Project spotlights
A selection of projects showing how I’ve helped my clients deliver meaningful results and high-impact outcomes.
Project spotlight: EVALUATION
Evaluating recovery from the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires
ARTD Consultants and NSW Reconstruction Authority
The scenario
ARTD Consultants provides program and policy evaluation services to help governments and non-profits assess the value of their work and investments. Following the devastating 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, the NSW Reconstruction Authority (RA) contracted ARTD to deliver a holistic evaluation of the performance of its bushfire recovery programs.
Knowing the importance of putting the right team in place for the project, ARTD sought external support to complete their project team. They engaged Martina, who had experience supporting the National Recovery and Resilience Agency’s evaluation of the federal government’s 2019-20 bushfire recovery response. This previous work, combined with Martina’s lived experience as someone from a bushfire-affected community and expertise in rubrics and qualitative evaluation methodologies, made Martina the right person to join the ARTD evaluation team for this project.
The solution
Bringing relevant subject-matter experience, evaluation design and delivery expertise and technical prowess in niche rubric-based evaluation methods, Martina joined the team ready to contribute her valuable insights and skills.
As part of the project team, Martina exhibited a strong sense of ethical judgment and sensitivity and showed generosity in transferring knowledge to junior evaluators. ARTD appreciated Martina’s ability to deliver thorough but clear analysis based on complex evidence, and how she grounded the report recommendations in the context of the end reader.
With extensive involvement in the evaluation and analysis work, Martina led the development of a set of exemplar case studies and worked closely with a senior economist to integrate economic analysis with the other evaluation insights. The ARTD project evaluation developed a set of principles-based recommendations to support RA in future recovery efforts. Martina played a crucial role in making this happen.
Services provided
> Mixed-method evaluation
> Designing, testing and implementing the rubric-based framework
> Development and refinement of criteria and scoring levels
> Leading junior evaluators
> Ethical and sensitive stakeholder engagement
> Collating and linking together team analysis
> Developing case studies
> Lead report writer
Over the course of the project, Martina has exceeded my expectations, and because of this, has taken on a pivotal role in the delivery of the evaluation, including as the lead writer of the final report to the NSW Reconstruction Authority.
Gerard Atkinson
ARTD Consultants
Project spotlight: GRANT WRITING
Revenue building success
Karitane
The scenario
Karitane is a respected and trusted leader in parenting support and targeted early intervention for parents with babies and young children aged 0 to 5. The Karitane team delivers high-quality, evidence-based services for families across Australia. As a not-for-profit organisation and registered charity, Karitane is committed to collaboration and partnerships, donations and grant funding to support their life-changing services.
To support innovation and meet the growing demand for services, Karitane has continued to diversify its revenue streams, including an aspirational focus on increasing its grant funding success.
The solution
With a vision to strive for higher-level grant opportunities, the Karitane team knew they would need to invest in external support to complement their internal resources. Putting feelers out to find a great grant writer, the team found Martina, who the CEO says she instantly connected with.
In the years since, Martina has become an extended support to the Karitane team, working on numerous successful grant applications and strategies to help Karitane significantly grow their grant revenue streams.
Martina isn’t simply a grant writer for hire for Karitane. She contributes by sharing and critiquing ideas and adding value to plans and proposals with a holistic and rigorous approach. As a collaborator, the Karitane CEO says Martina has been an incredible help to the organisation with her remarkable brain, proactive determination and flexible way of working.
Services provided
> Project design
> Project interrogation
> Grant strategy and advice
> Grant writing
> Risk assessment
Since working with Martina, we’ve created several new revenue streams for the organisation and a more sustainable revenue mix, including funding from partners, donors, state and federal government sources. Martina’s support has been strategically integral to achieving this and we could not have done it without her. Martina continues to be a remarkable asset to Karitane.
Grainne O’Loughlin
Karitane
Project spotlight: GRANT WRITING, PROJECT DESIGN, EVALUATION
A full-service project offering
Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies (ACWA)
The scenario
ACWA is a non-government peak body representing the voice of community organisations working with vulnerable children, young people, and their families. When the eSafety Commissioner was looking for proposals to improve online safety outcomes for vulnerable cohorts, ACWA saw an opportunity to co-design a project that would address the unique online safety risks faced by children and young people in out-of-home care. To achieve their goal, the ACWA team needed support to write a grant proposal for government funding and help move the project along in other ways.
The solution
ACWA initially engaged Martina to write a grant application for the funding to bring the project to life. Martina worked collaboratively with the team to understand and interrogate their idea and address any concept gaps based on the selection criteria and grant funding goals. Martina’s persuasive proposal for the co-designed project was successful, and ACWA was awarded the funding needed to realise its project.
Seeing Martina’s skill, reliability and passion for the work during the grant writing stage, ACWA extended her role to include project planning and evaluation. Working in collaboration with the project lead, Martina set up a co-design framework to guide the project’s work with young contributors and helped bring in other experts, such as animators, to deliver the online modules. Martina’s work to get the project parameters in place also included writing the project and stakeholder engagement plans, risk analysis, setting up the expert reference group and developing the evaluation plan at the start of the project.
As the project evaluator, Martina used a simple mixed-methods developmental evaluation approach. This allowed the team to implement continuous improvements and adjust as the project evolved. Martina’s work assessed the entire project process, including the focus groups, the consultation with young people and a thorough evaluation of the final online resources themselves. Though she had been involved in the project proposal and set-up, Martina’s professional objectivity in the evaluation process meant the reporting reflected accurate, unbiased project outcomes and experiences.
Services provided
> Grant writing
> Project planning and co-design frameworks
> Engagement with vulnerable children and carers
> Risk analysis and stakeholder reference group set up
> Project evaluation
‘We knew that Martina had experience in evaluation, and one of the things we liked about her was that she was able to bring that beginning-through-to-the-end approach. We didn’t have to re-brief somebody, and we knew she could bring the level of objectivity that you need for robust evaluation. It was handy having Martina be able to take on so many elements of the project.’
Linda Watson
Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies
Project spotlight: GRANT STRATEGY & COACHING
A grant writing safety net
Cenofex Innovations
The scenario
As a start-up medical technology company, Cenofex Innovations relies on constant funding to keep its device-building work going. With a goal to leverage grant opportunities in the innovation and commercialisation space, the team at Cenofex realised they needed help to extend their skillset beyond academic grant proposals while staying deeply focused on developing their technology. While their small team has incredible smarts in writing academic research grants, when it comes to applications for industry and government innovation funding, they knew they needed outside support to help bring the right context and narrative to their applications.
The solution
As the subject matter experts in their fields, the Cenofex team worked with Martina to help tell their story in a way that would keep the funding assessors interested and invested in their outcomes.
Bringing Martina in gave them the knowledge and confidence to frame their information into a compelling story and distil data into meaningful proposals well-aligned with grant funding goals.
One of the things the Cenofex team appreciated most about Martina’s approach was the range of options and flexibility she showed in determining the best way for them to work together.
Recognising the value of Martina’s strategic coaching and advice, the Cenofex team leveraged her expertise to focus their limited resources on developing impactful grant applications in-house.
Services provided
> Grant strategy
> Grant coaching
> Grant review
Martina coaches you without making it feel like she’s coaching you. From that first conversation, I got the sense that she really knew what she was talking about as an expert in the space. Working with Martina made it feel like she was one of our team. She stopped me from spinning my wheels and helped me focus on the important things. I got a lot from working with Martina and really appreciated her guidance and advice.
Sheridan Gho
Cenofex Innovations