GSDL · Issue №26
MMXXVI · NAIROBI
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the field.
Paper · Ink · Method · Co-creation
Compositing types
000
In Service of the SDGs · Vol. V · 2026

We build bold
futures for the
Global South.

GSDL is a consulting firm for transformational development · co-creating sustainable, socially-rooted solutions with governments, civil society, academia and the private sector across the global south economies.

See what we do
04 Pillars 03 Practices 17 SDGs
§ 01 · Why we exist
Filed under
Mission · Method · Movement
We solve challenges by inspiring powerful minds to co-create bold solutions · leveraging expertise from both global north and south to accelerate the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
§ 02 · Our approach

Four ways
we work.

Support institutions to be relevant in complex and fast-paced environments. We listen closely, interrogate the process, and bridge sectors to arrive at the best solutions to specific problems.

01 / Make Meaning

Make
meaning

We listen closely, interrogate the process, and bridge sectors to arrive at the best solutions to the problems we face · and the ones that led to them.

02 / Collective Intelligence

Collective
intelligence

A finger on the pulse · what's happening on the ground and what futures are possible. We co-create new approaches to address both the problem and its broader environment.

03 / Portfolio Approach

Portfolio
approach

Co-design, co-create, co-execute. We catalyse partnerships using the triple helix of government, private sector, academia and non-state actors.

04 / Solutions Mapping

Solutions
mapping

Branch out together to explore solutions to the context challenge · mapping options, weighing trade-offs, and committing to the most catalytic path.

§ 02.5 · Inside an engagement

How the
work unfolds.

Every project moves through four motions. They're not a linear waterfall · they overlap, recur, and pull on each other. But they always show up.

PLATE № 01
Fieldwork Process map
Fig. 01·The engagement loop
Motion 01 · Listen

Get close to the
people closest
to the problem.

Before any framework, before any analysis: we sit with the people the work is meant to serve · and the people running it on the ground. We listen for the story underneath the story.

Field visitsStakeholder mappingDiscovery interviews
Motion 02 · Frame

Interrogate process, not just outcomes.

What system produced this problem? What incentives keep it alive? Framing is half the work. We turn complexity into a shared mental model · and a clear bet on where to push.

Theory of ChangeProblem treesSystems mapping
Motion 03 · Co-create

Design with · not
for · the people
who'll live with it.

Triple-helix in motion: government, private sector, academia and non-state actors building the response together. Co-design is not a workshop · it's a discipline.

Co-design sprintsTriple helixPrototype & test
Motion 04 · Hand off

Transfer capacity
so it outlasts us.

The best engagement leaves the organisation with the skills, systems and confidence to run the work itself. We document deliberately. We coach in the open. We leave on time.

Capacity plansCoachingOpen documentation
§ 02.75 · Across the corridor

Where the work shows up.

01 / 05
PL.№ 01 · GENDER
Gender · Inclusion
01 · Sector

Gender & social inclusion

From the fodder value chain to ending FGM · studies and costed plans that move the conditions, not just the indicators.

CountiesNarok · Wajir · Kajiado · Garissa
Engagements04
PartnersSNV · WOKIKE
PL.№ 02 · VALUE CHAINS
Livestock · Forage
02 · Sector

Value chains, read closely

How women and youth move through fodder and forage · and what cultural, financial and policy levers actually unlock participation.

GeographiesTaita Taveta · Narok
MethodsGESI · Qual + Quant
Year2021 →
PL.№ 03 · HEALTH
Health · Systems
03 · Sector

Health systems & OCA

Capacity assessments and systems-strengthening for emergency medical bodies · turning a snapshot into a multi-year plan.

ReachNational · Kenya
MethodOCA + CBP
PartnerMalteser International
PL.№ 04 · YOUTH
Youth · Innovation
04 · Sector

Youth innovation, scaffolded

Incubation and advisory services for youth-led innovations · milestones, mentorship and investment-readiness without losing the spark.

GeographyEast Africa
PartnerAction for Sustainability
Cohorts02+
PL.№ 05 · POLICY
Policy · Governance
05 · Sector

Policy, operationalised

From costed action plans to M&E frameworks · instruments that survive the political cycle and travel between counties.

CountiesGarissa · Tana River · Wajir
FocusFGM · Gender · MEL
StatusOngoing
Scroll to traverse the corridor Continue
§ 03 · Practices

What we do.

Browse the index →

A consultancy
that thinks like
a movement.

Working across Kenya, the Horn of Africa and the wider global south · alongside donors, multilaterals, governments and grassroots actors building lasting change.

See selected work →
12+
Counties served
04
Sector practices
17
SDGs in scope
Co-created futures