MAGDA Framework
Helping international development, humanitarian aid and charity sectors make operations simpler, so you can focus on making a difference
Most people don’t need to work harder, they simply need a clearer structure, smoother workflows and fewer things getting in the way.
MAGDA Framework is a practical and cost-effective process improvement and operational capacity strengthening approach designed for busy, stretched teams and consultants. It helps identify and fix operational inefficiencies, strengthen day-to-day ways of working, and create more space for delivery, strategy and impact. In as little as 3 weeks, MAGDA can help release 4+ hours per person, per week for more meaningful work.
With MAGDA, you will gain:
More time for implementation, strategy and meaningful work
Smoother workflows and better structure
Improved coordination and share of responsibilities
Clearer priorities and decision making
Better use of systems, tools and templates
Stronger business development and proposal processes
More confidence around donor compliance and reporting
Practical and effective monitoring
Less firefighting, stress and overwhelm
Work that more often fits into normal working hours
Are you a solo business owner or a consultant? Check how MAGDA for solo can help you structure your work.
Delivering practical results
MAGDA supported a Syria-based humanitarian team in improving how project budgets were monitored across multiple grants and spreadsheets.
We worked with programme and finance staff to set up tracking processes, interconnect data to reduce duplication, introduce replicable templates, clarify who was responsible for updates, and introduce a clearer structure for monitoring spend and expenses.
The changes reduced time spent chasing and reconciling information across teams, improved visibility over project spending, and strengthened donor reporting and compliance.
Setting up financial tracking for Syrian NGO
Improving proposal coordination
MAGDA worked with an international development team to improve how proposals were coordinated across technical, financial and operational aspects. We mapped the existing proposal process and identified bottlenecks including unclear responsibilities, version control issues, duplicated work and last-minute submission pressure.
Solutions included introducing tracking and collaboration tools, clearer division of tasks, streamlining outputs, and structured timelines for contributor inputs, reviews and approvals.
The changes improved visibility across the proposal process, reduced deadline stress and firefighting, and helped the team manage multiple bids more efficiently alongside ongoing programme delivery.
Does this sound familiar?
Reporting processes spread across too many spreadsheets
Teams duplicating admin and tracking work
Unclear responsibilities and approvals
Proposal coordination becoming chaotic near deadlines
Difficult handovers between programme, finance and operations staff
Monitoring systems that are hard to maintain
Donor compliance processes creating pressure on delivery teams
Teams spending evenings catching up on admin and reporting
Services offered
Full MAGDA diagnostic and improvement cycle
Workflow and inefficiency mapping
Operational capacity strengthening
Process, system and template set-up
Monitoring and operational structure support
Business development support:
Proposal development
Pipeline management
Coordination support
Benefits for your organisation
Free up 4+ hours per team member, per week.
Every inefficiency has its cost and drives you away from actually doing your job, but there is so much more waste than that. MAGDA will lead to:
The MAGDA methods
Getting to the bottom of the inefficiencies using established evaluation and data analysis techniques.
Established Evaluation Methods
Understand how work actually happens through process mapping, e-surveys, interviews and focus group discussions.
The Seven Frictions
Innovative tool for in-depth analysis to assess severity, impact, and urgency across seven most common organisational frictions. See visible improvement in operations in 3+ weeks.
Develop practical improvements that fit your reality. Check-ins following the improvements ensure support, progress and accountability.
Co-Creation and Support
Let's connect
Interested in collaborating, have questions or want to learn more about MAGDA Framework?
Reach out anytime.
CONTACT FORM:
magda@magdaframework.com
© 2026. All rights reserved. Imagery provided by Unsplash.