GET A FREE QUOTE
International Development Consultant:

MONITORING, EVALUATION, TRAINING

Get started
Email:
Phone:
Better Aid Outcomes is an International Development Consultancy based in Melbourne, Australia. Its Owner/ Director has over 20 years' experience in this sector and combines design, monitoring and evaluation skills with experience in managing projects and supporting project staff across a wide range of roles and countries.
We specialise in evaluations, reviews and assessments at both project and national level. Our aim is to not only provide valuable technical services but to equip project staff with the confidence and critical thinking skills required to act flexibly and independently to implement high quality development projects which truly align with the needs and wishes of local community members.
About the Company

Better Aid Outcomes

Better Aid Outcomes is owned and managed by Stephen Collins, a Development Practitioner with over 20 years’ experience in field monitoring, training and mid-term evaluations across a range of roles in 7 countries across Asia and Africa.
After completing a Master of Arts degree specializing in literacy and written communication in Vietnam, Stephen stayed on to work directly for poverty reduction and governance projects in rural central Vietnam. He prepared and guided the annual community consultation and planning process as well as the strategy for communicating with communities and government partners.
Upon returning to Australia, Stephen managed programs and projects funded by World Vision Australia, during which time he developed his interest and expertise in supporting project monitoring and evaluation. He led project evaluations and supported local staff to management, monitor and report on their work. Projects covered a very wide range of sectors, including economic development, maternal and child health, water and sanitation, and child protection. Stephen left World Vision to found Better Aid Outcomes in mid 2017. Since that time he has carried out a wide range of assignments across Australia, Asia and the Pacific. He has worked with and/or evaluated projects in Afghanistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, China, Thailand, Uganda, Burundi, Iraq (Kurdistan), Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. He has directly led data collection or conducted monitoring visits to all but two of these countries (Iraq and Papua New Guinea).
Examples of his skills and experience include:
  • leading project evaluations and writing reports
  • meta-analyses of project evaluations, national stratgies and organizational effectiveness
  • field monitoring and guiding internal monitoring processes
  • designing and coordinating community consultation and project planning/reporting processes
  • conducting training on project management and design, monitoring and evaluation
  • piloting and developing annual review, planning and reporting processes.

Our Services

designing community-based
monitoring frameworks
Project-Based Monitoring
Testimonials

Better Aid Outcomes

  • We have commissioned Stephen Collins to provide an evaluation meta-analysis for our ANCP program for the last four years (2018 – 21). We keep going back to Stephen, not only for his knowledge of process and quality principles, but also because of the clear social conscience he brings to his analysis and recommendations. He always wants his work to be used, to make a positive difference in how we program across vulnerable groups and challenging contexts. Over time he has helped us to understand our role as a funding office in supporting project impact. Katie Chalk ANCP Manager, World Vision Australia
    Katie Chalk World Vision Australia
  • In 2014, I had the opportunity to participate in a training titled “Theory of Change and Logical Framework” that was facilitated by Stephen Collins. It was an outstanding learning experience for me as I found Stephen is one of the friendliest and most humorous facilitator ever I met. In the context of Bangladesh, most of the development practitioners like me prefer to learn through practical examples and demonstration. Stephen Collins could trigger this point while transferring his vast knowledge on Theory of Change and logframes. I applied the learning that gained from that training during designing several projects. In a nutshell, Stephen Collins is a wonderful facilitator due to his outstanding capacity to engage people as well as explaining the critical issues with fun.
    Razib Muktadir WaterAid UK
  • Better Aid Outcomes team supported Plan International Australia to document the change we have achieved with our programs. They proved to be a very reliable partner with highly practical and focused approach. Stephen from Better Aid Outcomes digested a vast number of documents in a short period of time and delivered a high quality of work. We really appreciated his willingness and ability to adjust to our specific timelines, procedures and requirements. Stephen’s exceptional MEL skills and program quality experience made communication very easy and pleasurable. Moreover, his knowledge about the international aid sector helped us to articulate and improve our approach in days to come.
    Jasmina Kijevcanin
    Senior Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Advisor
  • Mr. Stephen Collins served as the Monitoring and Evaluation consultant for our Area Development Program under World Vision International-Myanmar. Before he began his M&E tasks, he gave training for the program staffs regarding what is M&E. His two-way training was very impressive for us because it was very straightforward and user-friendly, especially in the topic of monitoring activities. Likewise, after we collected the field data, he discussed with staff how to analyze the information they had collected. This was very remarkable for all staff and his guidance enhanced the competency of the staff. He assessed the exercises and wrote the evaluation, which were enhanced by his qualitative methods to document emerging innovation observed in the exercises. His social science expertise and writing ability made him uniquely qualified to objectively evaluate the impact of our program.
    Soe Than
    Program Manager, Johanniter International Assistance, Myanmar
Past Assignments

Assignments are in Reverse Chronological Order.

Evaluation design and report writing, South Sudan Labour Market Assessment - UNESCO and South Sudan Ministry of Labour (ongoing, sub-contracted to Maarifa)
READ MORE

Send Us a Message

To address enquiries efficiently, include a detailed and user-friendly contact form that asks for essential information.