Two ways of working together
Which one applies is settled at the start, because it decides who owns the findings and how they are published.
Independent evaluator
You commission the study and we conduct it. Our conclusions are our own, the methodology is fixed before data collection, and the report says which level of evidence supports each finding.
- Evaluations of certification and standards systems, programmes and initiatives
- Institutional assessments of governance, credibility and impact
- Effectiveness of due diligence, grievance and remedy systems within a standard
Research partner
We co-design the question, share the fieldwork and co-author the results, and the findings are published under both names.
- Worker and farmer studies: prevalence, conditions, hired labour
- Mapping studies: remedy ecosystems, due diligence service ecosystems
- Guidance and tools for members, grounded in the evidence, when a standard asks for them
What we bring
A public-benefit association with no commercial stake in the outcome. When a standard is challenged, an evaluation by an organisation that could have found against it is worth more than one that could not.
We judge a standard by what changes for the workers, farmers and communities it certifies, and we ask them directly, with consent, anonymity and safeguarding.
Research associates in cocoa, minerals and agricultural regions across West and Central Africa, East Africa and Latin America, working in local languages.
Population surveys, econometric estimation, contribution analysis, case comparison and content analysis, chosen for what needs to be known. Our methods
We have worked with Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, Solidaridad and SBTi on their own systems, and know how a standard, its assurance and its members fit together.
Most of our research is published, as our statutes require, so that the evidence serves the sector as well as the commissioner. Confidential studies stay confidential.
Work with civil society and standard-setters
Incentive framework for artisanal gold miners and traders, Dabakala
Relevance, cost-effectiveness and sustainability of ten CRAFT and OECD practices, with gold cooperatives and buyers. For Solidaridad
Independent assessment of SBTi: credibility, impact and data management
Parallel surveys of staff and Advisory Group members, media content analysis and sentiment analysis. For the Science Based Targets initiative
Estimating the number of workers in small producer organisations
Econometric estimation of hired labour in Fairtrade cocoa cooperatives, Côte d’Ivoire. For Fairtrade International
HREDD guide and risk assessment tool for hired labour organisations
Co-authored guide (second edition 2025) with its Excel risk assessment tool; smallholder guide peer reviewed. With Fairtrade International’s Centre of Excellence on HREDD
Non-judicial grievance mechanisms: an ecosystem of stakeholders
Global mapping of who facilitates access to remedy, with an interactive map. With the Access to Remedy Institute
Rainforest Alliance’s future in the HREDD ecosystem
Mapping of the due diligence service ecosystem around partner companies, with a gap analysis. For Rainforest Alliance
Agroecology and Fairtrade: policy position for sustainable agriculture
Built on 25 key informants, 230 producer organisations and 13 external peer reviewers; adopted as Fairtrade’s official position. For Fairtrade International
Contextual analysis of workers in Fairtrade small-scale producer organisations
Ten producer organisations in five countries; 300 worker interviews. It informed Fairtrade’s worker strategy. For Fairtrade International
NGO leadership in grievance mechanisms and access to remedy
Case studies of the Amader Kotha and Issara Institute mechanisms. For the Ethical Trading Initiative
Ask the question your members will ask
Whether it is an evaluation of your standard, a study of the workers it covers, or a mapping of the systems around it, tell us the question and we will propose a design, a team and the level of claim the findings can support.