PROBLEMS WE SOLVE
When the answer isn't clear, start with the right questions.
You may have data but lack clear answers, programmes but limited evidence of results, or research findings that are difficult to translate into action. DAREL helps organisations investigate what is happening, understand why it matters and determine what to do next.
DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR?
Complex challenges rarely come with straightforward answers.
Organisations often have reports, datasets, programme records and stakeholder feedback, yet still struggle to establish what the evidence means or what decisions it supports. These are the kinds of challenges DAREL helps investigate.
1. We don't fully understand the problem.
The challenge: Symptoms are visible, but underlying causes, affected groups and contextual factors remain unclear.
What needs answering: What is really happening? Why is it happening? Who is most affected?
How DAREL helps: Investigate the problem through structured research, evidence reviews, stakeholder perspectives and appropriate analytical methods.
2. We cannot clearly demonstrate results.
The challenge: Activities and outputs are reported, but progress towards outcomes or meaningful change is difficult to establish.
What needs answering: Are our programmes working? What has changed, for whom and why?
How DAREL helps: Strengthen measurement frameworks, assess outcomes, evaluate implementation and examine the evidence behind reported results.
3. We are not confident in our data.
The challenge: Inconsistent records, missing values, weak collection processes or fragmented datasets undermine confidence in findings.
What needs answering: Can we trust the data? Are the conclusions supported by reliable evidence?
How DAREL helps: Assess data quality, strengthen collection and validation processes, document analytical decisions and identify limitations that affect interpretation.
4. We have data but lack actionable insight.
The challenge: Reports contain tables, indicators and statistics, but important patterns, relationships and implications remain unclear.
What needs answering: What does the evidence actually tell us? Which findings matter most?
How DAREL helps: Apply appropriate statistical and econometric methods, integrate relevant evidence and communicate findings in ways that support decisions.
5. Research is not translating into decisions.
The challenge: Research findings or evaluation recommendations exist, but their implications for strategy, implementation or policy are not sufficiently clear.
What needs answering: What do these findings mean for our priorities, policies and next steps?
How DAREL helps: Connect findings to the decision context, assess competing explanations and options, and translate evidence into clear recommendations.
6. We need to make difficult resource and policy choices.
The challenge: Budgets are constrained, needs compete and decision-makers lack sufficient evidence about costs, trade-offs or likely consequences.
What needs answering: Which options offer the strongest case? What are the costs, risks and implications?
How DAREL helps: Apply economic and policy analysis to examine alternatives, assess resource use and clarify the evidence and assumptions behind decisions.
From challenge to clarity
Different problems. A connected approach.
The challenge determines the work—not the other way around. Some questions need focused research or statistical analysis; others require evaluation, economic reasoning or several disciplines working together.
Understand
Clarify the question, context, evidence gaps and decision that needs to be made.
Investigate
Select suitable research, evaluation and analytical methods to generate or examine the evidence.
Connect
Interpret findings in context, examine explanations and trade-offs, and acknowledge uncertainty.
Inform action
Clarify the question, context, evidence gaps and decision that needs to be made.
The decisions we help inform
Better understanding should lead somewhere.
DAREL’s work is intended to support real decisions. Depending on the question and available evidence, that may mean helping an organisation:
- Identify the underlying causes of a persistent problem.
- Determine whether programme outcomes justify continuing, adapting or scaling an intervention.
- Improve the quality and credibility of evidence used in reporting and decision-making.
- Identify meaningful patterns, disparities and relationships in data.
- Compare options, understand trade-offs and prioritise scarce resources.
- Translate research and evaluation findings into strategic, programme or policy choices.
These are intended decision uses, not guaranteed outcomes. What can be established depends on the question, methodology, data and context.
Who faces these challenges?
For organisations that need more than an answer on paper.
We work to support evidence needs across organisations and institutions, including:
Development organisations
Understand programme performance, outcomes and learning priorities.
Government and policy teams
Examine public priorities, policy implementation and resource choices.
Research institutions
Strengthen research design, analytical quality and evidence communication.
Foundations and funders
Assess results, evidence quality and the implications of investment choices.
LET’S START WITH YOUR QUESTION
The challenge is clear. Is the answer?
Tell us what you are trying to understand, the evidence you already have and the decision ahead. We can explore the question with you and discuss an appropriate way forward.