Jessie Meaney-Davis

Jessie Meaney-Davis is an experienced evaluator and applied researcher with thematic expertise in climate change adaptation and resilience; environmental stewardship; governance; gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) and social policy. She specialises in understanding the effectiveness, impact, and sustainability of complex programs and policies, using mixed methods, systems thinking and participatory approaches to generate evidence that supports adaptive management, organisational learning and better decision-making. Jessie has worked with governments, research institutes, NGOs and community members in Australia, Asia and the Pacific to evaluate climate resilience, environmental stewardship, social inclusion and sustainable development initiatives.

Jessie is proudly neurodivergent (autistic and ADHD): neurodivergence makes her highly empathetic, analytical and creative. She recognises patterns that others don’t, and communicates complex ideas in clear and creative ways.

Recent projects:

• Evaluation of a nature-based solutions program in Asia and the Pacific funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT);
• Evaluation of a water-food-energy nexus project in Kiribati for Action on Poverty;
• Impact assessment of women-led multi-hazard early warning systems in Bougainville, Vanuatu and Tonga, for Shifting the Power Coalition and ActionAid Australia;
• Research on climate change adaptation and agricultural practices amongst ethnic minority groups in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam for CARE;
• Co-designing longitudinal research about communities' climate resilience in Asia and the Pacific, funded by DFAT;
• Case studies on international research partnership practices in KONEKSI projects researching environment and climate change resilience in Indonesia, funded by DFAT;
• Planning and quality assurance support for the evaluation of a regional climate change resilience program in Southeast Asia, funded by DFAT;
• Developing an organisational monitoring, evaluation and learning framework and tools with and for the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute;
• Case studies on community resilience to climate change in Timor-Leste and Kiribati, as part of the Australia Pacific Climate Partnership;
• Design and facilitation of a short course on program evaluation for the Government of Cambodia;
• Evaluation of the Health Security Initiati'ves Applied Research Program in Asia and the Pacific, funded by DFAT;
• Research on circular agro-food-energy technologies in Fiji, for the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR);
• Design of a Climate Change Adaptation Outcomes Framework for the NSW Government;
• Research on disaster risk reduction and climate change action in Transform Aid International programming;
• Midline and endline program evaluations of the Making Rights Real and Systems Strengthening Global WASH Project, funded by Malteser International;
• Outcome evaluation of how and why three bodies of research interfaced with policy-making on forestry, fisheries and water in Lao PDR, funded by ACIAR;
• Participatory action research on organisational capacity strengthening with 14 organisations in Fiji, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, in partnership with Australian Volunteers Program;
• Evaluation of the partnership between the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Government of Australia;
• Developing a research project impact planning tool for ISF staff and students.