— Expertise

Ways to work together.

Six recurring shapes of engagement. They overlap in practice — most projects combine two or three — but it helps to lay them out plainly. Each one is built for organisations working with displaced and host communities.

— Who this is for

Organisations doing serious work with displaced and host communities.

  • NGOs

    International and national, working on education, protection, and integration.

  • Humanitarian organisations

    Field teams operating in protracted displacement contexts.

  • Municipalities

    Local authorities navigating refugee inclusion in services and schools.

  • Foundations & funders

    Funders shaping portfolios in education, displacement, and civil society.

  • Education actors

    Ministries, schools, networks, and learning programmes.

  • Businesses & social impact

    Companies investing in refugee employment, education, and community impact.

01 / 06Advisory & strategy

Programme design, review, and direction.

Sitting alongside teams as they design new programmes, adjust existing ones, or think through difficult strategic questions on education and refugee inclusion. Usually a series of conversations and short written notes, not a 60-page deck.

Typical for

  • NGO & humanitarian leadership teams
  • Foundations shaping a new portfolio
  • Municipalities expanding services
  • Education actors entering displacement contexts

Formats

  • Strategic review
  • Programme design
  • Short advisory sprint
02 / 06Field research & assessment

Honest documentation of what is happening.

Qualitative field research, needs assessments, case studies, and post-implementation reviews. The work is grounded in conversations with the people involved, written so that funders and operational teams can both act on it.

Typical for

  • NGOs commissioning needs assessments
  • Foundations testing field assumptions
  • Education actors evaluating pilots
  • Research consortia

Formats

  • Field mission
  • Case study
  • Programme review
  • Briefing note
03 / 06Training & facilitation

Practical training rooted in field practice.

Workshops and training for staff, teachers, and partners working in refugee-inclusive education, community engagement, and field documentation. Designed for small groups, with a strong focus on translating ideas into Monday-morning practice.

Typical for

  • Field teams & frontline staff
  • Teachers and school leaders
  • Community-based organisations
  • Municipal staff

Formats

  • Half-day workshop
  • Multi-day training
  • Train-the-trainer
04 / 06Speaking & convening

Honest conversations, not motivational talks.

Keynotes, panels, and convenings on Syria, education in displacement, and refugee integration. The tone is calm and specific — what is actually happening, what is being tried, and what is honestly hard.

Typical for

  • Universities & research institutes
  • Sector convenings & conferences
  • Civil society networks
  • Policy and donor events

Formats

  • Keynote
  • Panel
  • Closed convening
  • Public lecture
05 / 06Writing & policy support

Clear writing that helps decisions get made.

Policy notes, op-eds, internal briefings, and longer-form pieces on the issues I work on. Written to be read by busy people and to hold up when scrutinised by the communities they describe.

Typical for

  • Policy teams
  • Funders preparing positions
  • Editorial outlets
  • Networks needing a shared brief

Formats

  • Policy brief
  • Op-ed
  • Internal memo
  • Long-form essay
06 / 06Community-based programme support

Working with grassroots organisations.

Short-form support for community-based and grassroots organisations — helping articulate what they do, document their work, talk to funders, and adjust their programmes without losing what makes them useful in the first place.

Typical for

  • Community-based organisations
  • Diaspora and refugee-led groups
  • Small NGOs
  • Local coalitions

Formats

  • Mentoring
  • Documentation support
  • Funder narrative

— How a project usually runs

A short, honest sequence.

Most engagements move through these four steps. The shape of each one is agreed before we start so there are no surprises.

  1. 01

    Conversation

    A short call or exchange to understand the context, the people, and what you are trying to make possible.

  2. 02

    Scoping note

    A brief written proposal — scope, time, cost, and what we will produce together. Concrete enough to commit to.

  3. 03

    The work

    Field time, conversations, drafting, and review — kept honest with regular check-ins along the way.

  4. 04

    Hand-over

    Findings, materials, or recommendations delivered in a form your team can actually use after I leave.

— A clear note

What this work is not.

  • Not a turnkey programme that can be rolled out without context.
  • Not media-friendly storytelling about refugees and crisis.
  • Not extractive research that disappears after a single report.
  • Not generic training disconnected from local realities.

— Next step

Tell me what you are trying to make possible.

A short note about the context, the people involved, and the question on your mind is enough. I read every message personally.

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