🏆 2022 USAID Global CLA Case Study Award Winner, highest global recognition for Collaborating, Learning & Adapting practice
Dominique Practice Journal
Vol. 15, No. 3 (2026)

Aniefiok Dominic Effiong
Aniefiok Dominic Effiong

14+ years turning field evidence into institutional practice.

I design and institutionalize knowledge management systems, M&E frameworks, research and evaluation studies, and adaptive learning practice for governments, donors, and international NGOs across West and Sub-Saharan Africa. Every engagement is built to outlive the contract that funded it.

"A USAID Global CLA Case Study Award Winner, Project Management Professional (PMP®) and PMI Project Management Office (PMO) certified professional whose work is trusted by clients to bridge the gap between evidence and action, strengthening MEAL systems, enabling adaptive learning, and building organizations that learn, improve, and deliver impact."

Field Geography

A 14+ Years of Practice Across Borders

A record of cross-country engagements, contextual learning, and professional contributions.

10Countries, One Evolving Practice

Working across borders has shaped an adaptive practice, one that is tested, refined, and strengthened in every new context.

Contextual AdaptationAdapting frameworks to diverse institutional and operational realities.
Comparative Evaluation DesignDesigning tools that remain effective across languages, systems, and donor requirements.
Cross-Cultural Stakeholder EngagementBuilding trust with governments, development partners, NGOs, and communities.
Regional CoordinationRunning one coherent practice across a multiple-country network.
Map of Africa with markers over countries worked in

Full map of Africa, pins mark countries of engagement, hover or tap a marker to see the work behind it.

Impact Metrics

Evidence of Change and Contribution

Documenting measurable results generated through evidence, learning, and innovation.

0st
National Health Sector KM System
Contributed to establishing Nigeria's National KM system for the Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare, aligned with ISO 30401.
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MEAL Competency Improvement
Measured improvement in organization staff competencies after a capacity-strengthening programme for a Foundation.
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Programmes Harmonized
Harmonized into a single MEAL performance framework for a Foundation, enabling cross-programme measurement for the first time.
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Data Points Analyzed
Data points across 7 health system domains analyzed for a rapid vulnerability assessment informing Nigeria's NHSRII reprioritization.
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States Assessed
Tax grievance redress mechanism performance, informing alignment with Nigeria's new tax reform acts.
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USAID CLA Case Study Award
Winner, 2022 USAID Global Collaborating, Learning and Adapting Case Study Award, the field's highest global recognition.
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FMoH Staff Trained
On integrating KM processes into day-to-day work and using KM-developed tools.
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CoP Members
Designed, launched, and scaled the USAID/West Africa RPGO regional Community of Practice from zero.
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Countries Worked
Cross-border experience across multicultural teams, complex environments, and locally led programmes, informing evidence, strategy, and implementation.
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Knowledge Products
Case studies, policy briefs, knowledge briefs, and executive briefs authored for donor and government stakeholders.
Practice Portfolio

Areas of Professional Contribution

Specialized areas of support for organizations seeking evidence-driven solutions.

SERVICE 01

Knowledge Management

KM strategies, governance frameworks, taxonomies, and Communities of Practice that turn fragmented knowledge into an actionable asset.

SERVICE 02

Learning & Adaptive Management

After-Action Reviews, pause-and-reflect sessions, and CLA approaches that turn experience into adaptive action.

SERVICE 03

Research & Evidence Generation

Rigorous quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research that answers real programme and policy questions.

SERVICE 04

Monitoring & Evaluation

M&E systems, indicators, and data processes that hold up to donor and government scrutiny.

SERVICE 05

Capacity Building

Tiered, ADDIE-based learning programmes that leave institutions less dependent on outside support.

SERVICE 06

Evaluation

OECD-DAC-aligned baseline, midline, and endline evaluations that translate into real decisions.

My Working Frameworks

The Systems Behind the Practice

Exploring the systems, tools, and thinking approaches behind effective solutions.

Listen & Diagnose

Understand the institution’s real knowledge and evidence gaps, not just the terms of reference.

Design the System

Build the KM strategy, M&E framework, or learning architecture around how the institution actually works.

Build With the Team

Co-create tools, taxonomies, and instruments with the people who will use them, not around them.

Institutionalize & Handover

Embed practices into policy, workflow, and culture so they outlast the consultancy.

Evidence & Iterate

Track what’s working and adapt, knowledge and learning systems are living, not one-off deliverables.

Consulting Portfolio

Selected Engagements and Contributions

Selected consulting contributions and professional engagements.

01
Dispatch 01

Senior Knowledge Management & Learning Lead — AWLI Impact Assessment

Curated evidence-based stories of change across 17 African countries using Outcome Harvesting and feminist narrative approaches, while developing a framework to strengthen the dissemination and strategic use of AWLI’s impact evidence.

02
Dispatch 02

Senior Evaluation & Adaptive Learning Lead — Endline Evaluation

Co-led the evaluation of a national mental health programme, generating triangulated evidence across four result areas and contributing to an endline report. Authored a case study and policy brief that informed Comic Relief’s future investment decisions.

03
Dispatch 03

Lead Research Consultant — Health System Vulnerability Assessment

Analyzed 2,121 data points across 60 institutions and seven health system domains, informing NHSRII reprioritization and national health resilience policy recommendations.

04
Dispatch 04

Knowledge Management Consultant — Strategy Adoption & Institutionalization

Developed a national health-sector knowledge management framework for the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, including KM toolkits, a federated operating model, and a structured capacity-building curriculum.

