About Us

Sawian Consulting was created to present government agencies and inter-governmental entities with a unique partner to provide evaluation and assessment services for development programming in Security Sector Reform, Rule of Law, Access to Justice, and Corrections.  Sawian is unique in that, while recognizing donors’ need for a robust and evidence-based analytical review of whether and how development efforts have met intended results, Sawian also seeks to understand and convey the value of those efforts beyond pre-defined indicators.  Too often, evaluation efforts focus on the “bean counting” of data collection vis a vis indicators without attempting to communicate the wider significance of a program to the donor, e.g., in diplomatic efforts, in relationship-building, and in culture change.

Further, evaluators tend to review projects from an overly statistical standpoint without understanding the changed circumstances that inevitably occur from program idealization to program design to program award to program inception and then to over the course of program delivery.  By evaluating an initiative absent a reference to the full spectrum of the life of that initiative, an evaluation inevitably undervalues the results achieved.

For this reason, Sawian was founded by and is comprised of experts who not only are accomplished at evaluating progress against indicators, but individuals who have, at senior levels, led and managed government security and justice entities of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.  And, after their government service, Sawian’s experts have then led flagship donor-funded development efforts in justice, in policing, and in corrections.

These are people who can comment on the forest while also describing the trees.  

And because an equally important aspect of any evaluation effort is gathering information that will provide donors and implementers with information to inform management decisions, Sawian's experts’ experience allows them to provide solid technical advice and ideas for recommendations moving forward.  These recommendations are evidence-based and are actionable within the realities of a program’s environment, with the resources available to it, and within the policies and priorities of the donor.

Last, Sawian’s cadre of experts collectively possess deep global experience and language skills with fluent abilities in Spanish, French, Arabic, Tajik/Dari, Bangla, Tagalog, and Russian.