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Our team helps mission-driven organisationsturn evidence into decisions, systems, & scale.

About Us

Research Impact Lab is a UK-based boutique research and advisory firm founded by Shivam Rawal and Soniya Gupta-Rawal.

We partner with organisations tackling complex social and economic questions, bringing together rigorous methods, grounded field insight, and strategic thinking.

We help mission-driven organisations build structured programmes and systems, evaluate what works, and translate evidence into stronger grant writing.

Our goal is to make rigorous research & evidence-based programming:

Accessible

for NGOs

Actionable

for practitioners and last-mile stakeholders

Digestible

for policymakers and the general public

Portrait of Shivam Rawal wearing a black roll-neck sweater

Co-founder

Shivam Rawal

M.A. in Economics and Education, Columbia University | Fulbright-Nehru Scholar

Passionate about implementation science. Specialises in programme design and delivery, education systems, measurement, and evidence use.

Portrait of Soniya Gupta-Rawal wearing a navy suit

Co-founder

Soniya Gupta-Rawal

PhD Candidate and MPhil in Management Studies, University of Cambridge | Commonwealth Scholar

Passionate about rigorous empirical and methodological research. Specialises in applied econometrics, marketing and business research, innovation, and sustainability.

Learn more about our team

Projects & partnerships

Organisations our founders have worked with:

MicroMentor
What Works Hub for Global Education
MESH
Global School Leaders
The Luminos Fund
Central Square Foundation
Banas Dairy
Inspiring Teachers
Bridges for Enterprise
FUEL
Educational Initiatives
Teach For India
Kenya flagMESH logo

Evaluating AI-enabled financial coaching for entrepreneurs

MESH, Kenya

2026

A mixed-methods evaluation designed to distinguish platform engagement from meaningful changes in knowledge, confidence, financial preparedness, and business behaviour.

Open project

Approach

Structured path from enquiry to evidence.

Phase 01

Orient

3 steps

  1. 01Frame the decision
  2. 02Understand context
  3. 03Map what is known

Phase 02

Design

3 steps

  1. 04Define questions and success
  2. 05Choose proportionate methods
  3. 06Prepare people, tools, and safeguards

Phase 03

Learn

2 steps

  1. 07Generate evidence carefully
  2. 08Analyse and interpret together

Phase 04

Act

2 steps

  1. 09Translate evidence into choices
  2. 10Learn, adapt, and scale

R³, Rigour, Relevance, and Robustness, guides every step from research design to evidence-led action.

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Services

Specialist support shaped around your needs.

Service 01

Research, Evaluation & Measurement

We design proportionate studies and measurement systems that help teams understand outcomes, implementation, and the reasons behind both.

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Service 02

Evidence Strategy & Learning

We help organisations organise what they know, identify the uncertainties that matter, and build a practical route from evidence to strategic choice.

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Service 03

AI, Data & Emerging Technologies

We study how people use emerging tools in emerging markets and other complex settings, what conditions shape adoption, and whether a promising technology produces meaningful changes beyond initial engagement.

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Service 04

Proposal Development & Research Partnerships

We turn programme logic, research questions, early evidence, and partnership roles into persuasive proposals and funder-ready research narratives.

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Service 05

Capacity Building & Practice Translation

We translate research into practical learning experiences, tools, and routines that help people interpret evidence and act on it in their own setting.

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We work with orgs at different stages of their evidence journey, providing research, M&E, strategy, & implementation support to move forward with confidence.

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