Ann Sutherland has worked for over 20 years as a program manager and evaluation consultant in the international and NGO sectors. Her work has included meta-evaluations and organizational reviews for UN agencies, evaluation quality assessment processes, training in results-based management and evaluation, the development of MEL (monitoring, evaluation and learning) systems, and a broad range of institutional and program evaluations. Ann specializes in gender analysis, results-based management, and strategic management. She has provided evaluation services for many organizations including WHO, UNODC, UNFPA, UNICEF, ILO, Sida, UNECA, UNDG, PACT, Action Aid, Cornell University, and Architects for Humanity.
Ann Sutherland has worked for over 20 years as a program manager and evaluation consultant in the international and NGO sectors. She has been a Principal Associate with DeftEdge since 2010. Assignments have included meta-evaluations and organizational reviews for UN agencies, evaluation quality assessment processes, training in results-based management and evaluation, the development of MEL (monitoring, evaluation and learning) systems, and a broad range of institutional and program evaluations. She is currently managing a multi-year contract to assess the quality of evaluations commissioned by UNICEF. She has served as team leader for a six-country improved rice growing project in West Africa, an assessment of reconstruction projects in Haiti and the first evaluation of gender-based violence initiatives in Zambia, among others. Clients include WHO, UNODC, UNFPA, UNICEF, ILO, Sida, UNECA, UNDG, PACT, Action Aid, Cornell University, and Architects for Humanity.
An experienced facilitator, Ms. Sutherland has led numerous strategic planning processes. A major multi-year assignment for the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) involved the development of a training package and the delivery of results-based management and evaluation workshops for their research partners around the world. As a senior program manager, she has overseen natural resource management, sustainable agriculture and food security, conflict mitigation, and women’s economic resilience projects, as well as initiatives to address youth resilience and gender-based violence in the Middle East, Africa, the US and Canada. Ms. Sutherland is a Canadian citizen.
Favorite drink: Coffee, the most essential part of any meeting. Most memorable was a fabulously presented and sensational cup of steaming coffee in an aromatic, backstreet café in Addis.
Favorite quotes: “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow! What a ride!’” --Hunter Thompson. And, ones more applicable to our profession - “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts” (William Bruce Cameron) and “Warning: dates in calendar are closer than they appear” .
Favorite activity: Exploring around the next corner, whether it be along a garden path, in a lively city neighborhood, or on a mountain trail – there’s always more to see!
