Catherine Fisher

About

Catherine helps people working on complex problems make better use of evidence, learn together and adapt what they do.

She’s a climate, learning and systems specialist with a background in international development, combining learning-led monitoring and evaluation, Theory of Change, peer learning and evidence-to-policy practice. She’s a Fellow of the climate adaptation consultancy PlanAdapt.

On our projects she brings learning design and facilitation. She builds Theories of Change and learning frameworks, embeds reflection alongside delivery so programmes can adapt as they go, and designs participatory strategy and consultation processes, often using visual, playful and systems methods to make complex questions easier to discuss. Her work covers climate adaptation and action, nature, inclusion, governance and international programmes.

Catherine spent 12 years at the Institute of Development Studies, where she developed the Knowledge Brokers Spectrum and published widely on how research reaches policy and practice. She later worked on organisational development at Amnesty International. Since then she’s co-led stakeholder engagement informing the UK’s national climate risk assessment, supported peer learning between national adaptation policymakers, and advised on learning for major government climate and ocean programmes. She’s the author of Peer Learning for Climate Action.

EXPERTISE: Learning-led monitoring and evaluation · Theory of Change · Peer learning and capacity strengthening · Evidence-to-policy and knowledge brokering · Participatory and systems facilitation

QUALIFICATIONS: MPhil Development Studies, University of Cambridge · BA (Hons) Social and Political Studies, University of Sheffield (First Class)

TRAINING: LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® for Sustainability · Systems Facilitation (School of Systems Change) · Lewis Deep Democracy · Circularity Thinking (Climate-KIC) · Graphic facilitation