Associates For Change is made up of a group of highly qualified development professionals with a long history of work experience in Africa and Asia. All lead consultants have worked in a variety of cross-cultural situations demanding a high level of sensitivity. AFC pulls on a variety of expertise from the University, Private and NGO sector within Africa and the western world. Each of the associates has a demonstrated ability in a particular area of expertise with extensive work experience in the consulting field. The consultants have a high moral commitment and proven track record working in Africa and Asia.
Our Senior Researchers
Dr Leslie Casely - Hayford (PhD)
Dr Casely-Hayford is the Director of Associates for Change and has worked in the field of international education development for over 18 years. She has consulted for a variety of International Agencies including the World Bank, USAID, UNAIDS, UNESCO, Department for International Development (Dfid UK) and CIDA. She has advised African and Asian Governments concerning education development, special needs education, literacy, girls’ education and HIV/AIDS.
Over the last nine years Dr Casely-Hayford has been based in Ghana, West Africa where she has led several evaluative studies in the areas of girls’ education, complementary education, community participation and the impact of HIV/AIDS within the education sector. She has been lead consultant with the Ministry of Education’s sector wide programme in the areas of gender, special needs education and the disadvantaged. She has extensive knowledge of the educational environment in Ghana and West Africa. She has conducted evaluations and research on life skills education, girls’ education and complementary education programming.
Dr Ruby Avotri (PhD)
Dr Avotri is an experienced researcher/consultant and has conducted several research studies and evaluative exercises in the areas of gender equity, reproductive health and basic education. Ruby has been head of the research unit of the Ghana Education Service’s curriculum research and development division for the last five years and has conducted research for NGOs and donor agencies including UNFPA, Africa Youth Alliance, ERNWACA, (Gender and Primary Schooling Study), World Bank and Rockefeller Foundation. Currently Ruby is working on research related to the overload of the basic education curriculum in Ghana for the Ministry of Education. She has designed curriculum and training programmes in the areas of HIV/AIDS, reproductive health and gender equity across Ghana.
Dr. Alhassan Seidu
Dr Seidu is a key senior research consultant in literacy and education with Associates for Change. He is an expert with wide experience in the field of teaching and research at all levels of Ghana’s Education System including Primary, JHS, SHS, tertiary–College of Education and University. He was involved in the Ghana Education Service Modular Teacher Training programme and the mass in-service training of teachers which was part of the 1987 Education Reform Programme. He was recommended and appointed by GES as the National Co-ordinator of the Whole School Development (WSD) initiative of the Service and was instrumental in developing WSD’s roll out in Ghana. Under the WSD he provided professional and administrative leadership for improving the quality of teaching and learning, management efficiency of the education system, increasing access and participation, and improved decentralisation of educational resource management at the Basic level.
He organised and provided various in-service training programmes for all categories of education personnel directors, head teachers, college of education lecturers, teachers, educational accountants and auditors. Dr Seidu conducted education and learning outcomes research at the National Centre for research into Basic Education and at the Centre for Educational Policy Studies, UEW and became Director for the National Centre for Research into Basic Education (NCRIBE) of the University of Education, Winneba for five years. From 2007 to date Dr Seidu has been involved in several consulting and research projects across at the national and international levels.
Professor Kafui Abel Etsey
Professor Etsey is a key senior research consultant in literacy and education with Associates for Change. He is an expert with wide experience in the field of teaching and research at all levels of Ghana’s Education System including Primary, JHS, SHS, tertiary–College of Education and University. He was involved in the Ghana Education Service Modular Teacher Training programme and the mass in-service training of teachers which was part of the 1987 Education Reform Programme. He was recommended and appointed by GES as the National Co-ordinator of the Whole School Development (WSD) initiative of the Service and was instrumental in developing WSD’s roll out in Ghana. Under the WSD he provided professional and administrative leadership for improving the quality of teaching and learning, management efficiency of the education system, increasing access and participation, and improved decentralisation of educational resource management at the Basic level.
He organised and provided various in-service training programmes for all categories of education personnel directors, head teachers, college of education lecturers, teachers, educational accountants and auditors. Dr Seidu conducted education and learning outcomes research at the National Centre for research into Basic Education and at the Centre for Educational Policy Studies, UEW and became Director for the National Centre for Research into Basic Education (NCRIBE) of the University of Education, Winneba for five years. From 2007 to date Dr Seidu has been involved in several consulting and research projects across at the national and international levels.
Other Consultants /Researchers
Dr Kafui Felicia Etse (PhD)
Dr Etse has expertise in the areas of primary education and qualitative research. She is an expert in reading and literacy assessment and has conducted extensive work on the effects of comprehension reading strategies for learners in Ghana.
