Making sense of what matters

Research and evaluation to help organisations in health, education and social care understand what’s working, what isn’t, and why.

Susie Donnelly Research (SDR)

I’m Dr Susie Donnelly, an independent research and evaluation consultant with 20 years of experience working across academic and applied settings in health, education and social care.

My clients include public sector bodies, health and social care services, universities, and community and voluntary organisations across Ireland and the UK.

My work focuses on making sense of how things operate in practice. I draw on qualitative, participatory and mixed methods approaches to understand not just what is happening, but why.

I bring a combination of rigour and pragmatism to each research project, with a strong focus on producing clear, useful insights that can inform policy, promote learning and support meaningful change.

Feel free to get in touch if you would like to discuss how I can help.

How can I help?

young adults engaged in group discussion

Independent Evaluation

I work with organisations to design and deliver a full independent evaluation of their service or programme. I deliver evaluations from start to finish, including evaluation design, desktop review, data collection, analysis, reporting and recommendations. I draw from participatory approaches, creative methods and implementation science. I employ methods that will best capture the voices of the people a service or programme is intended to reach, and that strengthen collaboration and buy-in to the development of the service.

Suitable for: organisations planning an evaluation, or told by a funder that they need one, at any stage from initial scoping to full delivery

Evaluation Design and Support

Does your organisation have an internal evaluation underway? Or perhaps you are thinking about how to embed evaluation into your project or programme so that you can learn and improve, and also satisfying funder requirements? As an external consultant, I can provide clear and pragmatic expertise at key points, whether that is reviewing an evalaution plan, a second opinion on methods you intend to use, or acting as a critical friend as the work progresses.

Suitable for: organisations thinking about doing an evaluation, piloting a project or programme, and with an in house team or existing evaluation underway

Research, Data Analysis and Report Writing

Do you need help with gathering or analysing data from surveys, interviews, workshops or consultations? I can lead and support qualitiave and mixed methods research from design to analysis to reporting. I can also take your qualitative, mixed methods or administrative data and turn it into clear findings and insights, written up as a standalone report or incorporated into a wider research report, evaluation or or translate this evidence into action or implementation plans for your organisation.

Suitable for: organisations without the time, skills or capacity to collect or analyse data in house, or want their data translated into practical action and learning

Training and Facilitation

I support organisations to build their own research and evaluation capability through raining in evaluation, qualitative research, or specilaist participatory methods, such as participatory action research and photovoice. As an expereinced facilitator, I can support your research or evalation efforts by conducting workshops with your stakeholders or team – in person or online. Especially helpful where an external faciliator can capture better quality responses in interviews and workshops than an internal colleague or manager.

Suitable for: organisations developing their evaluation skills and knowledge and putting them into practice; organisations requiring an expereinced and netural facilitator to support data gathering.

MORE about services

How do I work?

Evaluation that explains, not just measures

I go beyond counting outputs to understand how and why change happens — or doesn’t. My evaluations are designed to be useful as a process of learning and reflection from the start, not just at the end.

Research grounded in context and empathy

Every organisation operates under particular pressures, with particular people, in a particular place. My research takes that seriously, using methods that surface what’s going on from all stakeholders perspective.

Collaborative approach to create change

I use participatory and collaborative methods to listen to each stakeholder group and give weight to their experiences. I strive to ensure their perspectives shape the research and actions arising from it, and they are not just a token feature of it.

Bespoke service

SDR is a small, independent consultancy. That means you get senior expertise on every project — not a junior team working to a brief I’ve signed off from a distance. Quality and research integrity are core to SDR. I achieve this by working in a focused way with select clients.