CEPA’s experience has straddled several sectors and thematic areas in the area of assessments: resettlement, conflict, infrastructure (roads, energy, and water and sanitation), plantations, children’s issues, and youth. Poverty, gender and environmental analyses are mainstreamed into CEPA’s work. CEPA has used its expertise to assist clients to design programmes, to prioritise pro-poor interventions, to construct monitoring systems, carry out in-process monitoring and independent external evaluations, and to develop organisational capacity in project design, monitoring and evaluation.

Over the years CEPA’s established expertise in qualitative research has been complemented by increased capacity in quantitative analysis, and the ability to carry out relatively large surveys. CEPA’s interest in the Q2 (or Q squared) approach that mixes both qualitative and quantitative methods in a complementary way, puts it at the cutting edge of the use of research methodology. We have also developed a capacity to moderate discussion, to facilitate dialogue among diverse stakeholders and to engage in knowledge management.