CASE STUDIES
Evidence across sectors and scales.
Selected assignments showing the questions our partners faced, how Node responded and the value delivered.
Trusted by leading organizations.
Long-term partnerships with global foundations, universities, research institutions and development organizations.
Evidence in Action
Fieldwork across assignments
YOUTH EMPLOYMENT · NATIONAL
Triple Line and Mastercard Foundation
Young Africa Works Impact Monitoring
QUESTION
How can continuous evidence on the Young Africa Works Ethiopia portfolio show how young Ethiopians access dignified and fulfilling work?
WHAT NODE DID
Led primary data collection, analysis and quality assurance; programmed SurveyCTO tools; trained teams; secured approvals; and delivered baselines, qualitative studies, partner monitoring and three strategic reviews.
SCALE
National coverage across youth, programme beneficiaries, enterprises and employees, including refugees, internally displaced people and people with disabilities.
VALUE DELIVERED
Established a sustained evidence base for monitoring progress, reviewing partner strategies and strengthening programme decisions.
8,560 youth, beneficiaries, enterprises and employees
AGRICULTURE · CLIMATE RESILIENCE
Triple Line and Gates Foundation
Climate-Resilient Dairy and Women’s Economic Empowerment
QUESTION
Can improved, climate-resilient forage increase the productivity and incomes of small-scale dairy farmers in Ethiopia?
WHAT NODE DID
Partnered with Triple Line to support the evaluation design and evidence approach across Ethiopia, with attention to food security, nutrition and women’s economic empowerment.
SCALE
Evaluation work focused on small-scale dairy producers and improved animal-feed systems in Ethiopia.
VALUE DELIVERED
Creates evidence on climate-resilient forage as a pathway to stronger livelihoods, nutrition and women’s economic outcomes.
National study in Ethiopia
SOCIAL PROTECTION · EMPLOYMENT
IPE Global & World Bank
Productive Safety Net Programme Institutional Review
QUESTION
How can PSNP’s institutional roles, accountability and coordination be strengthened from federal to kebele level for the next programme phase?
WHAT NODE DID
Implemented federal, regional, woreda and kebele interviews with government, programme and development-partner stakeholders.
SCALE
Qualitative research across Amhara, Tigray, Central Ethiopia, Oromia and Somali.
VALUE DELIVERED
Produced grounded institutional evidence to inform coordination improvements and the design of the next PSNP phase.
109 KIIs and IDIs 5 regions 4 government levels
WHAT NODE DID
Delivered the study end to end: SurveyCTO programming, government approvals, team recruitment and training, field management, validation and reporting.
VALUE DELIVERED
Generated a high-quality dataset for assessing gender-responsive financial-product design.
1,600 MSMEs All Addis Ababa sub-cities
WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP · FINANCE
Washington State
University
QUESTION
Does tailoring financial products to women increase demand among female entrepreneurs?
SCALE
Predominantly women-owned MSMEs across every sub-city of Addis Ababa.
Products Tailored to Women Entrepreneurs
EMPLOYMENT · INDUSTRY ·
GENDER
University of California, Berkeley
Career Incentives and Factory-Worker Turnover
QUESTION
What drives turnover among female factory workers, and can information about long-term career incentives improve retention?
WHAT NODE DID
Managed four quantitative rounds over two years, revised tools, trained teams, secured approvals and implemented randomized information interventions.
SCALE
Former, newly hired and current workers in Hawassa Industrial Park.
VALUE DELIVERED
Generated longitudinal and experimental evidence with direct relevance for worker-retention policy.
4 survey rounds 2+ years Up to 1,200 workers in a round
HEALTH · NUTRITION · WASH
Plan International
Growth Monitoring and Promotion Perception Research
QUESTION
How do caregivers and health workers experience growth monitoring and promotion, and what enables or constrains behaviour change?
WHAT NODE DID
Conducted KIIs, FGDs and observations with caregivers, health-extension workers and officials in four intervention districts.
SCALE
Three districts in Amhara and one in Tigray.
VALUE DELIVERED
Provided evidence-based recommendations for strengthening growth monitoring and promotion as a platform for nutrition, hygiene and sanitation behaviour change.
