NICKOL GLOBAL SOLUTIONS LLC

Who We Are

Nickol Global Solutions (NGS) provides a wide range of management consulting and advisory services designed to fortify stakeholder capacity and effectiveness, including in public institutions, civil society organizations, and private sector firms. In the U.S. and overseas, NGS helps public and private sector clients assess and develop capacity; optimize performance and quality objectives; enhance transparency and accountability; measure success; and communicate about their work—all with the aim of advancing development objectives even in the most complex operating environments.

What We Do

STRATEGIC PLANNING & PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Facilitate strategic planning and performance management processes
Identify key performance indicators
Develop tools, strategies, systems for institutional performance
Integrate strategic planning with budget planning and project design

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

Conduct stakeholder mapping and analysis
Prepare briefs, studies and reports based on mix of data gathering techniques
Develop action-oriented recommendations that facilitate targeted solutions
Apply political economy analysis (PEA) for better theory of change, project design

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Develop organizational culture reflecting programmatic, operational objectives
Assess staffing structure, efficiency, effectiveness
Identify institutional challenges hindering performance
Implement change management techniques

CAPACITY Building

Carry out needs assessments for public and private institutions
Design/deliver tailored training and technical assistance plans
Incorporate adult learning and experiential learning techniques

Stakeholder Engagement

Identify and map key stakeholders to determine levels of influence and interest
Develop nuanced outreach strategies that foster collaboration and sustained engagement
Create feedback loops that enable adaptive management
Strengthen dialogue between stakeholder groups (e.g., citizens and government)

PROJECT DESIGN

Design activities that feed into programmatic and operational objectives
Integrate Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) into day-to-day management
Promote evidence-based decision-making for enhanced design

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT & IMPLEMENTATION

Develop, implement quality management systems, including ISO 9001 processes
Optimize program management systems to ensure high-quality results
Provide program support advisory services in complex environments
Conduct "above-and-beyond" internal performance assessment

MONITORING, EVALUATION, & LEARNING

Measure outputs and outcomes
Develop appropriate performance indicators
Design and deliver evaluations
Enhance knowledge management and facilitate evidence-based decisions

Download the NGS Capabilities Statement.

How We Work

The developing world is as complex as it is dynamic, and we are dedicated to ensuring that our approach acknowledges and builds upon local context while seeking new, more inclusive and effective strategies. Applying a collaborative, congenial approach to each and every interaction, NGS focuses on adapting proven methodologies to our client’s nuanced needs. To do this, we:

Engage widely with as many stakeholders as possible
Build capacity at the individual, organizational, and systems level
Empower stakeholders to actively participate in solutions design
Sustain results by implementing innovative, adaptive, and iterative solutions

NGS thinks and works politically, thoroughly understanding the actors and factors at play within the systems where we operate.

We are committed to advancing development objectives within each unique context and carrying out our work in a cost-conscious way that maximizes donor dollars. This mission guides every aspect of our work.

Our Team

NGS leadership has worked across technical sectors, regions, and clients, bringing expertise from project to program to strategic level, transforming individual capacity to organizational capacity, and supporting organizations’ ability to develop and reach performance targets through a combination of strategic vision and practical action plans.

Founder and President: Kaylin B. Nickol
An international development leader with 20+ years of experience supporting US foreign policy initiatives, Kaylin specializes in democracy and governance programming with a particular focus on post-conflict and political transition countries. For US government-funded projects, she has led or supported transparency, accountability, and good governance programming; civil society capacity-building programs; rapid-response mechanisms; research and analysis; SOP development; change management initiatives; and strategic planning and implementation. Her perpetual eye toward process improvement and quality enhancement has helped build solid and efficient project teams, devise innovative technical solutions, turn around failing projects, and operate seamlessly in complex operating environments.

NGS Advisors

Holly Flood - Democracy and Governance
A seasoned international development professional, Holly brings more than two decades of experience in DG programming, rapid response, post-conflict and stabilization programs in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and the United States. Her experience includes working directly for USAID in Paraguay, Peru, Angola, and in Washington, as well as for multiple implementing partners in DC and in the field. Her areas of technical expertise and experience include civil society strengthening, community development, countering violent extremism (CVE), conflict mitigation and peace building, stabilization, and post-conflict and transition programming, in multiple country contexts. Holly's proven abilities—including assembling and leading diverse teams, working effectively with stakeholders at all levels, and achieving results in highly challenging environments—add enormous value to NGS services.

