Free Studio

Construct theories of change that articulate pathways from activities to impact through assumption mapping and evidence review exercises. Practice backwards mapping, identifying critical assumptions, and creating theories that guide strategic decision-making.

Build a complete Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning system end to end. Phase 1 designs the framework, indicators, data collection and analysis strategy; Phase 2 turns it into an operational plan with an indicator matrix, calendar & budget, and reporting workflow. Eight guided tabs, saved in your browser and exportable.

Turn a Theory of Change into a donor-ready Logical Framework. Climb the results ladder from Goal to Activities, attach SMART indicators and their means of verification, surface the assumptions that hold your logic together, then print or export the classic 4×4 matrix. Imports directly from the Theory of Change Builder. Saved in your browser and works offline.

The same MEL words mean different things across donors. Pick a contested term (outcome, result, impact, milestone) and see what every system means by it, with the donor logframe dialect table highlighted. Walk the family crosswalks (SMART vs CREAM vs SPICED, evaluation criteria, causal approaches, gender instruments, evidence standards) and read the four places the frameworks conflict. Every definition from a named primary source. Pairs with the Key Terms Disambiguation handout.

Design a credible impact evaluation from scratch. Frame the question and estimand, choose an identification strategy (RCT, difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity, matching, synthetic control or interrupted time series) with its key assumptions, estimate the sample size and power you need, and work through the threats to internal and external validity. Companion to the Causal Inference flagship.

Before you commit to an expensive randomised trial, work through five honest checks: where your evidence really sits on the hierarchy, whether your intervention and theory of change are stress-tested, whether your rollout can support ethical randomisation, whether your baseline has room to detect real change (the ceiling/floor trap), and whether an RCT is even the right tool. Includes a baseline detectability calculator, a readiness verdict, and cheaper alternatives when you’re not ready. The gate before the Impact Evaluation Designer.

For programmes that run through WhatsApp, an app or a call centre. Run a fixed A/B test and a Thompson-sampling bandit on simulated users whose true response rates you set, see why ordinary confidence intervals go wrong when allocation follows the results, check whether replies pick the same version as the outcome you care about, and test whether rapid experiments suit your programme. Evidential, the open-source engine from IDinsight and the Agency Fund, is the worked example.

Turn disability inclusion from a value into measurable practice. Ground your MEL in the social model and the twin-track approach, count disability the right way with the Washington Group Short Set (six functional-difficulty questions and the standard cut-off), draft disability-inclusive and disability-specific SMART indicators, and score whether your data collection is actually accessible. Exports a disability-inclusive MEL plan. The hands-on companion to Disability Inclusion 101.

An interactive lesson on why administrative city borders don’t match the real, economic city: Noida thriving on Delhi’s edge but officially separate, Dhaka’s limits swallowing farmland while missing dense settlements. Toggle a schematic map between administrative and economic boundaries, see how India’s Census rule undercounts its urban population, and use a mini-classifier to apply the 2-of-3 satellite rule (population, built-up, night-lights) that redraws cities from space. Then record which boundary your own analysis will use and export a boundary-decision note for your methods section. Hands off to Development Data Studio’s open Global Urban Boundaries dataset.

Practise Nonviolent Communication and restorative dialogue. Build honest Observation-Feeling-Need-Request statements, draw on feelings & needs inventories, plan a restorative circle, and rehearse real conflict scenarios from field teams and communities. Companion to the Nonviolence in Practice flagship.

A group conflict-preparedness studio. Build the capacity to repair before you rupture: draft shared agreements, name each person's tripwires and the needs beneath them, agree a rupture-to-repair protocol in advance, map accountability pods, and export a shared relational charter. Capstone practicum for the Nonviolence in Practice flagship. Everything stays in your browser.

Analyse a livelihood system and design what to do about it. Map the target group's asset base (the Sustainable Livelihoods capitals), build the value chain node by node, diagnose constraints and leverage points through a Making-Markets-Work lens, and design interventions linked to real Indian programmes (NRLM/SHGs, FPOs, PMKVY, MGNREGA). Companion to the Livelihoods in India flagship.

