Barncat Consulting are always trying to think of ways to make our work more valuable. It’s not just a matter of keeping our clients satisfied, or even of professional pride, although both are important. But primarily, we are a consultancy with a social policy slant, and our goal is to help our clients (NGOs, statutory agencies and international bodies) improve the lives of others more effectively. The more we can do to maximise our positive impact, the better.

One of the obvious ways to improve our impact is to follow up after the research we have conducted is complete – whether it’s a needs analysis, a strategic development report, or an evaluation. Too many excellent pieces of research end up, sometimes beautifully bound, in a file box on a shelf somewhere. In order to guard against this tendency, Barncat advocates a follow up review of the project several months to a year out from the completion of the research.

This, however, often poses a problem in terms of funding. Research is often completed in accordance with an earmarked budget, or in a specific funding round. This means that final payment has to be made immediately on the completion of the report, generally before a set date. A long term review is thus impossible under the same contract.

Barncat has therefore decided to offer a day’s work free with every contract, to be taken up by the contracting organisation after the completion of the contract. This can be used for a follow up review, as mentioned above, or alternatively, for a short supplementary piece of work, such as drafting a submission to a government department, or assistance in accessing further funding for the project under scrutiny.

To find out more about this, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . We are also happy to apply this retrospectively, so if you are a previous Barncat client and are interested in taking up your pro bono day, please do get in touch!