Christina Schultz - Political Economy Analysis, GESI, and Local Governance
With over 25 years of experience working on USG-funded projects in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East, Christina leads innovative, results-oriented initiatives fostering community development, strengthening governance, and defending human rights. She brings expertise in effective program design, management, implementation, and MEL in high-profile, high-pressure environments by building partnerships with communities, governments, NGOs, and businesses to advance positive change. She has conducted several political economy analyses (PEAs), is certified by Harvard University in the problem-driven iterative adaptation (PDIA) model, and is an expert in mainstreaming and developing targeted programming for gender equality and social inclusion (GESI). She has worked with local stakeholders to develop strategies to identify root causes and develop local solutions – ranging from improving service delivery to violence prevention to addressing identity-based inequities.

Suzanne M. Sullivan - Countering Violent Extremism and Governance
Suzanne M. Sullivan brings nearly 20 years of project management and business development leadership in complex conflict and transition environments in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. She worked directly for USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives in Iraq and Pakistan, the OSCE in Kosovo, a USAID implementing partner in Washington, DC, and a global engineering and construction leader in multiple locations. Her expertise includes governance and civil society support, countering violent extremism, civil-military cooperation, community peace building, and social and environmental impact management. She is a U.S. woman-owned small business owner and has built and led international teams, focusing on strong implementation for organizational growth.

Kristine Powers - KM, Learning, and Communications
Kristine has helped to advance strategic communications, knowledge management (KM) and organizational learning at USAID for over 15 years. She is known for her achievements developing innovative communications and knowledge-sharing solutions through strategic assessment, robust collaboration, and practical implementation. In this capacity, she has designed over 15 office- or Mission-level communications, knowledge, and learning strategies. She has designed and deployed multiple KM platforms for clients including USAID, the OAS, and the World Bank, and she has served as Chief of Party on landmark USAID KM projects and as Senior Learning Advisor in USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI). She works with NGS on strategic communications; collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA) application; and KM innovations.

Rayne Loken - Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
Rayne is an M&E expert specializing in conflict and transitional environments. In both the humanitarian and private sectors, she has designed and operationalized M&E systems and solutions for projects in diverse and conflict conditions including Iraq, Afghanistan, Mali, and Turkey. Her areas of technical specialization include: comprehensive M&E plan development and operationalization, developing responsive M&E systems, remote management strategies, and development of monitoring solutions to enhance compliance and accountability in conflict and fragile environments. Rayne provides MEL support to NGS, including in the areas of data collection tool design, M&E plans, M&E capacity building, and research/analysis.

Kerstin Tebbe - Stakeholder Engagement and Facilitation
A passionate facilitator, strategic thinker, and engaging communicator, Kerstin is known for her ability to engage and empower stakeholders to work together to solve difficult problems. She brings more than 15 years of experience supporting multi-stakeholder efforts in the international development space, including strategy design, program review, and facilitation services. Her organizational development experience includes three years as a lead facilitator/trainer for the World Bank’s “Organizational Knowledge Sharing” (OKS) program working with public sector agencies and partners across Africa and Asia to scale organizational change processes for increased operational effectiveness. For NGS, she has led co-creation workshops with technical experts, implementing partners, and USAID staff to design more strategic, effective activities and increase local ownership of donor programming.

Join Us

Nickol Global offers rewarding consultancy and career opportunities for international development professionals. As we grow, our aim is to provide to our staff and consultants with meaningful and interesting opportunities that truly move the needle in the locations where we work and for the stakeholders we serve. Current opportunities include:

News

September 30, 2019 - NGS announces usaid/cambodia award

Nickol Global Solutions partners with USAID/Cambodia to promote tech-enabled social accountability in One Window Service Offices (OWSO)

Nickol Global Solutions LLC (NGS) is pleased to announce that USAID/Cambodia has awarded the firm its first prime contract – the three-year, $3 million One Window Service Offices – Platform to Enhance Accountability (OWSO-PEA) Activity. More here....

Professional Affiliations

Small Business Association for International Companies

Contact Us

NGS is certified as a Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) by the US Women's Chamber of Commerce.

DUNS # 080628859 NAICS CODES: 541611, 541990, 541618, 541614, 561320, 541715

NICKOL GLOBAL SOLUTIONS LLC
950 N. WASHINGTON STREET, SUITE 313, ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314 USA
+1 202 630 2229

Build. Empower. Sustain.