Essential tools for effective monitoring
Sensemaker Essentials is a training series that equips kaimahi with the skills and confidence to monitor and evaluate services and programmes in-house. Our experienced evaluators have designed this practical learning series to support people working at all levels of your organisation to make sense of outcomes, indicators, and data in a practical, real-world way.
This series focuses on building confidence and skills to measure what matters in your work. It’s hands-on, discussion-based, and will support you and your organisation to feel comfortable using evidence for learning and improvement. If you’re interested in strengthening your capability in monitoring, outcomes, or indicators, or just want a clearer way to make sense of the data you already collect, this series is for you.
Foundation Essentials
Build the foundations of effective monitoring and evaluation. In this training, you’ll learn how to articulate a clear Theory of Change and develop meaningful indicators that help you track progress and make sense of whether your work is creating the change you intend.
Application Essentials
Apply your Theory of Change and indicators in practical monitoring. This training explores how to collect useful data in real-world settings and how to analyse it in ways that reveal patterns, support learning, and inform better decisions.
Excellence Essentials
Go beyond measurement to thoughtful, responsible monitoring practice. This training focuses on ethical data use, respectful engagement with participants, and how to communicate results clearly so evidence can inform decisions and strengthen impact.
Our facilitators
Amanda Hunter
Amanda is a Director at Dovetail and the designer of the Sensemaker Essentials training series. With a background in the not-for-profit sector, she brings a strong understanding of what it’s like to deliver meaningful work in complex, real-world environments and the challenge of being asked to “show the impact” of that work.
She is passionate about building internal capability and supporting organisations to make sense of their own data and measure what matters.
Olivia Gregg
Olivia is a research and evaluation consultant at Dovetail. She is an experienced facilitator and has delivered interactive trainings designed to build skills and resilience, working with a wide range of participants across different contexts.
Olivia brings warmth, clarity, and a strong people focus to her work, and is skilled at creating engaging, supportive learning environments where people feel comfortable to participate, reflect, and build confidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sensemaker Essentials is designed for not-for-profits, community groups, and local government teams who want to build their confidence in monitoring outcomes.
No prior experience is needed, just an interest in better understanding how to articulate and measure outcomes.
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Each training runs for one full day (typically 9.00am–4.00pm, including breaks) and includes two modules.
The three trainings can be delivered individually or as a connected series.
You can pick the session that best fits your team’s needs or run all three as a full learning series.
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The three trainings are designed to be held onsite with your team, so examples and discussions stay relevant to your work. We can travel to your offices anywhere in New Zealand.
We can also host you if you’re Auckland-based, or would prefer to come to us. Our modern and comfortable offices in the heart of the CBD can host up to 16 participants.
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The trainings are designed for in-person delivery, as the hands-on activities and group discussions work best when teams learn together.
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Foundation Essentials is designed for 8-30 participants. This size allows for plenty of interaction, discussion, and individual support while keeping group activities manageable.
Application Essentials and Excellence Essentials are both designed for 8-12 participants. These sessions benefit from a smaller group size, allowing for tailored support.
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Yes, you will leave with a practical workbook that includes templates and examples. We will also send a digital pack after each training with slides and practical tools that you can use in your monitoring practice going forward.
You will leave with everything you need to start using the methods straight away.
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Yes, each training is tailored to your organisation’s context. Before the training, we meet with you to understand your current work, priorities, and examples of programmes and services. We then use these insights to personalise activities, case studies, and discussions so the content is directly relevant and practical for your team.
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Get in touch with us to discuss the pricing structure that will work best for your organisation.
