Cap Impact

Track record

What our clients achieved

These results belong to our clients. Our role is to give them the methods, the evidence and the room to achieve them.

Protecting people

Environmental, social and human rights due diligence for a national park — DRC

The context. A national park in Central Africa was moving to a new management contract, held by an international conservation NGO together with the national protected areas authority, and financed by a development bank, a bilateral agency and a dedicated fund. The site carried a documented and contested legacy: forced evictions, human rights violations in law enforcement, breaches of free, prior and informed consent, gender-based violence, boundary conflicts, specific impacts on Indigenous communities. No funder could finance what came next without serious due diligence, and no serious due diligence could be done without talking to the communities concerned.

What we did. Stakeholder mapping in three stages — identification, connectivity, values and priorities. Systematic analysis of the project against four sets of standards, applying the most demanding norm at every divergence. Risk assessment explicitly separating the inherited legacy from the risks attached to the new management arrangement. Gap analysis across law enforcement procedures, grievance mechanisms, consent protocols and the protection of women and children. Then a gap-closure environmental and social action plan, presented back to the local team in a workshop.

Two methodological choices. We limited the international consultant's work to the provincial capital and gave all village visits to the national consultant: in a context of rising tension, the presence of a foreigner narrowed the space for speech rather than opening it. And the conclusions were returned to everyone consulted — by email for international actors, by telephone for civil society organisations, in person in the villages, with a second round of visits at the end of the assignment.

Working with local actors

Structuring a national network of four hundred organisations — DRC

The context. The Congolese REDD+ process called for civil society participation without the conditions for it being in place: contested representation, no shared vision, poor information flow between Kinshasa and the provinces. Formal participation, in other words, with no real capacity to weigh.

What we did. We supported the restructuring of the renewed Climate REDD+ Working Group, a network of four hundred organisations, for Rainforest Foundation Norway and then for the United Nations Development Programme, between 2014 and 2016. The work covered the network's governance, its representation, its information channels and its ability to carry a common position in the national process. It produced a published analysis of lessons learned over 2009-2015, co-edited by UNDP and Rainforest Foundation Norway.

“CAP!’s advisement of our network of 400 organizations has allowed us to be anchored at a national level, to develop a common vision and to benefit from an excellent communications system. We have become more effective, all together.”

Julien Kabalako — National Coordinator, GTCR-R

Understanding and making it known

Strategic review and reorientation of a country programme — DRC

The context. An international NGO working on forest peoples' rights was completing a three-year programme funded by a bilateral agency and delivered by six partners across eight provinces. It had to decide what came next, with resources spread across too many sites and an open question: what role could it genuinely hold in this country?

What we did. A full documentary review. Interviews with the teams at headquarters and in Kinshasa, with the five partners and three non-partner organisations. Community interviews in the field, in separate groups — women, young people, men, Indigenous peoples. Interviews with peers and with critics alike: bilateral funders, competing international NGOs, financial institutions, the national REDD+ coordination. Then political economy analysis, stakeholder mapping, and recommendations on strategy, partnership architecture, internal structure and resources.

The result. A deliberate reorientation: work in fewer places and far more directly with communities, define the country mission as that of a human rights organisation, narrow to three areas of focus, reduce funding to national networks in favour of grassroots organisations, and lower overall financial risk. That reorientation shaped the concept note submitted to the funder the following year, and the five-year programme that followed.

Since 2016

Before refocusing on climate and rights, the practice spent a decade equipping organisations to weigh on decisions. A few of the results our clients achieved over that period.

“The trainer was professional and dynamic, and adapted herself perfectly to our requests, as well as to the needs, and political and cultural contexts, of each partner. Based on numerous examples and tools, the training was adapted to all experience levels and made concepts frequently considered abstract clear and practical.”

Anaïs Saint-Gal — Advocacy Officer, Sidaction

“It's always a pleasure to work with CAP! The collective is very efficient and determined to meet established expectations. Above all, they have an excellent working relationship with our local partners, who also appreciate them very much.”

Kevin Sasia — Program Coordinator, Central Africa Department, Rainforest Foundation Norway

“Working with CAP! is a pleasure. The consultant clearly defines the scope of work with attention and effectively delivers. She is always responsive and communicates clearly. We have been very happy with the quality of the work that has been done.”

Mika Leandro — Campaigns Director, WeMove Europe
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