Helen Nelson

Strasbourg, France

Helen is a research, monitoring and evaluation specialist who has led evaluation functions at two major institutions – DFID/FCDO and the Council of Europe – with a career spanning the UK Government, international and multilateral organisations, NGOs and academia, and thematic expertise in human rights, conflict and security.

Much of Helen's work sits at the intersection of rigour and accessibility: demystifying evaluation, building genuine enthusiasm for evidence and embedding evaluative thinking, while holding to exacting standards across experimental, quasi-experimental, theory-based, quantitative and qualitative approaches. Particular interests include equity-focused evaluation, participatory methods, and ethics in research and evaluation practice; clients have included ICAI, OECD, MOPAN, WFP and the British Council. Helen also has deep experience establishing global results management systems, including those incorporating GIS.

Helen holds a PhD in Social Gerontology and began a research career at the Institute for Gerontology, King's College London, before moving into conducting, commissioning and overseeing evaluations across a wide range of contexts.