Us
Colectivo Meta is an international consultancy consortium founded in 2014, based in Mexico City.
Our name comes from the ancient Greek word μετά ⎯meta⎯, that indicates the end of a process, a change or transformation. We support organizations and institutions that advocate for social change. We are also interested in building and strengthening our clients’ capacities.
We are a collective because our team and experts in different countries can perform independent work that contribute to the same objectives we look for as a group, from their own knowledge, interests, experiences and capabilities.
Our team is integrated by professionals and activists with more than twenty years of experience in the different areas of our portfolio and in national and international civil society organizations, public institutions and other consultancy firms.
Mission
We are an international consultancy based in Mexico City that designs and strengthens the strategic processes and capacities of our clients, through a sustained and tailored accompaniment.
Vision
Colectivo META (COMETA) is the leading consultancy firm in strengthening processes of organizations and institutions aiming to achieve social change.
For our colleagues, COMETA is a professional platform for professional development, collective learning and innovation that reconciles personal and professional life.
Values
- Intellectual and professional honesty
- Respect for human rights and diversity
- Transparency and accountability
- Social commitment
- Professionalism
# What we do?
Strategic Thinking
We design and accompany strategic thinking processes for organizations, donors and civil society organizations and networks.
COMETA believes that each organization is unique, therefore we design a tailored-process based on the goals, needs and characteristics of each client. Our strategic thinking approach includes the following stages:
- Retrospective reflection about the context, past results and learning.
- Elaboration of the institutional Theory of Change, with impact maps.
- Elaboration of working plans based on the Theory of Change with detailed strategic activities, responsibilities and timelines.
- Design of impact indicators for strategic objectives.
#Examples #clients
Civil society organizations
Foundations and international institutions
International foundations
Horizontal Learning
We coordinate and facilitate horizontal learning processes that bring together organizations, networks and stakeholders of the same community of practice to share their experiences, challenges and goals to foster horizontal learning and collaboration on relevant issues for their advocacy agendas.
In COMETA we understand horizontal learning as a fundamental strategy to create and transform communities of practice. Civil society organizations and networks are increasingly confronted with complex environments that force them to stay updated and learn from their own experiences and those of their community of practice. Our processes include:
- Scope the strengths and needs of the organizations participating in the process.
- Design the workshop agenda oriented towards a shared reflection and learning, with a participatory approach.
- Facilitate discussions with methodologies that promote participation in a flexible, horizontal and friendly environment.
- Document and systematize the main reflections and conclusions in products not only useful for the participants of each process, but for other organizations interested in the same methodologies, strategies and themes.
- Coordinate all the logistics arrangements of the event, if needed.
Documentation and Systematization of Experiences
We help our clients to analyze and document experiences, strategies and relevant processes for their advocacy agendas. We specially focus on assessing key factors that contributed to success or main aspects for the institutional learning.
The processes through which the organizations are able to achieve changes and impact are complex and depend on the context, the opportunities, the strategic vision, the resources and the experience of the organization. The documentation and systematization of these processes offer a unique opportunity to develop, maintain and use knowledge more strategically inside the organization.
COMETA offers support to document and systematize processes through tailored methodologies that include:
- Analysis of relevant documents and data.
- Interviews with key stakeholders.
- Case studies.
- Elaboration of guides, handbooks and tool kits to foster learning.
Civil society organizations in Mexico
International foundations
International civil society organizations
Civil society organizations in Mexico
Foundations and international organizations
Evaluation
We design tailored evaluation methodologies aimed at learning and institutional strengthening.
Identifying the results and achievements of the organizations and institution is a key tool for learning and for the continuous improvement of their strategies.
We design specific proposals for each organization in order to assess the challenges that each one faces, according to its own objectives, needs and characteristics.
We consider:
- The context in which the work of the organization is developed.
- Strategic vision and Theory of Change of each organization.
- Capabilities and opportunities.
- Learning objectives for evaluation.
- Recommendations for improvement.
Research
We conduct research processes to provide a solid and evidence-based framework aligned with the strategic objectives of our clients.
Advocacy work requires, in addition to a clear strategic vision, theoretical and methodological frameworks that supports the strategic objectives of the organizations. In this line, COMETA helps organizations and institutions to:
- Identify relevant research questions and methodologies aligned with the strategic vision and Theory of Change (TOC) of the organization.
- Develop and design research methodologies.
- Elaborate research documents and instruments.
- Capacity building for strategic research.
Civil society organizations in Mexico
International organizations and institutions
International organizations and institutions
Capacity Building and Training
We offer workshops and trainings designed and tailored based on the specific learning needs and strategic objectives of our clients. We propose a participatory approach that combines theoretical information with practical exercises applied to real-life cases.
Capacity Building is an important feature of the strengthening process of any organization, and to accomplish its strategic goals and impact objectives. We seek to increase the participant’s potential for learning and applying new knowledge to their work.
Our areas of expertise include:
- Budget Analysis.
