I am a facilitator, coach, trainer and evaluator. Fair, inclusive and participatory processes drive my work.
Over the years I gained experience in fragile and complex settings, collaborating with various organizations – in the public and private sector, in all four corners of the world – to work towards building peace, equality and greater ecological and social resilience of communities. I have experienced the need for conflict mediation, people-centered approaches, multi-stakeholder dialogue and collaborations. Therefore I love to support organizations and teams with designing and facilitating dialogue processes (online and face-to-face) for adaptive learning, policy planning and/or strategic decision making. Through these processes I aim to foster shared ownership, peer-to-peer learning, and participation of all stakeholders, especially of those who are usually excluded.
I also design and conduct complex and multi-country evaluations, and train and coach teams to monitor, evaluate and learn from programmes and projects using adaptive, qualitative and participatory approaches (such as participatory narrative inquiry). Through interactive sessions I support teams to design, collect and make sense of data and stories.
Generally, I am appreciated as a facilitator with a grounding, calming but uplifting presence, offering a creative and structured approach, as well as strategic and analytical thinking skills.
I have an academic background in international development, public policy and human rights and I am trained in Deep Democracy, facilitation and evaluation. I am also an expert member of a human rights commission in the Netherlands, and of the Harmony with Nature Knowledge Network of the United Nations. I love being in nature and support others to connect to nature. I also enjoy exploring different forms of creative expression, such as dance, song and painting.
Expertise
- Narrative research, evaluation & learning
- Multi-stakeholder dialogue
- Capacity strengthening & coaching
- Citizen participation & inclusion
- Gender, youth, conflict and regeneration
Examples of what I do
Are you ready to move on?
Perspectivity’s Han Rakels delivered a Future Search training for iCRA, and some Perspectivity colleagues joined the training. Here are our reflections on the 3-day training.
Storytelling in complexity (Sprockler) — Online
Do you want to use storytelling to make sense of a complex issue? And are you looking for a method that enables you to collect a large amount of stories, and quantify the key patterns in the stories? Then Sprockler is the perfect tool for you. Register for this training to learn about the methodology and how to apply it in your work.
Baseline Assessment of a Strategic Programme on Women’s Rights
Co-creating and conducting a baseline assessment for CREA’s strategic programme in close cooperation with consortium partners in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Lebanon, Sudan and Uganda.
Evaluation of Winrock International’s John D. Rockefeller 3RD program
An outcome study of six research projects implemented in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
World Water Week and story collection for the Lazos de Agua programme
One Drop Foundation presented their Sprockler, Lazos de Agua and other monitoring and evaluation experiences during the World Water Week this August.
Evaluating the Prevention up Front Alliance
The Prevention up Front (PuF) Alliance is a five-year joint programme (2016-2020) between the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) and the World Federalist Movement – Institute for Global Policy (WFM-IGP) that is implemented in strategic...
Joint proposal building and strengthening ownership online
Just Future 4-day international workshop Over the summer Cordaid asked Perspectivity if we could facilitate a multi-stakeholder workshop for the Just Future Alliance. Purpose: to elaborate the strategic partnership proposal for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs...
Lazos de Agua pilots with Sprockler narrative research
One Drop Canada shares their experience using Sprockler: The Lazos de Agua program seeks to provide sustainable access to safe water and improved sanitation and hygiene to around 200,000 people in Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Paraguay by 2022. The...
Amsterdam Accessible for All – the first Amsterdam Local Inclusion Agenda
Travelling by public transport, going to school, doing something fun or interviewing for a job. For people with a disability, these ordinary things can be a challenge. According to the UN Convention for the rights of persons with disabilities, everyone should be able...
The mindful walking project
This summer, the mindful walking project was created in London: a participatory action research project to advance the theory and practice of walking and sensory research methodologies. Walking, as a qualitative research methodology, has a profound and diverse history...