Insight. Impact. Change.
Our mission is to transform how people and institutions understand, navigate, and shape crisis response, including by creating digital tools for civic consultation and collective sense-making.
We believe that better responses start with better questions – and that the people living through crises must be at the centre of shaping them.
We engage with a wide range of clients – from think tanks, civil society, and governments to advocacy coalitions, intergovernmental bodies, financial institutions, and private enterprises.
We work at the crossroads of:
🌍 International relations
🤝 Development and humanitarian cooperation
📱Media and strategic communications
⚖️ Social justice and public policy
What we do
Our services include:
- Research that reveals the unseen
- Digital consultations
- Policy development that shapes futures
- Analysis that cuts through the noise
- Evaluation that drives learning and accountability
- Strategic communications that move people and ideas
How we work
We combine innovation with influence. Our toolkit includes cutting-edge approaches like deliberative consultation – an inclusive, tech-enabled model that brings people together across borders to shape policy, set priorities, and surface community insight.
We translate results into compelling stories and sharp messages – amplified across social and mixed media, public events, and press platforms.
When challenges are complex, we scale with them. Our global network of trusted collaborators means we can rapidly build custom consortia to tackle assignments of any scope.
Who we are
Lydia Poole
Lydia Poole is a leading crisis policy strategist with over 20 years’ experience shaping the global architecture of aid, crisis financing, and public accountability. Having advised governments, multilaterals, and frontline responders through some of the most complex emergencies of the last two decades – from conflict-affected states to climate-driven disasters – Lydia brings a rare combination of deep field insight and high-level policy acumen.
With a background spanning frontline humanitarian coordination in complex emergencies to advising senior leadership in multilateral institutions and donor agencies, Lydia has shaped some of the most influential agendas in the sector – including localisation, anticipatory action, pre-arranged financing, and aid accountability. Her work has guided the evolution of global frameworks, informed donor strategies, and helped build more responsive, evidence-based systems for crisis response.
Her approach is grounded in political economy analysis, deep stakeholder consultation, and a commitment to radical inclusion, transparency and social justice.
Ben Parker
Ben Parker has been an international crisis response leader in Syria, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan. He enjoys a parallel reputation as a critical observer of the aid system, in humanitarian diplomacy, and with his work at the intersection of related media and technology.
He is a proven early adopter in the use of technology and in recognising the influence of media reporting in crisis situations. He installed one of the first Linux systems ever used by the United Nations, launched a pan-African internet news platform, established the leading watchdog media institution for the aid sector, and put pressure on the humanitarian sector to take responsibility for its handling of sensitive personal data. His political acumen placed him in the corridors of UN leadershipfrom New York to Mogadishu and in daily meetings between Ukraine and Russia during the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
He now works with organisations, networks, and leadership teams to conduct research and analysis, consult with stakeholders, develop strategy, and communicate with clarity and purpose. In Making Sense of Crisis (the clue is in the name) he brings a unique blend of field-tested insight, analytical depth, and creative thinking to every engagement.