Walk from your evaluation question to a defensible strategy (simple random, stratified, cluster or multistage) and size every group with design effect, finite-population correction, power and non-response buffers. New to sampling? It opens with a ten-minute, no-maths primer on population and sample, bias, margin of error and clusters. Designing and sizing are free; exporting the printable plan and the facilitator mode for training need Membership.

Filter 30+ teacher-effectiveness interventions by evidence quality, cost (₹/teacher/year), type, outcome, and India relevance. TaRL, contract teachers, mentoring, Mindspark, pay-for-performance, and more. Honest summaries including null and weak findings.

Apply human-centered design methodologies to development challenges through rapid prototyping, user journey mapping, and ideation exercises. Learn to facilitate design sprints that generate innovative solutions grounded in community needs and aspirations.

Identify, assess, and develop mitigation strategies for risks across development projects through scenario planning and risk matrix tools. Practice real-world risk management using case studies from humanitarian, infrastructure, and governance programs.

Analyze resource flows, develop sustainability plans, and create fundraising strategies through practical exercises with real organizational data. Learn to balance financial sustainability with mission alignment while managing donor requirements and local ownership.

Map partnership ecosystems, design collaboration frameworks, and measure collective impact through interactive exercises and negotiation simulations. Practice building equitable partnerships that combine complementary strengths for systems-level change.

Design and test policy advocacy campaigns through hands-on exercises in stakeholder analysis, message testing, and strategic communication. Work with real policy briefs and practice pitching recommendations to simulated decision-makers and media.

Structured tools for policy reasoning: Bardach 8-step analysis, a stakeholder power grid, a causal loop builder, a decision matrix, and a policy brief generator. Free, browser-only, and auto-saves your work.

Read Union and State budgets like a practitioner: decode BE/RE/actuals, trace fund flows from Centre to beneficiary, calculate per-capita spends, and understand fiscal federalism. Includes a fund-flow simulator and per-capita calculator.

Apply gender frameworks, assess intersectionality, design gender-responsive programmes, and plan gender-responsive budgeting through an interactive, hands-on workspace.

Practice participatory facilitation techniques, community mapping, and consensus-building through role-playing exercises and simulation games. Develop skills for handling power dynamics and facilitating inclusive decision-making processes in diverse community settings.

Transform data and field experiences into compelling narratives through exercises in story structure, character development, and multimedia production. Learn ethical storytelling practices that center community voices while engaging diverse audiences for social change.

Assess climate vulnerability, map hazards on a risk matrix, and design adaptation strategies for South Asian communities, with a cost-benefit calculator and planning timeline.

Apply Do No Harm principles, analyse conflict actors and drivers, design peacebuilding M&E, and make adapt/suspend/exit calls for fragile and conflict-affected contexts.

Analyse data through gender, caste and power: disaggregate, spot bias across the data lifecycle, visualise intersectionally, and apply data-justice principles.

Understand India's DPI stack (Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, ABHA, ONDC, Account Aggregators) plus the DPDP Act 2023, and design DPI-enabled programmes with ethical fallbacks.

Work through fieldwork ethics (informed consent, data privacy under the DPDP Act, positionality, IEC review and real-world ethical dilemmas) to protect your participants.

Turn ideas into fundable proposals: match donors, build a theory of change, write compelling narratives, budget credibly, and design M&E and sustainability plans.

Master participatory rural appraisal, community mapping, focus-group facilitation and participatory M&E: grounded in South Asian field realities and ethical practice.

Distil research into two-page briefs that move ministers, bureaucrats and media: audience targeting, structure, and the discipline of specificity over jargon.

Map actors, interests, influence and relationships on a power–interest grid to design smarter interventions and coalitions.

Craft survey instruments that measure what they claim: question wording, response scales, bias tests, translation and piloting.

Map systems, build causal loop diagrams, use the iceberg model and leverage points, and manage adaptively in complex, dynamic contexts.