What Impact Lab does

Impact Lab, operating under the legal name ImpactDev, is a boutique consulting firm headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, that designs and evaluates sustainability policies, programmes, and strategies for government agencies, development agencies, NGOs, foundations, and impact investors. Founded by Dr. Olivier Charnoz, an economist and political scientist with two decades of field experience across Asia, Latin America, and Africa, the firm combines political economy analysis, design thinking, and institutional reform advisory to help clients deliver environmental, economic, and social outcomes. Its service portfolio spans programme strategy and project design, summative and formative evaluations, change management, design thinking sprints, surveys and inferential statistics, network and stakeholder analysis, Value for Money analyses, and beneficiary assessment. Notable engagements include Value for Money evaluations for Australia DFAT on Indonesia's BSM, Raskin, PKH, and BLSM social protection programmes — collectively demonstrating hundreds of millions of AUD in welfare NPV — and policy reform work impacting over 80 million poor people in Indonesia.

The firm operates on a project-based professional services revenue model, with engagements custom-quoted by scope and duration, delivered through direct trusted-advisor relationships rather than a sales-driven GTM motion. The senior team is small and credentialed, including Dr. Olivier Charnoz (Founder), Kenneth Sigrist (Senior Advisor; former advisor to the World Bank and to the Prime Minister of Romania), Dr. Ashwini Swain (Partner; energy and climate political economy), Dr. Paul Forster (Partner; advocacy and knowledge management), and Anna Idczak Zanati (International Relations Officer). Geographic reach spans Asia (Indonesia, India, China, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Afghanistan), Latin America (Brazil, Saint Lucia), Europe (Estonia, France, Romania, UK), Africa (Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone), and the Middle East (Jordan, Libya, Syria). The firm has no proprietary technology platform and no disclosed external funding; founder Dr. Charnoz separately co-founded go-up.work, a social enterprise in Southeast Asia, representing adjacent entrepreneurial activity rather than a corporate subsidiary.

Name

Impact Lab

Legal name

Impact Lab

Website

https://impactlab.ee

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Impact Lab is a Tallinn-based boutique consulting firm designing and evaluating sustainability policies and programmes for governments, development agencies, NGOs, foundations, and impact investors across Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Africa, founded by Dr. Olivier Charnoz.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy and Development Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Education Policy Evaluation & Impact Assessment Organizations (EDADADAD)

Keywords

• Sustainability policy consulting
• Programme evaluation services
• Policy reform advisory
• Political economy analysis
• Value for money analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Tallinn

HQ country

Estonia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Project-based consulting engagements for policy design, evaluation, and strategic advisory services to government agencies, NGOs, and international organizations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Impact Lab is a boutique consulting firm that designs and evaluates sustainability policies, programmes, and strategies for government agencies, NGOs, development organizations, foundations, and impact investors. Services span programme strategy and project design, summative and formative evaluations, change management, design thinking sprints, value-for-money analysis, beneficiary assessment, network and stakeholder analysis, and surveys with inferential statistics. The firm operates globally from Tallinn, Estonia, with primary field experience in Asia, Latin America, and Europe.

