Research · Evaluation · Strategy
Khanyisa Research & Consulting is a UK-registered research and advisory firm with offices in Bulawayo and Midrand. We help governments, development partners, NGOs and mission-led businesses understand complex problems, measure what is changing, and act on what they learn.
Who we are
Khanyisa means "to illuminate". We bring together development research, programme evaluation, strategic planning and applied psychology to produce evidence that is credible, usable and grounded in the realities of the people and systems it describes.
We work through a core interdisciplinary team and a selected network of local and international consultants, researchers, field practitioners and trainers. Senior consultants stay involved from design to final report. Teams are sized to the assignment, not to a standard package.
Our clients include national and regional governments, bilateral and multilateral development partners, international and local NGOs, universities and research institutions, foundations, faith-based organisations and private companies working mainly in Southern and Eastern Africa.
To support the realisation of Africa's development aspirations by providing effective research, consultancy and training services to clients and partners.
An Africa with stronger and more inclusive economies, resilient and profitable livelihoods, and happier, healthier citizens in our lifetime.
Khanyisa Research & Consulting Ltd
Registered in England and Wales · Company no. 17479124
Incorporated 21 August 2023
What we do
Assignments can stand alone or connect, moving from diagnosis to strategy, measurement, learning and adaptation. Each starts with the question the client needs answered.
Good programmes start with a clear picture of the problem. We carry out studies that show how a system works, who it affects and where change is possible. We combine existing data with fieldwork so that our findings reflect conditions on the ground.
We help organisations design projects that can be measured, then test whether they deliver. Our teams run the full survey process, from sampling and digital tools to enumerator training and field quality checks. We report what the evidence shows, including what has not worked. We also facilitate learning sessions so that partners can act on findings while there is still time to adjust.
Lasting results depend on people and institutions that can carry the work forward. We train programme staff, partners and field teams in monitoring and evaluation, research methods, data collection and analysis, and gender and social inclusion. We then mentor staff as they apply these skills to their own projects, and our team includes an accredited executive coach who works with managers and leaders. Every course is built around the participants' real work, so new skills go straight into daily practice.
We help boards and management teams decide where their organisation is going and how it will get there. Through organisational reviews, stakeholder consultation and facilitated planning, we produce strategies that are costed, measurable and realistic. We also advise development partners, NGOs and private companies on programme strategy, inclusion and the use of evidence.
How we work
Every assignment follows the same discipline, scaled to its size. Methods are proportionate to the decision, and findings are traced back to the evidence that supports them.
We start with the purpose, the intended users, the evidence already available, operational constraints and the choices the work must inform.
Questions, methods, sampling and measures fit the decision. Instruments are reviewed, tested and aligned with the theory of change.
Field teams are trained and supervised. Consent, confidentiality, safeguarding and secure data handling are core requirements.
Survey results are tested against qualitative accounts, programme records and context. Differences are examined, not hidden.
Findings are validated with stakeholders and turned into priorities, adaptations, indicators, responsibilities and realistic choices.
Evidence has value when it improves a real decision, strengthens delivery, or helps an organisation learn responsibly from experience.
Our work
These examples were delivered by Khanyisa principals and associates in their professional capacity. They show the range of questions, methods and sectors our team brings to new work.
No assignments under this theme yet.
Across our core and associate team, clients and partners have included the organisations listed. This reflects individual professional experience as well as work contracted through Khanyisa.
Our people
Assignments are led by our senior team and supported by statisticians, qualitative researchers, gender and inclusion specialists, sector experts, field coordinators and data managers. Full CVs are available for specific submissions.
Principal Consultant
Development researcher, evaluator and strategic adviser with more than 15 years' experience in climate resilience, agriculture and food systems, natural-resource governance, social protection and institutional learning.
Has led or supported more than 50 major assignments for UN agencies, bilateral and multilateral partners, international NGOs, public institutions and civil society.
Qualifications: PhD in Climate Change, Agriculture and Society (University of Dundee); MSc in Development and Project Planning; BSc in Crop Science.
Technical strengths: study design, sampling, household surveys, qualitative enquiry, enumerator training, field quality assurance, quantitative and thematic analysis, theory of change, policy and management reporting.
Gender, Equality and Social Inclusion Lead
Sociologist and gender specialist with more than 20 years in longitudinal and action research, evaluations, gender analysis and social-inclusion advice, across more than 15 African countries.
Has led or supported work for the AfDB, UN Women, WFP, UNFPA, FAO, UNDP, UNESCO, the EU, GIZ and SDC, including Zimbabwe's national gender scoping study and the WFP Zimbabwe Gender Strategy.
Qualifications: PhD in Sociology, MSc in Sociology and Social Anthropology, BSc (Hons) in Sociology, all University of Zimbabwe.
Technical strengths: GESI analysis, institutional gender audits, gender policies and action plans, gender-responsive budgeting, mixed methods, facilitation and training.
Livelihoods and Policy Lead
Professor of Development Sociology and Director of the Fort Hare Institute for Social and Economic Research, with more than 15 years in climate adaptation, migration, agrarian change and food systems.
Research and consultancy for IOM, Hivos Southern Africa, Oxfam South Africa, the Social Science Research Council, government departments and local authorities, across nine countries in Southern and East Africa.
Qualifications: DPhil in Politics and International Studies and MA in Human and Sustainable Development (University of Leeds); MSocSc (University of Fort Hare); BA Hons (University of Zimbabwe).
Technical strengths: policy research, mixed-methods design, baseline and evaluation research, publication and dissemination.
Qualitative Research Specialist
Organisational psychologist leading our qualitative work on psychosocial wellbeing, organisational behaviour and lived experience. Independent researcher and adviser since 2014.
Doctoral research at the University of Nottingham on work-related stress and wellbeing in adult social care during and after COVID-19. Has held senior investigative and coaching posts in the UK Civil Service.
Qualifications: PhD in Applied Psychology (Occupational Psychology) and Management (University of Nottingham); MBA; MSc in International Business; BSc (Hons) Psychology with HRM.
Methods: semi-structured interviews, Reflexive Thematic Analysis, cross-case comparison, scoping reviews, NVivo, SPSS.
Working with us
We can join an assignment in the role that suits it. Teams are assembled around the work and can combine in-country fieldwork, remote technical support and collaboration with local institutions.
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Offices
Our UK office handles contracting and client relations. Our offices in Bulawayo and Midrand give us a permanent base close to the communities, institutions and field teams our work depends on.
Registered office
8 Tregarrick View, Helston
Cornwall TR13 8GU
Zimbabwe office
Fieldwork coordination and client support for Zimbabwe and the wider region.
South Africa office
Regional partnerships and assignments in South Africa and neighbouring countries.
Contact
Tell us what you need to decide or understand. We will help define the question, build the evidence and turn the findings into a realistic path forward. Download Dr Canford Chiroro's CV below; references and tailored capability statements are available on request.