Brenda Sinclair
Miss Sinclair International Education, Gender and Evaluation Consultant with 14 years of accumulated experience across the globe. Well-rounded technical skills gained from teaching English as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa, managing and designing USAID education projects as an Education Advisor in Indonesia, integrating gender into UNICEF education programs in Latin America, and evaluating project impact in Africa as a World Bank impact evaluation consultant. Consulting areas of expertise include field-based surveys/needs assessment, project design, impact evaluation, research and data analysis, gender mainstreaming, and teacher-training design and delivery.
Prior experience implementing, designing and/or evaluating international basic education projects emphasizing: early grade reading, primary school transition, youth development of life skills, vocational training, girls’ education, women’s leadership, eradication of child labor, bilingual education, adult literacy, training and exchange to improve access, quality and relevance of primary and junior secondary education. Currently available for short and long-term consulting positions. Embraces working in new countries to build on global knowledge.
Florence Daaku
Ms. Daaku possesses over four decades of broad-based expertise in the education sector. She has held several top-level positions in the Ghana Education Service: District Director of Education, Divisional Director Basic Education and Coordinator Implementation Coordinating Unit. Among her numerous achievements are: her key roles in the implementation of the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) programme and the Stocktaking of the FCUBE programme after 5 years of implementation to enable MOE/GES fashion a way forward for the second phase of implementation; an award by the Ga District Assembly for her commendable contributions to the district; an international Woman of the Year Award by the International Biographical Centre, England for her meritorious services to education, children and humanity at large.
Martina Odonkor (M.A., M.Phil, University of Cambridge)
Miss Odonkor is specialized in the areas of education, gender issues and social research. She has spent most of the last 11 years conducting independent research in the area of education in Ghana. She has conducted several studies related to the quality of education in Ghana and gender equity concerns as well as the outcomes of education for girls from northern Ghana. She has numerous publications related to education and gender equity in Ghana.
Vivian Sarpomaa Fiscian (MPhil)
Miss Fiscian is an accomplished social development researcher in the fields of education, reproductive health, gender and demography in Africa. She has conducted extensive research in child rights and abuse of girls, the impact of HIV/AIDS on education. Over the last few years Vivian has worked extensively in the areas of reproductive health and girls’ education, and has assisted AfC to conduct studies on child rights, special needs education and child labour issues.
Jones Agyapong Frimpong
Mr Frimpong is currently the Senior Research Manager with Associates for Change and has over eight years experience in qualitative and quantitative research in social and economic development, specifically in Education, Poverty and Economic Analysis, Population and Development, Gender and Reproductive Health, Environmental Sustainability, and in Monitoring and Evaluation. His work experience has mainly involved coordination and management of research, monitoring and evaluation, writing winning proposals, formulation of programme and strategic frameworks, project design, policy development and review, programme management and advocacy.
Some of these works include the management/senior researcher for the World Bank sponsored Impact Evaluation of Untrained Teachers Diploma In Basic Education (UTDBE) Midterm and Endline Lesson Observation Surveys; the coordination and implementation of GoG/UNFPA 5th Country Programme and the review of the 1994 (revised) Population Policy; development of the 6th GoG/UNFPA Country Programme; Country Population Assessment and the GoG/UNIFEM Project. Jones has a proven ability to successfully analyze an organization’s critical support requirements, identify deficiencies and potential opportunities, and develop innovative solutions for increasing reliability and improving productivity. He also has excellent knowledge of Statistical Packages such as SPSS and STATA.
Dr. Kojo Oppong Yeboah Gyabaah
Dr Gyabaah is a Senior Research Manager with Associates for Change. He specialises in gender studies and underprivileged and continuous improvement. His many years of professional experience include Human Resources Management, Broadcast Journalism and Teaching. In his role as Senior Research Manager, he oversees the conduct and execution of research activities. Gyabaah received his undergraduate degree in Geography with Archaeology from the University of Ghana (1999) where he later earned his M. Phil in Geography (2005). He is presently reviewing his PhD dissertation at Minho University, Portugal. This research focuses on geography of health and gender studies and is themed HIV/AIDS generation nexus: Gender and provision of safety net for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).
He was also a recipient of NUFU award for a sandwich study programme to Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway (2004). In recent years he has presented papers at major international conferences including the Pesquisa Geogrfica em Portugal e no Brasil, Instituto de Cincias Sociais seminrio territrio, desenvolvimento local e regional, and the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) African Regional Conference. He has written scholarly papers and articles on topics ranging from HIV/AIDS to Ghanaian culture and politics.