Lara Carruthers is a social development researcher and evaluator with experience in consulting, non-government organisations and academic settings. Lara has experience working in various sectors, including harm reduction, health, disability and rehabilitation, education, livelihoods and leadership development. She holds an MPhil in Programme Evaluation from the Department of Management Studies at the University of Cape Town (UCT), a Bachelor of The Social Policy and Management Honours from UCT, and a Bachelor of Arts from UCT. Lara is currently working as a Consultant at Southern Hemisphere. She excels in qualitative research and evaluation methods. She values the opportunities this type of research affords her in terms of learning from others’ diverse experiences. She also has experience in quantitative evaluation methodologies, specifically with partial economic evaluation. Lara brings a blend of technical expertise, empathy, and a commitment to social justice to her role as a social development researcher and evaluator.
Most recently, before joining Southern Hemisphere, Lara led the Development of an Implementation and Process Manual for the Free to Be Me Programme in Africa, the Middle East and Asia funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Lara is currently working on the following projects at Southern Hemisphere:
- Eight Year Review of Tekano “Leadership for health equity – a community’s journey”. Evaluation consultant (2024)
- Development of a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning System for the Hasso Plattner School of Design Thinking Afrika (d-school). Evaluation consultant (2024)
- Comprehensive and inclusive design process Enhancing Education Research in Africa (EERA) and it is funded by Echidna Giving, Imaginable Futures and the Jacobs Foundation. Evaluation consultant (2024)