportOrganisational development
Use when the central issue is governance, roles, systems, policies, procedures, accountability, institutional capacity or organisational performance.
Organisational development support
Define technical ownership
Choose an engagement model before requesting a quotation.
The same sample and field period can have very different costs depending on whether Gesem owns the full technical assignment or only a defined Ethiopia implementation component.
Full assignment
Client: TOR, background documents, access and review decisions.
Gesem: design, tools, sampling, fieldwork, analysis, reporting, validation and final deliverables.
Ethiopia country implementation
Client: global protocol, core tools, technical standards and central coordination.
Gesem: localisation, field preparation, recruitment, training, delivery, supervision, QA and handover.
Fieldwork-only package
Client: final questionnaire/guides, sample rules and platform specifications.
Gesem: mobilisation, training, logistics, interviews, supervision, daily checks and completion records.
Data / analysis support
Client: datasets, research questions, variable definitions and indicator logic.
Gesem: audit, cleaning, coding, derived indicators, analysis, documentation and interpretation.
Strategic / institutional advisory
Client: mandate, prior plans and policies, internal documents and access to decision-makers.
Gesem: diagnosis, consultation, options, facilitation, strategy/systems documents and implementation tools.
Training / facilitated learning
Client: target participants, capability priorities and intended workplace application.
Gesem: needs assessment, curriculum, practical learning design, facilitation, materials and follow-up recommendations.
Integrated assignments
Combine services only where the assignment genuinely requires them.
Integrated work is most useful when each component contributes to one decision pathway. These examples show how different service families can connect without becoming an unfocused package.
Multi-region endline evaluation
An endline may require an evaluation framework, household survey, KIIs/FGDs, digital field systems, data cleaning and mixed-method interpretation. The evaluation remains the primary assignment; the other services support it.
Strategic plan plus operating systems
A strategy assignment may begin with document review and stakeholder consultation, then move into strategic choices, implementation planning and—where the mandate requires it—supporting HR, finance or procurement policies.
International multi-country study
The prime contractor may retain the global protocol and analysis plan while Gesem owns Ethiopia localisation, field recruitment, training, CAPI/qualitative implementation, daily QA and country-level handover.
Capacity building linked to practice
Training is strongest when it begins with a defined performance gap, uses role-relevant exercises and ends with practical follow-up—not when it is added as a generic workshop at the end of an unrelated consultancy.
Before you request a quotation
Minimum information for a credible quotation.
Even an early RFQ becomes much easier to price when it explains the core operating assumptions. Exact numbers can still be refined later, but the supplier should understand the scale and division of responsibilities.
- Purpose and intended decision/use of the assignment.
- Geography, target population and approximate sample/interview volume.
- Methods, languages and digital-platform responsibilities.
- Field dates, deadlines and required quality-control procedures.
- Client-provided inputs, expected deliverables and commercial format.
Useful companion resource
Planning field implementation as well?
The separate Research and Fieldwork in Ethiopia guide goes deeper into sampling, multilingual tools, ethics, CAPI, field teams, supervision, data quality, logistics and handover for international teams.
Use the scoping checklist to define what you are commissioning, then use the fieldwork guide to test whether the implementation plan is operationally complete.
Evidence behind the service portfolio
Selected assignments show how different services look in practice.
These examples connect service selection to completed Gesem work so clients can see the difference between an evaluation, strategy, institutional-development and capacity-building engagement.
Evaluation + data analysis
A four-region resilience evaluation combined a 1,000-household survey with KIIs, FGDs and MSC stories, requiring structured indicator analysis and mixed-method synthesis.
View evaluation evidenceStrategic planning
The Anywaa Biosphere Reserve 2026-2030 management plan links governance, conservation, sustainable development, monitoring, financing and risk across a large multi-woreda landscape.
View strategy caseStrategy + organisational systems
For ARCSOC, Gesem combined a 2026-2028 organisational strategy with finance, HR and procurement manuals so strategic direction and operating systems were developed together.
View institutional caseTraining & capacity building
Capacity-building support for Tourism Training Institute workers used participatory adult learning, practical exercises, reflection and feedback to connect learning with workplace application.
View training caseScoping questions
Common questions before commissioning an assignment.
Research or evaluation?
Use research/assessment when the central need is to understand a problem, need, context or feasibility question. Use evaluation when the central need is to assess a programme, its results and the reasons behind performance.
Can Gesem deliver only fieldwork?
Yes. A client can retain global technical ownership while Gesem provides Ethiopia localisation, field mobilisation, CAPI or qualitative implementation, supervision, QA and handover.
Can services be combined?
Yes, where the TOR requires an integrated pathway. The key is to keep one clear assignment purpose and define how each technical component contributes to it.
What makes an RFQ easier to price?
Clarify purpose, geography, sample/volume, methods, languages, digital platform, field dates, quality controls, client inputs, deliverables and the expected commercial format.
Still deciding what the TOR needs?
Discuss an Assignment
Share the decision problem, not just a service label.
Gesem can review a sufficiently defined scope and help clarify the most appropriate methodology, work plan, team structure and expected outputs.