Navigating the social ecosystem: How Looped can help young and emerging evaluators kickstart their careers

Many people enter the field of monitoring and evaluation because they want to have a positive impact on the world and communities around them. But knowing how exactly to put this career goal into action is often really difficult.

The social sector is vast and multifaceted, often leaving recent graduates and Young and Emerging Evaluators (YEEs) feeling overwhelmed. That was my experience too. After completing a masters in Social Research, I knew my next step was to find a job to put the skills I'd learnt into practice. However, I was unsure whether I wanted to work in the humanitarian or social development space, join an NGO or an international institution, or take on a programmatic or monitoring role. Faced with so many options, I decided to take a generalist approach by joining a consultancy firm.

The next challenge came when I needed to find a relevant firm in my city. Despite the wealth of online resources, I quickly realised there was a gap—a central database of social sector consulting firms didn’t exist. I spent countless hours piecing together scattered information about organisations who were working in the humanitarian and social development space from websites, LinkedIn, word of mouth and organising this in a spreadsheet. I used the spreadsheet to map out the sector’s service offerings and opportunities for YEEs, which ultimately led me to identify a firm of interest and secure an internship as an emerging evaluator.

Five years later, after giving a career talk to master’s students, I realised they were facing the same struggles I had encountered: navigating the social sector to figure out where and how to kick-start their careers.

That inspired me to transform my personal Excel spreadsheet into an online platform: loopedconsultants.com, a directory of over 190 humanitarian and social development consulting firms.

When building Looped, I focused on three key principles:

1. Localisation: Looped highlights firms of all sizes and across diverse locations. However, extra effort is made to showcase smaller boutique firms and those based within development and humanitarian settings. Currently, the platform spans 93 countries.
2. Collaboration: Looped is designed to be a community-driven tool, where users contribute to keeping the database accurate and relevant. Since its launch in October 2024, the database has grown from 115 to 190 firms, thanks to contributions from the community.
3. Accessibility: The database is—and will remain—freely accessible. A subscription fee should never stand in the way of YEEs finding their next opportunity.

Most firms are small, with teams ranging between 2 and 50 members.

Navigating the ecosystem with Looped

Looped can provide an initial overview of the social sector consulting landscape, making it easier to identify organisations that align with your interests and career goals. Looped offers:

• Sector-specific filtering: Firms are categorised by sector—humanitarian, development, or both—allowing you to explore the organisations that align with your interests.
• Specialisation: Looped highlights firms’ areas of specialisation, such as Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) or market systems development. This birds-eye view helps you identify common focus areas and pinpoint where your skills might best align.
• Location and size filtering: Covering 93 countries, Looped makes it easy to find a firm in your region. You can also filter by organisational size—from smaller teams (2–50 members) offering close-knit experiences to large firms (500+) with international reputations.

Finding opportunities and building connections with Looped

Looped also supports your career development by helping you discover opportunities and build connections within the sector.

• Direct links to career pages: Each entry includes a link to the firm’s career page, allowing you to quickly discover job openings and internships.
• LinkedIn integration: Each entry includes the firm’s LinkedIn profile, making it easier to follow updates, explore networks, and connect with professionals.
• Show initiative and collaborate: Add a firm to Looped and let the organisation know you contributed their name—it’s a great icebreaker for building connections.

Navigating the social sector should feel empowering, not overwhelming. Looped is here to simplify that journey, providing a clear and accessible gateway to opportunities and connections. Explore loopedconsultants.com, and if you find it valuable, consider sharing it with others who could benefit from this resource.