Kara is a highly experienced evaluation specialist with more than 20 years of experience in research, monitoring and evaluation. She is known for her expertise in systems thinking, mixed methods and complex evaluation design, helping organisations make better decisions in dynamic and uncertain environments.
Kara has over 20 years of experience in research, monitoring and evaluation across government, research, education, sport and international development contexts. She is highly experienced in both quantitative and qualitative methods, with particular expertise in systems thinking and interdisciplinary approaches suited to complex environments.
She has led the design and delivery of stand-alone evaluations, integrated monitoring and evaluation systems, impact frameworks, outcomes models and strategic review processes for projects, programmes and organisations. Increasingly, her work focuses on supporting strategic decision-making and addressing systemic challenges situated in inter-organisational and sector-level contexts.
Kara has extensive cross-cultural experience and has worked in New Zealand and internationally, including fieldwork in Indonesia, the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands, as well as living and working in Cambodia and Japan. In 2023 she received the Australian Evaluation Society Excellence in Evaluation, Evaluation Systems Award for her work supporting New Zealand’s seven national research institutes in strengthening evaluation capability and research impact practice.
Kara has worked with the seven Crown Research Institutes in New Zealand to build capability for understanding and demonstrating the impact of research and science. This work included a large needs assessment across all seven organisations, development of tools and resources, and an organisational blueprint to support stronger research impact systems and practice.
Following the introduction of a new science plan and organisational restructure, Kara designed and implemented an evaluation approach to assess whether the new structure was achieving its intended purpose. This included co-designing evaluation criteria, developing and running a survey, and facilitating sensemaking workshops to support ongoing organisational improvement.
Kara has undertaken major reviews of the Global Research Alliance for the Ministry of Primary Industries in New Zealand. This work assessed the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of this internationally collaborative research and capability-building approach, including New Zealand’s leadership role and contribution to climate-related outcomes.
Kara has completed research and evaluation assignments across the Pacific and Asia, including work in Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati, Indonesia and Cambodia. Her experience includes mixed-method evaluations, capability development, policy and programme review, and designing monitoring and evaluation systems that are practical in cross-cultural and resource-constrained settings.
PhD, Poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation: factors influencing their integration in Cambodia, University of Queensland, 2010.
Post-Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science, with Distinction, University of Otago, 2001.
Bachelor of Science in Zoology and Psychology, University of Otago, 2000.
Bachelor of Commerce in Management, University of Otago, 2001.
Convenor, Aotearoa New Zealand Evaluation Association.
Member, Australasian Evaluation Society New Zealand Regional Committee.
Member, Institute of Directors.
Member, New Zealand Association for Impact Assessment
Australian Evaluation Society Excellence in Evaluation, Evaluation Systems Award, 2023.
