Create Consultancy is an innovative enterprise run by Stephanie Zwier, which specialises in increasing the quality of education and environmental programs. This is accomplished by effective knowledge management and by promoting learning processes in organisations. Create Consultancy sets trails for innovative and sustainable change processes.
Family visits to Chile (a poor country at that time) in Stephanie’s youth motivated her to work for poor and socially excluded people in society. Stephanie is concerned with socio-, political- and economic issues that determine the distribution of resources, knowledge and wealth. One of Stephanies aspirations is to contribute to the realisation of the millennium development goals.
After successfully obtaining her pre-university diploma Stephanie sought adventure and travelled through Sub-Sahara Africa for half a year. After her return she studied physics and astronomy in 2001. Thanks to her talent for math she obtained her propaedeutic diploma. During that year she however discovered that her heart lay elsewhere: in international cooperation.
With enthusiasm she obtained Masters diplomas in (advanced) development studies at the Centre for International Development Issues Nijmegen (CIDIN). During her studies she participated in an exchange program with ‘Uganda Martyrs University’. Courses on African philosophy and discussions with African students have broadened her world view. This proved to be useful during her research (thesis) on sustainability of water resource management in Malawi.
In 2007 Stephanie worked as a monitoring and evaluation advisor at the policy department of Plan Netherlands. Within a team she improved the quality of various development programs. She also conducted research on improving the quality of Plan’s global education interventions, which was published by Plan Netherlands.
In January 2008 Stephanie Zwier founded Create Consultancy. She has since then worked for several organisations. You can read more on these collaborations on the projects page.
About Stephanie
Stephanie is a young Dutch and Chilean woman. Friends and family support her. Her mother studied social pedagogy and worked for land reforms in Chile. Her father is a physicist and worked as researcher at Philips. Stephanie has surrounded herself with a critical group of friends, comprising of development workers and free thinking people.
After finishing secondary education Stephanie travelled through Southern Africa for six months, before she decided to study. After studying physics for one year, she soon decided she wanted a change.
Stephanie has since then successfully obtained two master diplomas in development issues at the Centre for International Development Issues Nijmegen (CIDIN). During her master course development studies she participated in an exchange program with Ugandan Martyrs University.
Her first master research analyses the management of water resources in two villages in rural Malawi using viability conditions. The applied research methods include focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and various Participatory Rural Appraisal methods.
During this master course she constructed houses in slums with Chilean students. She also participated in activities for orphans and homeless people in Chile. Additionally, she has worked as a secretary for the Africa Network, an association of African migrant organisations in the Netherlands.
In 2007 she participated in a master’s program in advanced development studies at CIDIN. This program is comprised of a research and working trajectory. The research conducted to obtain her additional master diploma was conducted in cooperation with Plan Netherlands. It was internally published and internationally distributed. The objective of this research iss to improve the quality of Plan’s education interventions by learning from the implemented School Improvement Program. As part of this research she participated in an external evaluation of Plan Indonesia’s School Improvement Program.
In 2007 she worked as a monitoring and evaluation advisor at Plan Netherlands’ policy department. Thematically she focused on improving the quality of Plan’s education and livelihood program.
Stephanie speaks Dutch and English fluently. Her French and Spanish skills are good. She has strong analytical skills, is creative and perseverant.