- Transparency, Access to Information and Accountability.
- Strategic Thinking and Theory of Change design.
- Public Policy Analysis.
- Methodologies to foster citizen participation (social audits, scorecards, PETS and others).
Resilencia Financiera
This accompaniment seeks to build sustainable skills and knowledge for organizations to develop an institutional strategy for sustainability and impact that has resource mobilization and operations at the center. To that end, our work with organizations is focused on five key aspects of financial resource management: budgeting, diversification of funding, financing context, leadership and communication.
COMETA’S workshops are participative and include practical excersises aiming to guide the design and implementation of actions that contribute to organization’s sustainability and financial resilience, promoting the interaction between program and administrative teams, and to strengthen their ability to define, together, financial needs, ans strategies to movilize resources.
* COMETA has a licensing agreement with Spring Strategies (www.springstrategies.org) to adapt some relevant elements of its methodology for this work. The FIRE program is licensed under a
Creative Commons International Licence 4.0
CLICK HERE
Organizaciones e instituciones internacionales
National and International Civil Society Organizations
Civil Society Organizations (CSO) that work autonomously to have an impact in different topics, related to social change and human rights advocacy.
Public National and International Institutions
Public and governmental local, national and international institutions, like parliaments and autonomous institutions that aimed at achieving social change.
Donors and International Cooperation Agencies
National and international institutions that support CSOs and movements from a strategic and a financial stance. These include international funds that support the development and sustainability of social movements, such as international women’s funds.
International Institutions and Organizations
Associations and networks, formed by institutions, governments or other actors working internationally.
# PARTNERS
ATZIMBA BALTAZAR MACÍAS
She is a founding partner of COMETA. Her area of expertise is the design and development of methodologies for analyzing and evaluating projects and public policies. During 2013, she worked at the Secretary General of the Federal Institute of Access to Information (IFAI) in Mexico, where she previously served from 2002 to 2007 as a case researcher of appeals submitted to IFAI regarding denials of information requests.
From 2010 to 2013, she worked as the Program Officer for the Mentoring Government Capacity for Budget Transparency and Participation Program at the International Budget Partnership where she assisted governments in Central America and Africa to strengthen its capacities to improve budget transparency and fostering dialogue with civil society organizations.
Atzimba holds a Master of Public Administration in Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy from New York University and a BA in Public Administration from El Colegio de Mexico.
MANUELA GARZA ASCENCIO
She is a founding partner of COMETA. Her main themes of expertise are: budgets, gender, sexual and reproductive health, advocacy, capacity building and strategic thinking. Currently, she is part of the Board of the Project on Organizing, Development, Education and Research (PODER). She began her work on accountability related issues in 2002.
In Mexico, from 2003 to 2005, she worked with Fundar on gender budget issues and socially oriented budget analysis. She worked for seven years as a Program Officer of the Partnership Initiative at the International Budget Partnership (IBP) supporting civil society groups in Africa, Asia and Central America.
With the IBP, she had the opportunity to work with more than 45 organizations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Manuela holds a Master in Social Anthropology and a BA in International Affairs from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, ITAM).
Guadalupe Mendoza Trejo
Director of Special Projects at COMETA. She has worked in philanthropy and civil society for almost 20 years.
From 2016 to 2021 she was Director of Institutional Development at the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, AC, and between 2003 and 2012, she worked as Program Officer and then as Interim Director of the Global Development and Population program of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. in Mexico.
She also worked as a Program Associate for the Finance for Development and Economic Security program of the Mexico and Central America office of the Ford Foundation. Guadalupe has been a consultant for the Ford Foundations, Open Society, Oak, MacArthur, Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation, Hispanics in Philanthropy, and the Global Fund for Human Rights, as well as for Spring Strategies and Colectivo Meta.
Her work has focused on assisting civil society organization and donors in the design and implementation of their strategies, evaluation, institutional development, and financial resilience.
She has written about the challenges for the development and strengthening of civil society in Mexico, including regulations to prevent money laundering in Mexico and their impact on civil society organizations.
She is a counselor for the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature, and Incide Social. She is on the advisory board of the International Center for Not-for-profit Law.
She has a Master’s degree in Development Studies from Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan, and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from UNAM.
She is also a Perinatal Educator certified by La Salle University.
Mayra Calderón Jaidar
She has been the Administrative Coordinator at COMETA since May 2022.
Until 2020, she served as Assistant to the General Director of Ferrocarriles y Terminal del Valle de México.
From 2014 to 2020, she was in charge of the administrative and personnel area of the companies Contraste Total and Tintorería Meiga. Between 2010 and 2014 she was responsible for the projects area at the Espinosa Rugarcía Foundation I.B.P., where she coordinated the ESRU Escucha, a project whose goal was to deliver cochlear implants and Hearing Therapies. Under her coordination, this initiative fostered the program of ESRU Art, the ESRU painting contest Give Your Opinion and the Writing Contest with the Colegio de Bachilleres (a public high school institution in Mexico).
