Empirica International Research and Consultancy Institute

Name: Empirica International Research and Consultancy Institute
Address: Ololo Ormon Khan, Bishkek, 720049, KG
Telephone: +447462565363

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Empirica International Research and Consultancy Institute

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Empirica is a team of international consultants specialising in international development research.

Our expertise includes conducting social research as well as monitoring and evaluating programmes and projects using various research tools. Empirica is a research and consultancy company with expertise in social research and
programme/project evaluations. Our mission is to provide high-standard research and
evaluation services to development organisations, assisting them in making evidence-
based decisions and implementing interventions that are relevant to the needs of local. We have provided research and evaluation services to a range of organisations, including
UN agencies, international NGOs, and civil society organisations across Central Asia, former
Soviet countries, and other Asian countries. Our expertise includes designing research
methodologies (quantitative and qualitative); managing research processes; developing
indicators; conducting advanced statistical analysis; performing comprehensive qualitative
analysis using NVivo; and effectively presenting and communicating research findings. Our particular area of strength lies in our technical skills in both qualitative and quantitative
data collection and analysis. We have extensive experience analysing statistical data using
MS Excel, SPSS, Stata, and R. We are also experienced users of qualitative data analysis
software such as NVivo. Key Projects & Clients:

UNICEF Kyrgyzstan (2025 – ongoing): Identifying barriers to child immunization among migrant families using participatory, multi-stage qualitative research. Impact Design (2025): Developed methodology for the first regional mapping of the Venture Capital ecosystem in the CAMCA region. UNDP (2024–2025): Multi-stage research on urban resilience across 6 cities in Kyrgyzstan (4,000+ respondents, foresight training, piloting Urban Hubs). AKF UK (2024–ongoing): Long-term Schools2030 research on teacher agency and educational reform. World Vision (2024): Baseline assessment in Philippines, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka (1,800+ surveys, 68 KIIs, 21 FGDs). IOM (2024–2025): Impact assessments of seasonal workers in the UK and student integration in Kyrgyzstan. Search for Common Ground (2024): Landscape & gaps analysis on technology-facilitated gender-based violence in Central & South Asia. Hedayah/EU (2024–2025): Study on repatriation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of women and children from conflict zones. UNDP Kyrgyzstan (2023): Study on creative industries and youth participation. Aga Khan Foundation & World Bank (2017–2023): Series of baseline, midline, and endline studies on youth employability, civic engagement, and education.

09/10/2026

We are launching a new series: Gender in Society

In this series, we will explore how gender shapes everyday life, institutions, work, care, inequality, and public debates.

The aim is simple: to use ideas from sociology to explain gender in a clear and practical way, and to connect theory to the social issues we see around us.

Over the coming weeks, we will look at questions such as: What is gender? How is it produced in everyday interaction? How does it shape power and inequality? And why does it matter in areas such as work, care, development, and politics?

We hope the series will create space to think about gender more carefully, beyond simple assumptions and familiar explanations.

This content draws inspiration from the teachings of our Senior Research Strategist at the American University of Central Asia, with due acknowledgement and credit.

01/10/2026

We are proud that Empirica is not only a place where research is done, but also a place where people can learn, gain practical experience and grow professionally.

Over the past two months, a new intern joined our team and contributed to different areas of our work — from fieldwork and interviews to literature review, survey administration, translations, data organisation and communications.

For us, internships are not only about supporting our work. They are also about giving young professionals an opportunity to see how research works in practice: how to communicate with respondents, deal with uncertainty, adapt to different tasks, and connect academic knowledge with real projects.

We are very happy to see that this experience helped our intern strengthen her skills, become more confident and gain a better understanding of professional research.

In this post, she shares some of her own reflections on her internship at Empirica — what she learned, what challenged her, and what she is taking with her from this experience.

We are proud to be a place for learning, professional growth and capacity strengthening, and we are always happy when people who work with us leave with more knowledge, more experience and more confidence than when they joined.

24/09/2026

Sometimes change starts with just one person.

On 21 September, the Empirica team attended Yntymak Maek 2026. The event brought together stories from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan about people whose individual choices and actions have made a difference in the lives of others.

The stories were very different, but each showed how personal initiative can grow into something much bigger.

For example, we heard about a Kyrgyz migrant working in Moscow who planted an entire forest in memory of his father. Another speaker shared how a personal tragedy led her to begin supporting people with disabilities. A teacher told the story of a student from a remote community who was struggling academically and was close to being expelled. Yet through extracurricular activities, his abilities and interests became visible. Today, he is leading a robotics club.

These stories were a powerful reminder that change does not always begin with large programmes or institutions. Sometimes it begins with one person noticing something, deciding to act, and refusing to give up on another person or an idea.

