A GKM Legacy Holdings company · contracting in Maryland, USA · delivering from Accra, Ghana
InsightsWhere we workFrançais
Strategic Advisory
& AI
Book a consultation

Practice 01 of 11

Research, evidence & evaluation evidence you can inspect

Research, due diligence and evaluation for decisions that need more than opinion.

Discuss a project

Led byMichael Gagakuma and Prof. Wisdom Gagakuma 10 services 4 free tools

Book Michael · from USD 90 Try the free tools

The practice

Research, due diligence and evaluation for decisions that need more than opinion. Every finding carries its source and method, so you can check it, defend it and act on it.

A brushed-steel optical instrument: three kinds of evidence pass through two lenses and resolve into an ordered pattern.
Practice 015 stages · Michael Gagakuma and Prof. Wisdom Gagakuma

When organisations call us, and where we stop.

The situations this practice exists for, and the lines we do not cross.

When to call

  1. A decision depends on facts you cannot check yourself
  2. A funder, board or investor wants independent evidence
  3. A programme needs an evaluation that will stand up to scrutiny
  4. You are entering a market and need the ground truth first

Our boundaries

  • We do not produce findings to fit a conclusion you have already reached.
  • Where evidence is thin, we say so rather than fill the gap with assumptions.
  • Regulated legal, tax or investment opinions are referred to licensed professionals.

Services in this practice.

Each one starts with a defined first scope and a fixed fee agreed in writing.

  1. 01.01 EUDR complianceWe review a supplier’s existing evidence against the EU Deforestation Regulation’s due-diligence requirements and return a gap register. Every unverified origin claim is marked as unverified, so your compliance team knows exactly what still has to be proven.

    Led by Michael Gagakuma and Prof. Wisdom GagakumaFree tool: Source & evidence register builder

  2. 01.02 Due-diligence researchBefore you sign with a partner, supplier or grantee in Ghana or West Africa, we investigate the counterparty within agreed registers and sources. You receive the findings, the questions that remain open, and the full source trail.

    Led by Michael Gagakuma and Prof. Wisdom GagakumaFree tool: Source & evidence register builder

  3. 01.03 Ghana market-entry consultingWe answer one market-entry decision for Ghana or West Africa with a focused sector brief and verified next-step options: who buys, how they buy, what it costs to operate and what must be checked before you commit.

    Led by Michael Gagakuma and Prof. Wisdom GagakumaFree tool: Ghana market-entry question planner

  4. 01.04 Feasibility studiesWe review a project concept for commercial and institutional feasibility before a larger study, loan or investment is commissioned, so the questions that could stop the project are answered first.

    Led by Michael Gagakuma and Prof. Wisdom GagakumaFree tool: Feasibility sensitivity explorer

  5. 01.05 Outsourced researchSend us a business research question and receive an answer to an agreed evidence standard: sources named, uncertainty stated, and a short memo your team can act on. Recurring questions can run on a bounded monthly volume.

    Led by Michael Gagakuma and Prof. Wisdom GagakumaFree tool: Source & evidence register builder

  6. 01.06 Programme evaluationWe review your evaluation brief and evidence base, propose a method that fits the questions and the budget, and cost any fieldwork separately and transparently. Evaluations follow recognised criteria such as relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability.

    Led by Michael Gagakuma and Prof. Wisdom Gagakuma

  7. 01.07 Expert-interview programmesWe recruit and conduct an agreed number of genuine expert interviews in Ghana and across Africa, with informed consent, and deliver a synthesis memo that answers your questions.

    Led by Michael Gagakuma and Prof. Wisdom GagakumaFree tool: Survey sample-size planner

  8. 01.08 Market, sector and value-chain studiesWe produce a sector decision brief with a transparent sizing model and the evidence gaps stated, so the numbers can be checked and reused rather than taken on trust.

    Led by Michael Gagakuma and Prof. Wisdom GagakumaFree tool: Ghana market-entry question planner

  9. 01.09 Survey and qualitative analysisWe analyse one survey wave or a set of interview transcripts with a transparent codebook, missing-data checks and reproducible outputs, so every figure and theme can be traced back to the data.

    Led by Michael Gagakuma and Prof. Wisdom GagakumaFree tool: Survey sample-size planner

Also within this practice

Third-party monitoring (TPM) in Ghana / West Africa

Independent verification that agreed activities, outputs and conditions exist on the ground at accessible sites in Ghana, with travel and independence arrangements costed and stated up front.

  • Site verification checklist agreed with the funder
  • Dated photographs, documents and interview notes
  • Findings by site, with discrepancies flagged
  • A short method note on access and independence
Ask about this

How the work runs.

Research question, then method, then sources, then findings, then decision. Each stage ends in something you review.

Stage 1 of 5

Research question

Frame the decision and the question that answers it.

Review pointQuestion agreed in writing.

Try the method before you buy.

Free working tools from this practice. Results on screen straight away; the full report by email if you want it.

Free tool

Survey sample-size calculator

Work out how many completed responses you need, and how many people to invite, for a survey estimate at the precision you choose. The formula and its limits are on the page.

Open the tool Free tool

Evidence register and due-diligence checklist

List the claims a decision depends on, where each one comes from and how confident you are. The register shows which conclusions rest on unsourced or self-reported evidence, and what to request next.

Open the tool Free tool

Ghana market-entry checklist

Choose your sector, how you plan to enter and the decisions ahead. The planner lists the questions to answer, the evidence to request and the Ghanaian bodies to verify with, without guessing at tax or licensing verdicts.

Open the tool Free tool

Feasibility study sensitivity analysis

Enter your investment, revenue and cost assumptions. The explorer calculates net present value, internal rate of return and payback, then shows which assumption moves the result most.

Open the tool

Documented experience.

Roles held by our principals, each with its source. Demonstrations are labelled as demonstrations.

2018PwC Ghana for COTVET: national skills audit in seven sectorsThe Professor served as Subject Matter Expert on PwC’s team: baseline research, the survey instrument, data validation and analysis, sector reports and stakeholder engagement.
Feasibility report completed December 2024Aveyime Water Supply Project: institutional and skills analysisThe Professor contributed skills development and institutional analysis, through Colan Consult, to the project’s feasibility report.
Project team member since 2023Lower Volta dredging: feasibility and stakeholder engagementThe Professor contributed to pre-project feasibility and major-stakeholder engagement for the consortium delivering the Lower Volta dredging assignment.

Individual experience of our principals, before or outside GKM Strategic Advisory & AI. Not GKM contracts.

See the proof collection: Supplier evidence dossier

Who answers for the work

Who commissions this work

Practice lead: Michael Gagakuma and Prof. Wisdom GagakumaLast updated

What needs to move forward?

Tell us the decision, the challenge or the opportunity. We reply with a scoped approach, a named principal and a fee before any work begins.

Tell us what you need Book Michael · from USD 90

No charge to submit an enquiry.