Community-partnered
Communities help frame questions, gather data and interpret findings.
Try: “WASH”, “women's empowerment”, “Sierra Leone”, “climate resilience”.
Too often, the policies that affect communities are made without their evidence or their voice. Data gaps and weak feedback loops mean effective approaches go unnoticed while avoidable mistakes are repeated.
SDI invests in research, learning and policy engagement. We generate credible evidence from our programmes and the communities we serve, and translate it into recommendations decision-makers can act on, holding ourselves to the same evidence standard we ask of others.
Community members are partners in this research, helping to frame questions, gather data and interpret findings, so the knowledge produced reflects their priorities and returns to them.
Practical, community-led activities that turn commitment into measurable change.
Rigorous studies that establish need and measure real change.
Community-led inquiry that centres local priorities and knowledge.
Systems that turn programme experience into continuous improvement.
Clear, actionable evidence for decision-makers.
Making findings accessible to communities, partners and the wider sector.
Collaborations that strengthen the rigour and reach of our research.
Better local data systems for better local decisions.
The same principles guide every SDI programme, shaping how we deliver this one.
Communities help frame questions, gather data and interpret findings.
We hold our evidence to the same standard we ask of the wider sector.
Evidence feeds directly back into how our programmes are designed and delivered.
We translate findings into practical recommendations decision-makers can use.
A district partnership · Sierra Leone
A district had plenty of activity but little clarity on what was actually working. Partnering with SDI, local officials and community representatives set out to change that, not with an outside evaluation imposed on them, but with a shared inquiry they helped design. Community members were trained to help gather and check data, framing the questions that mattered most to them. The findings were candid: some services reached far fewer people than assumed, and a few quiet, low-cost approaches were outperforming better-funded ones. Rather than gathering dust, the evidence was distilled into a short brief and discussed openly with decision-makers and residents together. Several changes followed, redirecting effort toward what the data showed worked. The partnership's lasting legacy was not a single report but a habit: a district and its communities now expect to ask what the evidence says, and to act on the answer.
Communities, whose realities and priorities shape the evidence, and the programmes and policies that improve as a result.
We share findings responsibly with communities, partners and decision-makers, protecting privacy while making evidence useful.
As partners in research, helping to frame questions, collect and check data, and interpret what the findings mean.
We translate evidence into clear, practical recommendations and engage decision-makers to put them to use.
Universities, funders and agencies can collaborate on research and learning. Contact us to explore.
Stronger local voice and accountability so communities shape the decisions that affect them.
View ProgrammeSchools, learning resources and skills training that keep children and youth in the classroom.
View ProgrammeTrained volunteers and stronger systems that carry care to the last mile.
View ProgrammeFund a specific activity, support the whole programme, or partner with SDI to reach more communities. Every contribution is invested in results we measure and share.