How we work
Seven commitments that decide how an assignment is designed, who is on it, and what counts as finished.
What decides how the work is done.
Research-led.
We build on inquiry and evidence, not on templates from previous clients. Where we use an established framework, we say which one and why.
Interdisciplinary.
We draw on sociology, anthropology, political science, organisational psychology, human rights law, feminist and decolonial studies, education, governance, conflict studies, environmental studies, translation, and digital innovation. Together, these perspectives help our assessments identify underlying causes and connections that a single-discipline review would miss.
Context-sensitive.
We design for the actual legal, linguistic, cultural and operational conditions of each setting. A complaints mechanism that works in London does not automatically work in a country where reporting carries legal risk.
Participatory.
We work with the people affected by a system, not only the people who commission it. Both, usually - but never only the second.
Power-conscious.
We examine who speaks, who is heard, who decides, and who carries the risk. Most institutional failures are visible in those four questions before they are visible in the policy.
Justice-informed.
Care, inclusion, dignity and structural accountability are the standard we design to, not an addition at the end.
Practice-oriented.
Everything we produce is meant to be used. If your staff cannot follow it, we have not finished.
How our teams are formed.
CTDC is led by its co-founders, who remain directly involved in delivery. Around them sits a transnational network of consultants and associates with expertise across our areas of work.
Teams are formed around each engagement, bringing together the subject knowledge, methodological experience, languages and contextual understanding it requires. Every consultant is reviewed by CTDC and works within shared standards for ethics, safeguarding, quality and responsible practice.
For multi-country research, we combine central research leadership with locally based researchers and enumerators who contribute contextual knowledge, language capability, access and fieldwork experience. CTDC retains responsibility for research design, team preparation, tools and protocols, ethics, safeguarding, data protection, quality assurance, analysis and reporting.
Working in your language
We work natively in English and Arabic across every service and at any scale: research design and fieldwork, policy drafting, training delivery, facilitation, and written deliverables.
We also work in French and Spanish on smaller assignments: workshops and training sessions, interviews and consultations, focused reviews, and translation and localisation review. This work is delivered by associates who work natively in those languages.
For large-scale work in French or Spanish, we will tell you where our capacity ends and help you structure the assignment accordingly. We have designed and facilitated consultations in English, Arabic, French and Spanish across fourteen countries, so we know what this requires, and we do not take on work we cannot deliver to the same standard.
Where an assignment needs other languages, we can arrange capacity through our international network and will be explicit about what that adds in time and cost.
On language and method
We treat language as part of the methodology, not a service applied to it afterwards. Materials developed in Arabic are written in Arabic, with attention to meaning, examples and register, not translated from English and checked.
In consultations, language shapes not only what a person can express, but how precisely, confidently and safely they can express it. It affects who participates, which experiences surface and how evidence is understood. We therefore treat language choice, interpretation and multilingual facilitation as part of the methodology, not as logistical arrangements made afterwards.
Where we work
Our work spans more than 50 countries across five continents. We have particularly deep experience in the Middle East and North Africa, alongside substantial work in sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Europe, and North and South America.
Depending on the assignment, we work in person, remotely or through a combination of the two. The format is shaped by access, safety, meaningful participation and the type of evidence required.
Ethics and standards
Consent, confidentiality, safeguarding, data protection and risks to participants and researchers are considered before assignments, not added at approval stage.
We agree confidentiality and reporting arrangements before participation begins, including any limits, and participants are told how their contributions will be used and with whom they may be shared.
Tell us what you’re dealing with.
You do not need to arrive with terms of reference. Tell us the issue, the decision or the change in front of you, and we will tell you honestly whether CTDC is the right fit.
The first conversation is free and carries no obligation.
