Catalyzing Impact

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About Us

Cutten Advisers is a boutique advisory firm specializing in Gen AI advisory and tool development, strategy, monitoring and evaluation, and organizational development for social impact organizations across sub-Saharan Africa.

We work at the intersection of government, the private sector, and civil society — helping clients not just define ambitious goals, but build the systems, partnerships, and accountability frameworks needed to achieve them. Our approach is grounded in 17+ years of operational experience across USAID, multilateral institutions, and independent consulting — bringing the rigor of institutional development to locally led solutions.

Services we offer

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Strategic Planning

Effective strategy does more than articulate a vision — it identifies the operational pathways, stakeholder alignments, and resource requirements needed to realize it. We develop fit-for-purpose strategic frameworks that are grounded in your context, responsive to your environment, and designed for implementation, not just the shelf.

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Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E)

M&E services play a crucial role in ensuring that organizations effectively assess their programs and initiatives. We help you track progress, measure outcomes, and make informed decisions that enhance overall impact. By providing tailored solutions, we guide you through the complexities of data collection and analysis, allowing you to adapt strategies in real-time. With our support, you can confidently navigate the ever-evolving landscape, ensuring your efforts are not only efficient but also aligned with your goals.

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Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA)

The organizations that sustain impact are those that build learning into how they work — not as an add-on, but as a core operating practice. We help clients embed CLA into their organizational culture and program design, creating the feedback loops and decision-making structures that enable continuous improvement and locally led adaptation.

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Impact is only as powerful as your ability to communicate it. We help organizations translate complex program data and lived experience into compelling narratives — for donors, boards, communities, and the public. Whether it's a results framework, a funder report, or a strategic communication, we ensure your story reflects the depth and credibility of your work.

Telling Your Story

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Generative AI Advisory

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The organizations best positioned to leverage AI are not necessarily the most technically sophisticated — they are the ones that know what they know and have a clear sense of what they want to accomplish. We work with clients to assess their AI readiness, audit existing knowledge assets and program materials, and develop a practical product plan that identifies where AI can add the most meaningful value to operations, service delivery, or stakeholder engagement. The output is a concrete, sequenced roadmap grounded in your specific context — not a theoretical framework, but a plan your team can act on.

Generative AI Tool Development

We design and deploy proprietary AI tools built entirely on your organization's methodology, voice, and data. Our approach prioritizes full ownership: the logic, the interface, and the underlying content belong to you. Whether the engagement calls for a structured development process or a focused rapid sprint to address a specific operational need, we translate your institutional knowledge into a deployable, fit-for-purpose tool that extends your team's capacity and supports your mission delivery.

Portfolio
US Government USAID infographic on good practices for designing new activities based on local knowledge and systems, including sections on local development, indicator practices, objectives, ways of collecting local knowledge, different types of engagement such as Request for Information, Industry Day, Pre-Solicitation Conference, Public-Private Partnership, Listening Tour, and the goal of a listening tour.
Info graphic poster from USAID titled 'Good Practice 8: A Toolkit for Implementing Participatory Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)', divided into sections explaining Locally Led Development, good practices for Locally Led Programs, and the process for activity MEL planning and workshop.
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Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Ms. Cutten has 17+ years of experience primarily with USAID. As the acting Program Office Director for Southern Africa she managed a budget of $114+ million and supervised 22+ staff. As Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Team Lead, she developed numerous practical guidance documents, tools, and training on participatory MEL approaches for 300+ staff. Her sectoral expertise includes democracy & governance, eduction, public health, gender and youth. She is a trained facilitator and natural communicator who can clearly explain technical concepts in a way that is understandable to non-technical staff members. She holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from American University in Washington, DC. She speaks English, French, Spanish, Italian, and some German.

Who
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