About Us
Parker Duignan Consulting provides strategic advice to the
public
sector.
We work in the following areas:
Consulting
- Outcomes-focused visual
strategic planning - design
of effective outcomes systems, coherent
outcomes specification, robust indicator systems for public and
not-for-profit public
sector performance management.
- Evaluation - all aspects of
evaluation including evaluation
strategy, scoping and tendering, peer review, evaluation design and
evaluation training.
- Community consultation
- design of consultation projects,
peer
review of consultation design and undertaking consultation processes.
- Facilitation - facilitation of
strategic planning workshops, conferences, consultative
councils, meetings, workshops and teambuilding.
- Research - research priority
setting, grant review,
research strategy.
- Social and
community development strategy - design of
multi-strategy social programmes.
The two Principals at Parker Duignan Consulting
are Dr
Paul Duignan
and Jennifer Parker. Other specialists
are involved in projects as required.
Parker Duignan Consulting also runs the Strategic
Evaluation site associated with this site. The Outcomes Central set of
sites contains further information on outcomes.
Consulting on outcome-focused
visual strategic planning
We are
international outcomes and results-based management experts. We consult
to international organizations, governments, individual government
departments and not-for-profits on the key
issue
they
face
today - identifying and measuring
results
and
outcomes. In
contrast to many other consulting firms we realize that the public and
not-for-profit sector is very different from the private sector.
Instead of a single bottom line the public and not-for-profit sector
has multiple outcomes which are often difficult to measure and
difficult to attribute to a particular organization. Only public and
not-for-profit specialists like us will give you a solution which will
not be based on attempting to apply ill-fitting private sector models
to your very different public or not-for-profit organization.
We implement a comprehensive approach to transitioning to a truly
outcomes-focused organization - the Duignan
Outcomes-Focused
Visual
Strategic
Planning
Approach.
In our approach it's now possible for the Chief Executive, management
and the planning team to align the processes of: strategic planning, priority setting,
performance management, evaluation, evidence-based practice, and upwards and downwards delegation and
contracting. The approach avoids duplication by no longer having
these different organizational processes represented in different ways.
The Duignan approach builds a comprehensive
organizational
visual
outcomes
model in new DoView
outcomes processor software.
This visual model (think of it as being like the comprehensive
blueprint plan used when building a high-rise building) is used to
integrate and align all organizational processes around outcomes.
DoView is easy to use and provides a 'lite' tool for quick strategic
thinking about outcomes rather than a heavy duty outcomes data
collection system which takes years and many dollars to implement. It
can be complemented by any of the web based outcomes data collection
systems you use or are contemplating using.
Uniquely, the Duignan approach is based on the strong theoretical basis
of outcomes
theory to make sure that your organization does not get caught out
by common conceptual problems in organizational outcomes systems. (For
instance, ending up being held to account for uncontrollable high-level
outcomes).
Consulting on monitoring and
evaluation
Parker Duignan Consulting are international evaluation experts. We
undertake all
types of consulting on monitoring and evaluation.
Monitoring and evaluation strategy - overall monitoring and evaluation
strategy is often neglected in
the rush to commission individual program evaluations. We use the
Duignan
Visual
Monitoring
and
Evaluation
Planning approach to assist to
develop a
comprehensive monitoring and evaluation strategy organizations and
whole sectors. Within the approach we provide detailed resources for
dealing with the difficult issues such as impact evaluation
design.
Evaluation scoping and tendering process - scoping an evaluation
project, tendering for an evaluation and selecting the best tender
sometimes requires specialist methodological input. It is often
difficult for a stakeholder advisory group, no matter what their
backgrounds, to develop a sufficiently deep understanding of the
intricacies of an evaluation methodology to be able to effectively
steer the evaluation to answer priority evaluation questions.
Depending on the need, Parker Duignan can be
involved in all stages of scoping, tendering and selecting the
best evaluation proposal. Working with evaluation design teams or
Independent Chairing of tender selection panels. In addition we
are often involved in ongoing evaluation advisory committees providing
methodological advice.
Evaluation peer review - peer review of large evaluation projects is an
important way of ensuring high quality, feasible evaluations. We
peer review evaluation plans and completed evaluations to ensure
quality evaluation design and methods.
