WHO WE ARE

Bridging Peoples is an international research & consulting agency, first registered in Timor-Leste in 2014, and in Singapore and Australia a few years later.

We work primarily via a network of in-country experts, researchers and technical consultants who are spread around the globe. Our networked approach gives us the best of both worlds, as we bring teams combining deep contextual knowledge with technical know-how to help organisations solve complex problems. The network is supported by a small core team.

WHO WE ARE

Bridging Peoples is an international agency, first registered in Timor-Leste in 2014, and in Singapore and Australia a few years later. We work primarily via a network of in-country experts, researchers and technical consultants who are spread around the globe. Our networked approach gives us the best of both worlds, as we bring teams combining deep contextual knowledge with technical know-how to help organisations solve complex problems. The network is supported by a small CORE TEAM.

WHO WE ARE

Bridging Peoples is an international agency, first registered in Timor-Leste in 2014, and in Singapore and Australia a few years later.
We work primarily via a network of in-country experts, researchers and technical consultants who are spread around the globe. Our networked approach gives us the best of both worlds, as we bring teams combining deep contextual knowledge with technical know-how to help organisations solve complex problems. The network is supported by a small CORE TEAM.

WHO WE ARE

Bridging Peoples is an international agency, first registered in Timor-Leste in 2014, and in Singapore and Australia a few years later.
We work primarily via a network of in-country experts, researchers and technical consultants who are spread around the globe. Our networked approach gives us the best of both worlds, as we bring teams combining deep contextual knowledge with technical know-how to help organisations solve complex problems. The network is supported by a small CORE TEAM.

OUR STORY

Bridging Peoples began as an experiment. The idea was to see if the principles of good community development and community engagement could be usefully applied to help larger NGOs, governments and donors improve their work and impact in local communities. And it worked. Since then, we have gone from strength to strength, transforming from a small consulting outfit to a global network of like-minded professionals, all committed to improving the impact of aid, development and social change work at the local level.

OUR APPROACH

Our work is guided by the following principles:
  • Context-specific. We strive to understand local realities from the community perspective. Using community-centred research, we support organisations to improve their work at the local level.
  • Solidarity. Local and in-country knowledge, expertise and priorities are at the centre of everything we do. We work in solidarity with communities and in-country experts to design, implement and use research that centres community realities, strengths and needs.
  • Collaboration. We create technical teams comprising in-country experts, research partners and technical experts to carry out research and consulting projects for organisations, so they can improve their local impact.
  • Evidence-based. We know that good ideas can and do come from anywhere. We combine local knowledge, in-country expertise and technical know-how to tackle complex problems.

MEET THE TEAM

Deborah Cummins

Deborah Cummins has a PhD on local governance and democratisation, and has been working as a local governance and community engagement specialist since 2005. During this time, she has worked in different parts of Asia, Middle East and Africa, leading teams to provide research, monitoring & evaluation, policy analysis and program development support. She has published widely on issues of decentralisation, community engagement, local governance, livelihoods and markets, justice delivery and gender issues.

Ukam Oyene

Ukam Oyene has a PhD on public health, and has worked as a community engagement, public health and strategic behavioural communication expert in different parts of Africa since 1996. He has extensive experience leading cross-functional teams and public health projects that prioritise knowledge transfer, capacity building and promoting evidence-based best practices, to empower government agencies, organisations and communities. He has published widely on issues of public health, parasitology and community engagement.

Sarah Moharram

Sarah Moharram has an MA in economic change, and has been working as a researcher, development practitioner, monitoring & evaluation and community development consultant since 2011. She has led teams in different parts of the Middle East and Asia, managing and conducted various research projects, needs assessments, third party monitoring, and midterm and final evaluation of humanitarian projects in conflict and fragile contexts. She has worked on various community development and advocacy campaigns in Egypt and beyond.

Abel Boavida dos Santos

 

Abel specialises in rural community development and social movements, has an MA in development studies and is completing his doctoral studies in Sociology at the Universidade do Porto, Portugal. He has worked as Head of Community Development, lecturer and researcher at the Universidade Nasional of Timor-Lorosa’e since 2002, and has served as board member of various community organising and outreach institutes. He has extensive community development and research experience, including with the Labour Mobility Assistance Programme, Oxfam, Paz y Desarrollo and The Asia Foundation.

CLIENTS SAY NICE THINGS
ABOUT US

UNFPA has contracted with Bridging Peoples on several pieces of research. We greatly appreciated the team’s approach, which resulted in high quality pieces of research with insightful findings and useful recommendations. Deborah and her team’s professionalism, deep understanding of the cultural context, strategic approach and strong analytical skills yielded a powerful result that will be useful for years to come.
John M. PileCountry Representative - Timor-Leste
John M. Pile
We have contracted with Bridging Peoples on a number of occasions to provide technical support to our project’s local governance activities. Deborah’s intimate understanding of the context in Timor-Leste combined with her excellent technical knowledge are a winning combination. She has been able to apply these to support us with strategic planning, legislative analysis from a community perspective and to facilitate participatory workshops to successfully engage local partners to explore and define their own perspectives on how to achieve inclusive local governance.
Carolyn TannerChief of Party, Ba Distrito Project
Carolyn Tanner
The TOMAK program engaged Bridging Peoples to conduct gendered marketplace assessments of marketplaces in Timor-Leste. Ably led by Deborah Cummins, Bridging Peoples brought a depth of experience, developing a robust methodology to thoughtfully capture the voices, experiences and aspirations of women marketplace vendors. We greatly appreciated the ease of communication and collaborative spirit of the team, and the results are something we can all be proud of.
Inga MephamTOMAK Program (implemented in Timor-Leste by Adam Smith International)
Inga Mepham
We were delighted to partner with Bridging Peoples on the development of our Corruption Training Manual, which is now being used as a key activity for CEPAD. The Bridging Peoples team provided a depth of methodological experience and great ideas, creating a collaborative and engaging atmosphere from the beginning. The assistance provided remains an invaluable resource and we truly appreciated all that the team contributed to this very successful project
João BoavidaExecutive Director
João Boavida
IWDA has worked with Bridging Peoples on a number of occasions. It was a pleasure working with them. They were very professional and delivered timely, high quality work. They were warm and consultative, building good relationships with IWDA and our partners within a short time period. They bring an excellent level of analysis, particularly in contextualising the findings and recommendations for the local context.
Georgia RideProgram Manager
Georgia Ride
We have contracted with Bridging Peoples on multiple occasions to support our community engagement and program development work. The team were flexible to an environment of changing needs, and worked with discretion, cultural sensitivity and a process to ensure people appreciated being heard. The reports and recommendations were of high quality and relevance, while also being accessible and easy to read. We plan to work further with Bridging Peoples!
Kathy RichardsRegional Director - Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam
Kathy Richards
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