Product overview

Impact Lab (also referred to as ImpactDev) is a boutique consulting firm, not a software product company. It provides consulting services focused on sustainability, policy design, program evaluation, and institutional analysis. The firm's service offerings include: Programme Strategies & Project Design, Summative & Formative Evaluations, Change Management, and Design Thinking Sprints & Processes. Data collection and analytical services include Surveys & Inferential Statistics, Network & Stakeholder Analysis, Interviews & Focus Groups, and Participant Observation. Solution design and evaluation services include Design Thinking & Agile Methods, Participatory Evaluation, Value for Money Analysis, and Beneficiary Assessment. The company leverages political economy, institutional and network analysis, and organizational management approaches to improve projects, programmes and policy delivery for governments, development agencies, NGOs, impact investors, and foundations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Programme Strategies & Project Design Strategic advisory and design support for sustainability policies, programmes, and projects targeting government agencies, NGOs, and development organizations.
• Summative & Formative Evaluations Independent mid-term and end-of-programme evaluations of social, economic, and environmental interventions for development agencies, governments, NGOs, and foundations.
• Change Management Advisory and implementation support for organizational change, reform delivery, and stakeholder engagement in public institutions and development programmes.
• Design Thinking Sprints & Processes Applied design thinking and innovation workshops for public agencies, NGOs, and responsible companies to develop solutions and accelerate reform delivery.
• Value for Money Analysis Economic value-for-money assessments of donor-funded and public-sector programmes, quantifying social returns against programme investment; delivered for clients such as Australia DFAT on Indonesia's BSM, PKH, Raskin, and BLSM programmes.
• Surveys & Inferential Statistics Quantitative data collection and statistical analysis services supporting programme design, evaluation, and impact measurement for public and development sector clients.
• Network & Stakeholder Analysis Mapping and analysis of institutional networks and stakeholder relationships to inform reform design and stakeholder engagement strategies.
• Interviews, Focus Groups & Participant Observation Qualitative field research services for programme evaluation, beneficiary assessment, and stakeholder consultation.
• Beneficiary Assessment & Participatory Evaluation Beneficiary-focused and participatory evaluation services to gauge programme reach, relevance, and impact on target populations.

Quantifiable outcome

• AUD 1.60 billion NPV generated from AUD 10 million DFAT investment in Indonesia BSM programme (152x return)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• go-up.workminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial enterprise co-founded by Olivier Charnoz in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia) to help people enjoy better work conditions. Clients include Decathlon, Krungthai-Axa, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and the Loxley Group. Represents social entrepreneurship venture alongside Impact Lab's consulting work.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Itad: Itad is a specialist monitoring and evaluation consultancy serving DFID/FCDO, DFAT, and other bilateral donors. Comparable to Impact Lab in donor evaluation, VFM analysis, and methodology mix (surveys, inferential statistics, qualitative methods).
• Oxford Policy Management: Oxford Policy Management provides policy and evaluation advice to governments and development agencies, with deep expertise in political economy and Value for Money analysis. Closely matches Impact Lab's mix of programme evaluation and policy reform advisory for bilateral donors.
• IDInsight: IDInsight provides impact evaluation and advisory services to donors and social-sector organizations in Africa and Asia. Directly comparable to Impact Lab's programme evaluation work, econometric methods, and government/social-sector client mix.
• Dalberg: Dalberg is a global consulting firm focused on international development, social impact, and policy advisory for governments, donors, and foundations. It is directly comparable to Impact Lab in mission, client base (governments, multilaterals, foundations), and boutique advisory positioning.

Emerging players

• Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL): J-PAL conducts randomized evaluations of social programmes globally and advises governments on evidence-based policy. Comparable to Impact Lab's evaluation work and policy-reform orientation, though J-PAL is academia-anchored and Impact Lab is commercially driven.
• Results for Development (R4D): R4D is a non-profit advisory firm supporting health, education, and governance reforms in low- and middle-income countries. Comparable to Impact Lab's policy-reform advisory and donor-funded programme evaluation across social sectors.
• Tony Blair Institute for Global Change: TBI advises heads of government on political economy, institutional reform, and policy delivery. Comparable to Impact Lab's political economy analysis and whole-of-government reform advisory, especially in developing-country contexts.

Broad incumbents

• Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI): DAI is a large international development company implementing donor-funded programmes and providing M&E and policy advisory. Broader and larger than Impact Lab, but overlapping in donor-funded evaluation and policy reform advisory.
• McKinsey & Company (Social Sector / Public Sector Practice): McKinsey's Social Sector and Public Sector practices advise governments, multilaterals, and foundations on policy and operations. Broader and far larger than Impact Lab, but overlapping in policy reform advisory for government clients.
• Mathematica: Mathematica is a major research and evaluation firm serving US federal agencies, foundations, and international clients. Overlaps with Impact Lab on rigorous programme evaluation, VFM analysis, and donor-driven impact measurement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Impact Lab