Evaluation design - getting the design right at the start of an
evaluation project is usually a complex task. We can assist with
a
structured approach to designing a programme evaluation based on the Duignan
Visual
Monitoring
and
Evaluation
Planning approach and setting up
the
evaluation plan within DoView
outcomes processor software. This approach builds the entire evaluation
plan in a visual formal by mapping it onto the underlying visual
outcomes model for the program or organizaiton. Then the set of
monitoring and evaluation questions are defined and feasible means of
answering them in real world settings are designed.
Evaluation training - comprehensive evaluation training is the
best way to build evaluation capability. We undertake quality
evaluation training appropriate at all organisational levels -
programme staff, programme management, researchers and policy analysts
and senior management.
Community consultation
and dialogue
Community consultation and dialogue is now routinely used across the
whole of the
public sector and not-for-profit sector. It is important that the
right type of
consultation and dialogue process is put in place for a particular
purpose. In addition to facilitating a range of consultatiion
processes, we have a particular methodology for community and
stakeholders dialogue processes called the Rich Dialogue Process.
We have been involved in implementing this process in a number of areas
including: technology risk assessment, dialogue about alcohol programs
in schools, dialogue about the implications and findings from social
researchprojects and dialogue about getting social science findings
implemented in policy.
Facilitation
We undertake various independent facilitating and chairing roles, often
in regard to aspects of outcomes and evaluation, but also in other
areas.
Independent chair or facilitator allows senior managers to
concentrate on meeting content rather than also having to
focus on
meeting process. Parker Duignan Consulting undertakes this role
in regard
to high level public
sector consultation councils.
Consultation workshops and conferences need to have focused
facilitation to achieve their objectives. If you are wanting a
carefully designed workshop or conference process with the effort,
expertise and experience put into clearly specifying outcomes and
planning an appropriate process to deliver on them, then you may want
to involve Parker Duignan Consulting.
Research strategy
We are involved in defining organizational and sector research
strategies and priorities.
Social and other research is complex with evolving quantitative
and
qualitative methodologies. Parker Duignan Consulting has had
extensive
experience in whole range of social science research methods.
Roles for Parker Duignan Consulting include: research grant
panels
participation; research peer review; sector stakeholder
consultations to develop overall sets
of research priorities; development of overall research
strategy; facilitated research strategy workshops to assist
groups of academics
to define their comparative advantage and identify synergies between
disparate research groups within an institution.
Social and
Community Development Strategy
The design and implementation of social and community programis a
complex area for which there is now a large body of best
practice. As the use of such strategies becomes more central to
social policy, it is important to make sure that these initiatives are
well designed and implemented.
Agencies implementing these programmes can use Parker Duignan's
experience and implementation models in this area to avoid common
pit-falls and maximise opportunities for success.
Parker Duignan Principals
Dr Paul Duignan
Extensive experience in outcomes systems design, strategic planning,
facilitation, evaluation strategy, evaluation planning, evaluation
design, selecting evaluation tenders, and running evaluation
training. Consulted on outcomes and evaluation to IMF, Asian
Development Bank, UNFPA, ILO. As the New Zealand 2005 Fulbright Senior
Scholar Paul
worked at
the Urban Institute in Washington developing Outcomes
Theory.
Part time Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Social and Health
Outcomes Research and Evaluation (SHORE) Massey University,
Auckland. Initiated and taught Masters papers in programme
evaluation at the University of Auckland and at Massey University
Auckland. Undertakes a wide range
of projects for public sector organisations in.
Jennifer Parker
Experience in communications, community consultation, stakeholder
relationships, outcomes-focused strategic planning and project
management.
Facilitator. Mediator. Expert trainer and
training programme developer in range of topics including
communications and customer / client relations. Background in the
youth, government and community sectors. Formerly a Senior
Communications Advisor within central government and community
programme co-ordinator. Jennifer's
qualifications include a Certificate in Adult Teaching, Bachelor of
Arts in Political Science and Graduate Diploma in Business Studies
(Dispute Resolution). She is also an Associate of the
Arbitrators' and Mediators' Institute of New Zealand and a restorative
justice facilitator.
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