Fior Research

Independent research and quality assurance

Research with rigour and integrity

Expert consulting for organisations whose evidence informs policy, funding, and practice, and those that commission it. Commissioned research, independent pre-publication review, capacity strengthening for research teams, and data governance support.

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Workshop flip chart mapping livestock change causes, effects, and responses
Community meeting held outdoors during a field engagement

Aoiffe's own photographs of research in Eswatini

  • 23+

    Years of experience

  • 80+

    Research projects managed

  • 130+

    Research projects quality assessed

  • 51

    Country collaborators

The problem

The volume of research has scaled beyond the expertise to assess its quality and integrity

Unlike academic publishing, which relies on peer review, most commissioned research and evaluations reach donors, boards, and the public with no independent check on whether the methodology supports the claims, the evidence supports the conclusions, or the writing communicates clearly to its intended audiences.

Research produced by policymakers, think tanks, and NGOs is rising, and much of it is now AI-assisted. The judgement needed to assess it has not kept pace: whether a methodology supports the claims built on it, whether evidence has been over-interpreted, and whether findings will survive scrutiny. That assessment depends on expert knowledge of research methods, formal training in research ethics and integrity, and close attention to detail to spot inconsistencies and unsubstantiated claims.

The costs of poor-quality research

  • Donors lose confidence in the evidence base for their investments.
  • Organisations face reputational damage and loss of business when methodological shortcomings are exposed.
  • The time given by research participants is neither respected nor put to best use.
  • Flawed findings inform policy and programme design and implementation.

Each of these is costly, and most can be prevented by independent review before publication.

Services

Support across the research cycle

Research Design Support

Advice at the inception stage so that gaps, over-ambitious scope, or a mismatch between questions and methods are caught early.

Critical Friend

Independent, ongoing advice to research and evaluation teams between inception and publication, so that issues in fieldwork, analysis, and interpretation are raised while they can still be addressed.

Output Quality Review

Substantive pre-publication assessment of an output's credibility and integrity: methodology, evidence, alignment with objectives, and clarity for its audience.

Commissioned Research

Primary research and evaluations designed, conducted, and written to the same standards of methodology, evidence, and clarity that I apply in quality review.

Capacity Strengthening and Training

Embedded development built around live projects and real outputs, so training is grounded and capability stays in the team. Group and individual.

Data Governance and Stewardship

Making governance work in practice with frameworks adapted to how an organisation operates, controls embedded in existing processes, and reporting that informs decisions.

Strategy Development

Organisational strategies, action plans, and policies for research, including ethics, quality assurance, and data governance.

Selected engagements

Selected engagements

Who I work with

Organisations that produce or commission research and seek reassurance as to its quality and integrity

  • Government, bilateral donors, and foundations

    Seeking independent quality assurance of commissioned research.

  • Think tanks and policy research institutes

    Producing reports for donors, governments, or the public.

  • INGOs and humanitarian and development organisations

    Publishing research, evaluations, or evidence syntheses.

  • Local and national organisations

    Taking on research responsibilities through localisation and direct donor funding.

  • University research centres

    Producing policy-facing work that needs impact outside academia.

  • Evaluation and consulting firms

    Wanting external quality assurance on high-stakes deliverables.

Global experience, shared expertise

CanadaUnited StatesMexicoGuatemalaHondurasNicaraguaCubaBrazilColombiaUKIrelandUkraineNetherlandsGermanyNorwaySwitzerlandKosovoGhanaCôte d'IvoireThe GambiaSouth AfricaEswatiniUgandaRwandaMozambiqueEthiopiaSouth SudanSomaliaDRCSyriaTurkeyPakistanAfghanistanIndiaBangladeshSri LankaSouth KoreaMyanmarThailandJapanPhilippinesHong KongTaiwanChinaIndonesiaSolomon IslandsFijiSamoaKiribatiAustraliaNew Zealand

Working together

Care and rigour, built over 23 years

My approach is rigorous and methodical, shaped by more than two decades across academia, international standards, and research quality work in the NGO sector. Every engagement starts with a conversation and is quoted as a fixed fee against a written scope. Rates run on a sliding scale designed to make high-quality research support accessible across different budgets. Quality assurance retainers and standing arrangements to review all research outputs before publication are available and include priority scheduling and reduced rates.

More on how we work together

Get in touch

Start with a conversation

If you are planning, producing, or commissioning research, I would be glad to hear from you. Every engagement begins with a short, no-obligation conversation about what you are working on and where you would value support.

Schedule a ConsultationAbout Aoiffe