SECPI’s Gathering Space for Strengthening Evaluation Partnerships: January 2026 Highlights
What does building trust look like for the Ananse team?
The Ananse Team is a loose collective of small evaluation firms that come together to undertake evaluation projects. Hippolyt and Carlisle shared their reflections on what it takes to build trust within their team. They highlighted:
Transparency: When responding to calls for proposals, the Ananse team creates space for the full team to co-design the project. There is open communication among all teammates, including about the budget, which is visible to all. The team also discusses each member’s strengths and weaknesses to help them define their roles and responsibilities within the project and to further strengthen their relationships.
Relationship building: To help build relationships among teammates, the Ananse team takes time at the beginning of each meeting to check in with each other as individuals. While this makes for longer meetings, the deeper trust that results leads to greater collaboration and efficiency in their work together. They also seek to understand what each person is juggling, so that they can better support each other. The team is careful not to assume they understand what is going on with each other. Rather, they assume good intentions and ask questions. Finally, they treat what is shared within the team as something that should stay within the team, unless permission is granted to share it with external parties.