37 KIIs and observations 8 FGDs 4 districts
HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE
Ground Truth Solutions
Community Accountability in Emergency Assistance
QUESTION
How do affected communities perceive the quality, relevance and effectiveness of assistance following drought and landslides?
SCALE
Affected communities in Oromia and South Ethiopia.
VALUE DELIVERED
The evidence informed a tool for assessing programme quality and strengthening future emergency response and early action.
WHAT NODE DID
Conducted quantitative surveys and community dialogues with recipients of IFRC Disaster Response Emergency Fund assistance.
750 beneficiaries 2 regions
EDUCATION · DIGITAL
LEARNING
Mastercard Foundation & Vanguard Economics
RISE Africa Assessment
QUESTION
Are flexible, technology-enabled secondary-education pathways accessible to out-of-school youth and underserved groups?
WHAT NODE DID
Conducted quantitative surveys and community dialogues with recipients of IFRC Disaster Response Emergency Fund assistance.
SCALE
Flexible and technology-enabled secondary-education pathways in Ethiopia.
VALUE DELIVERED
The evidence informed a tool for assessing programme quality and strengthening future emergency response and early action.
54 IDIs 20 learning assessments 5 areas
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
GIZ Ethiopia & Ethiopian Investment Commission
QUESTION
What drives worker turnover in Hawassa Industrial Park, and what are its implications for workers and employers?
Industrial Park Worker Turnover
SCALE
Factory workers in Hawassa and surrounding areas.
VALUE DELIVERED
Produced decision-ready evidence for employment and worker-retention policy.
WHAT NODE DID
Revised and translated tools, trained field teams, secured industrial-park approval and surveyed workers on skills, aspirations, wellbeing, earnings and retention.
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
GIZ Ethiopia & Ethiopian Investment Commission
QUESTION
What drives worker turnover in Hawassa Industrial Park, and what are its implications for workers and employers?
SCALE
Factory workers in Hawassa and surrounding areas.
VALUE DELIVERED
Produced decision-ready evidence for employment and worker-retention policy.
WHAT NODE DID
Revised and translated tools, trained field teams, secured industrial-park approval and surveyed workers on skills, aspirations, wellbeing, earnings and retention.
1,400 workers
MSME · PRIVATE SECTOR
Washington State
University
Business Performance and Constraints
QUESTION
What constraints affect Addis Ababa MSMEs, particularly those owned by women?
SCALE
Enterprises in concentrated markets across multiple Addis Ababa sub-cities.
VALUE DELIVERED
Created experimental and descriptive evidence on enterprise constraints and information gaps.
WHAT NODE DID
Programmed data-collection tools, recruited and trained field teams, secured approvals and implemented a quantitative survey with a randomized information experiment.
1,081 MSMEs 12 markets 6+ sub-cities
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE · CULTURE
Hume AI
Imitation of Facial Expression
QUESTION
How are facial expressions perceived across cultures, and how can culturally grounded data support more socially aware technology?
WHAT NODE DID
Managed participant recruitment and in-person data collection in Ethiopia.
SCALE
A culturally grounded participant sample in Addis Ababa.
VALUE DELIVERED
Contributed data for human-emotion research and the development of more socially aware technology.
800 participants
AGRICULTURE · NUTRITION
University of East Anglia
Farmer Preferences for Grasspea Varieties
QUESTION
Which crop traits, information channels and seed-access factors shape Ethiopian farmers’ preferences for improved grasspea varieties?
WHAT NODE DID
Supported participant recruitment and field implementation, collecting farmer-preference data in grasspea-producing communities in Ethiopia.
SCALE
Grass pea-producing communities in Amhara and Oromia.
VALUE DELIVERED
Generated evidence on farmer preferences, information flows, seed systems and value-chain opportunities.
500 households 2 regions
WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT
New York University
Abu Dhabi
The Hawassa Industrial Park Community Impact Evaluation
QUESTION
How does industrial employment affect women workers and the rural households and communities from which they are recruited?
WHAT NODE DID
Pilot-tested research tools, recruited and trained data collectors and supported survey logistics across two districts.
SCALE
Households and respondents in Kemba and Dita districts.
VALUE DELIVERED
Generated evidence on the economic, physical, health and social-wellbeing effects of industrial employment beyond the factory itself.
360 respondents 120 households 2 districts