For us at Empirica, this message strongly resonates with our own work. Our research is ultimately also about contributing to change: understanding people’s experiences, identifying what works and what does not, and producing evidence that can help programmes and institutions make better decisions.

The evening was also a reminder of the power of storytelling. Research gives us evidence and helps us understand patterns, while individual stories allow us to see the people behind those patterns. Both are important if we want evidence to connect with people and contribute to meaningful change.

Thank you to Search for Common Ground, the organisers and partners of Yntymak Maek 2026, and especially to all the speakers who shared their personal stories so openly. It was a privilege to listen and reflect.

11/09/2026

We were pleased to present findings from our research on teacher agency in Kyrgyzstan at the BAICE 2026 Conference in Glasgow.

Our presentation, “Teacher Agency in Kyrgyzstan’s Reforming Education System,” explored how teachers exercise professional judgement and initiative within a system undergoing substantial reform, while still shaped by institutional, social and material constraints.

This research was conducted with support from Schools2030 ( ) and the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF).

It was especially valuable to discuss these issues comparatively with colleagues working on teacher agency in other country contexts and to reflect on the similarities and differences across systems.

Many thanks to the organisers, fellow panellists, discussant and participants for an engaging and thought-provoking session.

27/08/2026

Collaboration is already there. The challenge is turning it into sustained collective action.

Yesterday, our team had the pleasure of presenting the findings of the baseline study for the Amplify project, implemented by Search for Common Ground, to Search and the European Commission.

The study explored how civil society organisations, communities and self-governance bodies collaborate around local development challenges in Kyrgyzstan. It covered 12 municipalities across Batken, Osh and Issyk-Kul, combining a survey of 372 respondents with focus group discussions and key informant interviews.

One of the most interesting findings was that the foundations for collaboration are already quite strong. Stakeholders recognise the value of working together, relationships are generally positive, and willingness to collaborate often exceeds existing levels of trust.

But the study also revealed an important gap: actors may be willing to work together, yet they do not always have a shared understanding of local priorities or established mechanisms for joint planning and decision-making.

This creates an important opportunity for the Amplify project: to move collaboration beyond individual projects and informal relationships towards shared priorities, inclusive dialogue, evidence-informed decisions and more sustainable ways of working together.

It was great to share and discuss these findings with colleagues yesterday. We hope the evidence generated through the baseline will provide a useful foundation for programming and help the project respond to the very different realities of communities across Kyrgyzstan.

03/08/2026

The Empirica team recently participated in a three-day training organized by WFP on effective survey data collection.

The training program went beyond traditional lectures, combining real-world case studies with hands-on practice. One of the highlights was piloting a survey questionnaire with respondents of various socio-demographic profiles, providing valuable practical experience and strengthening our field research skills.

Our team is appreciative of this opportunity to learn, grow, and contribute to high-quality, evidence-based research.

27/07/2026

Recently, the Empirica team completed and presented the results of a baseline study conducted as part of a project supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The findings will inform further planning and decision-making in the areas of sustainable development, natural resource management, and improving the well-being of local communities in the walnut–fruit forests of the Jalal-Abad region.

As part of this study, our team:
• Carried out a comprehensive assessment of the socio-economic profile and livelihoods of local communities
• Conducted a value chain analysis
• Evaluated gender equality and social inclusion
• Examined climate vulnerability and environmental pressures.

By integrating quantitative and qualitative research methods, we delivered evidence-based insights to support strategic planning and sustainable development initiatives.

06/07/2026

Social media connects us, informs us, and shapes how we interact with the world. However, it also influences power, inequality, and even our safety.

In this week's video at Empirica, we explore Manuel Castells' Network Society Theory and how digital networks have transformed the way we communicate, work, learn, and build our identities. Castells encourages us to look beyond the technology itself and ask who has access, who has influence, and who is left behind in our increasingly connected world.

These ideas are especially relevant to research on digital life, including studies on social media and technology-facilitated gender-based violence, where online networks can both create opportunities and amplify harm.

*This content draws inspiration from the teachings of our Senior Research Strategist at the American University of Central Asia, with due acknowledgement and credit.

22/06/2026

In this week's video, we explore Critical Theory and why this perspective remains relevant for understanding society and conducting meaningful research. Critical Theory encourages us to look beyond the surface and ask important questions about power, inequality, and the structures that shape our lives. From the influence of media to the concept of "false needs," this perspective challenges us to think critically about the world around us and the systems we often take for granted.

*This content draws inspiration from the teachings of our Senior Research Strategist at the American University of Central Asia, with due acknowledgement and credit.

Address

Ololo Ormon Khan
Bishkek
720049

Telephone

+447462565363

Website

http://www.empirica.international/

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