About us

Narrative Assessment is rooted in extensive experiences of with monitoring and evaluating advocacy. Margit van Wessel was project leader of a multi-programme advocacy evaluation (the report can be found here) that confronted her with the challenges and limits of existing methods. These experiences led her to develop the idea and initial setup of Narrative Assessment. Wenny Ho joined in 2017, contributing to the method as a knowledge and evaluation expert working with Hivos, and offering the opportunity to pilot Narrative Assessment with Hivos. Peter Tamas joined in 2019, contributing methodological expertise.

Margit van Wessel

Margit van Wessel works at the Strategic Communication Chair Group at Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands. Civil society advocacy and its evaluation, and civil society collaborations in the context of development and environment are her main topics of research, zooming in on questions of voice, representation, inclusion, and power.

She can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Wenny Ho

Currently, Wenny Ho works as senior researcher Governance in the Regional Development Team of Wageningen University and Research. She focuses on governance and collective learning for societal change and innovation. During her previous position in Hivos’ Strategy & Impact unit, she furthered thinking and practice of working with a Theory of Change, especially in multi-country advocacy programs, and co-developed the Narrative Assessment methodology for advocacy monitoring and evaluation.

She holds a PhD in Change Management and International Relations from the University of Amsterdam, and a MSc in Forestry from Wageningen University.

She can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Peter Tamas

Peter supports the development and testing of qualitative fieldwork and analysis methods. His background is in development studies and he has a particular interest in supporting research on difficult questions that need interdisciplinary study in very complicated places. His primary concern is that, in the face of undeniable human needs and organizational financial vulnerability, research on topics that matter is often normatively driven and empirically weak. Over time, the unfortunate consequence is a failure to accumulate the sound evidence needed both to guide practice in the field and to reject donor whimsy. In addition to supporting primary research, over the last few years Peter has been working with a few peers to carefully test each of the steps required for the use of systematic review within interdisciplinary study.

The mission of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) is 'To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life'. WUR is a research institution that focuses on the domain ‘healthy food and living conditions’. We do not just develop top-quality expertise; we also help translate our knowledge into practice worldwide. That is why we do fundamental research all over the world. And finally, we also train professionals who, in the near and distant future, will discover breakthroughs in science and technology. See also www.wur.nl

Hivos is an international development organization guided by humanist values. Together with citizens and their organizations, Hivos aims to contribute towards just, inclusive and life sustaining societies where people have equal access to opportunities, rights and resources. Hivos works in partnership with others in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America on three impact areas: Civic Rights in a Digital Age; Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and Climate Justice. See also www.hivos.org.