05
Dispatch 05

Lead Investigator — Baseline Evaluation

Established a performance baseline for a disability inclusion and disaster risk reduction programme in Kogi State using a stratified, multi-instrument design to capture disability and geographic differences.

06
Dispatch 06

Principal Investigator — Baseline Assessment

Established an evidence base on tax grievance redress mechanisms across 10 Nigerian states and developed a standardized performance scorecard to inform programme design, tax reform alignment, and future revenue governance assessments.

07
Dispatch 07

Learning Evaluator — Endline Evaluation, Multi-Country Portfolio

Generated evidence on digital security capacity strengthening across three Sub-Saharan African countries, contributing to an OECD-DAC-aligned endline evaluation and case studies that informed the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ programme continuation decisions.

08
Dispatch 08

MEL Lead Consultant — MEAL Systems Strengthening

Established a unified MEAL framework across HumAngle Foundation’s programme portfolio, enabling consistent performance measurement and achieving an 87.5% improvement in staff monitoring, evaluation, and learning competencies.

09
Dispatch 09

Investigative Evaluator — National Baseline Assessment

Supported the development of a national GBV-prevention and male feminist network-building baseline across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, delivering validated KPIs through an efficient multi-method virtual data collection approach.

10
Dispatch 10

Associate Evaluator — Endline Evaluation

Led an OECD-DAC-aligned endline evaluation of a multi-year WASH and maternal and child health programme, producing decision-ready evidence on sustainability and scale-up while ensuring rigorous data quality.

Career Record

Chapters of Professional Experience

A documented journey of roles, contributions, and professional growth.

01
Chapter

Collaborating, Learning & Adapting (Knowledge Management & Learning) Specialist

Led a mission-wide Knowledge Management and CLA approach across five countries, strengthening adaptive learning, evidence use, peer exchange, and cross-country collaboration.

02
Chapter

Senior Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (Knowledge Management & Learning) Advisor

Embedded CLA across Mercy Corps Nigeria’s RRA portfolio, shifting planning and reporting from activity compliance to outcome-focused learning. Developed learning agendas and evidence-to-action frameworks that strengthened donor confidence and supported programme renewal.

03
Chapter

Roving Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Officer

Designed and implemented a unified MEL system across a three-state portfolio, strengthening data quality, performance monitoring, reporting, and evidence-based decision-making.

04
Chapter

Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Coordinator

Strengthened MEL and knowledge systems across multi-sector programmes, improving indicator coherence, executive visibility, KPI reporting, and team capacity through structured coaching across five states.

Sector Field Notes

Experiences Across Systems

Cross-sector experiences shaping research, evaluation, and adaptation.

Health Systems & Public Health FMoH, LAFIYA/Palladium Governance & Public Finance IBP, PACE–DAI Gender, GBV & Women's Leadership Centre LSD/Ford, AMwA WASH & Maternal-Child Health WaterAid Disability Inclusion & DRR CBM, SFHF Digital Rights & Security Digital Defenders Partnership, Hivos Peacebuilding & Governance Dexis/USAID West Africa Livelihoods & Economic Resilience Mercy Corps Media, Info Integrity & Conflict HumAngle, USAID/West Africa Humanitarian Multi-Sector Response IRC, Save the Children
The Knowledge Archive

Publications and Evidence Products

Written contributions connecting evidence, research, and implementation.

Case Study · Award Winner

How Restructuring and Culture Change Impacted Our Performance

2022 USAID Global Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) Case Study Award winner.

Case Study

From Awareness to Advocacy: How STAN Champions Are Rewriting the Mental Health Narrative on Nigerian Campuses

CBM Global & Comic Relief, 2026.

Case Study

Creating Resilient Networks by Building Regional Solidarity and Rapid Response Capacity in Nigeria

Digital Defenders Partnership/Hivos, commissioned by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2025.

Policy Brief

From Crisis to Capacity: Evidence-Based Pathways to Strengthen Youth Mental Health in Nigeria

CBM Global & Comic Relief, 2026.

Knowledge Brief

Strengthening Knowledge Management Capacity in Nigeria's Health Sector

Commissioned by LAFIYA Programme, Palladium, and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, 2026.

Executive Briefs (5)

Decision-ready findings across FMOH, CBM/Comic Relief, DDP/Hivos, IBP/PACE–DAI, and CBM/SFHF assignments

Authored for senior donor and government stakeholders.

Academic Foundation

Education & Doctoral Research

An academic record spanning project management, public health, and agribusiness, culminating in ongoing doctoral study.

Degrees & Institutions
01

PhD in Project Management

Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria · 2026 – Present
02

Master's in Agribusiness Management

Rome Business School, Lagos, Nigeria · 2022 – 2023
03

Master of Public Health (MPH)

University of Central Nicaragua · 2020 – 2022
04

MBA, Project Management & Operations

Assam Don Bosco University, Guwahati, India · 2017 – 2019
05

Bachelor of Technology in Project Management

Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria · 2004 – 2009
Professional Accreditation Record

Standards & Credentials

A record of certifications demonstrating structured approaches to project delivery, governance, and organizational performance.

PMI Global Standard

Project Management Professional (PMP)®

A globally recognized credential earned by successfully completing the Project Management Professional examination administered by the Project Management Institute. It demonstrates competence in project leadership, team and process management, and the delivery of complex initiatives across industries and methodologies.

Portfolio Governance

Project Management Office (PMO) Certified Professional

A professional credential earned by successfully completing the PMO Certified Professional examination. It demonstrates competence in designing and managing PMO structures, standardizing governance, aligning project portfolios with organizational strategy, and strengthening delivery performance across multiple projects.