DevNA

DevNA is our very own NGO registered in the Philippines. DevNA stands for Development Network for Action and is geared at fostering people’s participation in any initiatives meant to improve their everyday wellbeing. We more specifically focus on:

1/ Fostering the participation of less-heard voices in diverse dimensions of the broad ‘development’ agenda. 

We have particular expertise in working with children, gender minorities, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, prisoners and homeless people towards reducing the risk of disaster across Asia and the Pacific. However, we also have experience in cognate fields such as land-use planning, urban development, natural resources management, human-wildlife conflict management, and WaSH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene).

2/ Promoting activities that allow for a dialogue amongst a wide range of stakeholders of ‘development’ to achieve specific objectives.

We have particular expertise in the field of disaster risk reduction but the tools we are using to foster such dialogue more broadly apply to all dimensions of people’s everyday life. These tools include participatory mapping, quantitative participatory methods (QPMs) and other approaches that facilitate the sharing of knowledge between stakeholders.

3/ Organising and facilitating workshops.

We have wide experience in developing creative workshops for a large array of stakeholders using tools that stem from the usual ‘participatory toolkits’. Our workshops feature interactive and fun activities that encourage physical mobility across different venues and spaces.

4/ Running project monitoring and assessment.

We have specialised in facilitating participatory project monitoring and assessment whereby the project’s beneficiaries are at the forefront of the process. It is our assumption that no one better than these beneficiaries can assess the impact of a project so we encourage them to design their own monitoring and assessment tools, carry out their own activities and develop their own reporting. We combine this process with a more traditional outsider-driven approach to triangulate different views.

5/ Conducting desk or field research for larger organisations, i.e. international NGOs or international organisations.

We use our research skills to conduct research ourselves but also encourage local people to take the lead through genuine participatory research where locals design their own questions, choose the most appropriate research tools, collect and analyse their dataset, and develop creative forms of reports (that can be written or take the form of videos, for example).

6/ DevNA is designed as an NGO that supports young researchers and practitioners.

We charge overhead fees to support the running of activities but, first and foremost, to eventually sponsor young researchers and practitioners field work through grants and scholarships. We are therefore geared towards building local capacities and facilitating the sharing of knowledge, experience and skills amongst young and future colleagues.

Please contact us should you have any query or should you be interested in partnering with us!