Until 2009 she actively participated in the creation of Fundación Querer Ser, where she was director of public relations, advertising and marketing. She served as marketing coordinator at Cablevisión from 1997 to 2005.
She also has more than twenty years of experience in advertising agencies, where she became an account manager for clients such as Gamesa and Mattel. She is a graduate of the Universidad Anáhuac del Norte from the Faculty of Business Administration.
Anna Langheinrich
Anna is a full-time senior consultant at COMETA since February 2021.
She has experience in institutional development and project management as well as the implementation of strategies for the sustainable development of civil society organizations.
For 15 years she has been working with different organizations in Germany and Mexico, mainly in the social justice and human rights field. From 2016 to 2020 she was the Institutional Development Coordinator of the Centro de Justicia para la Paz y el Desarrollo (Cepad A.C.), a civil society organization working on gross human rights violations in Jalisco, Mexico.
From 2014 to 2016, she was part of Amnesty International’s regional office in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she worked in Fundraising. She is a graduate of the University of Hamburg (Germany) with a Master’s degree in Social Anthropology, Economics and Latin American Studies.
Tonatiuh Paz
Philosophy intern at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the The National Autonomous University of Mexico.
From 2008 to 2015, he worked as a research assistant, in a project directed by Dr. Judith Kalman, from the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV), on ICT uses and appropriations in the classroom with teachers from public secondary schools in the State and Mexico City.
He has two years of experience in managing data from online educational platforms of the National System for Professionalization of Teachers, implemented by the National Union of Education Workers.
From 2017 to 2021 he worked as a researcher at ControlaTuGobierno, A.C., a civil society an organization dedicated to training, advising and accompanying organized communities to influence public order problems.
Arianna Bizzoni
Full-time Senior Consultant at COMETA since May 2022.
From 2020 to the beginning of 2022, she was Co-responsible for the Strategy for Accompaniment of Women Human Rights Defenders in the National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders in Mexico. Previously, she was Project Assistant on Gender, Justice and Crime Prevention at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Mexico and from 2014 to 2019 she was part of the organization Peace Brigades International (PBI Mexico) as International Human Rights Observer and later as Team Coordinator.
Before arriving in Mexico, she collaborated with civil society organizations in Guinea-Bissau, Nicaragua, Spain and Italy. She is also Co-founder and member of the Board of Directors of the Italian civil association Rumorossə and member of the National Network of Human Rights Defenders in Mexico (RNDDHM).
She has more than 10 years of experience in development cooperation and human rights, has training and experience in security and comprehensive protection for defenders and journalists, political advocacy for the protection of defenders, psychosocial approach and support, gender and feminism, non-formal education with people in vulnerable situations, conflict resolution, meeting facilitation, project and team coordination. She has a Master degree in Philosophy from the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (Italy).
Ana Luisa Solís Lara
Junior Consultant at COMETA since March 2022 in the Special Projects team.
In 2020 she was Coordinator of the Institutional Development area at the Justice Center for Peace and Development A.C. (CEPAD) both Human Rights Civil Society Organizations in Jalisco. Between 2018 and 2020 she was Coordinator of Institutional Development and Administration at the Center for Comprehensive HIV-AIDS Care A.C., both Civil Society Organizations from Jalisco, Mexico.
In 2018 she was responsible for the Administrative area, and coordinated brigades in vulnerable areas of Guadalajara (Jalisco) for the National Program for Accompanying Children.
She has experience with human rights organizations in the areas of institutional development and strengthening, administration and implementation of projects focused on vulnerable populations. She has a Bachelor degree in International Business from the University of Guadalajara and in 2021-22 she participated in the Weltwärts Exchange Program (German international volunteer program) in the community of Solingen, Germany.
María MacGregor Aja
Junior consultant at COMETA since March 2022.
From 2018 to 2022, she worked as a high school teacher. Between 2016 and 2017 she was a researcher for the National College, a public institution dedicated to the dissemination of scientific, artistic and humanistic culture. She participated in the research for the exhibition for the 75 years of the College.
She worked at the Ministry of Public Education from 2013 to 2016. She was in charge of monitoring different federal programs in several states of the republic, she also participated in the development of the Guides for the Technical School Council.
She has collaborated on various research projects for civil society and academic institutions. She has a Master degree in History from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.
Olaya Reyes
Junior consultant at COMETA since 2021. She specializes in gender and feminism issues. In 2018 she was coordinator of the academic development program at Enlace Rural, a civil association that works in rural communities in Hidalgo.
In 2019, she co-founded the feminist collective Resiliencia Combativa, made up of women and members of the LGBT+ community with the purpose of including gender perspective at ITAM.
In 2020 she co-founded the digital magazine Transborde which seeks to incite reflection in the cross-border community through academic essays on the northern border region.
She is an internationalist from ITAM and studied mandarin at National Taiwan Normal University.
EXTERNAL CONSULTANTS
Shaamela Cassiem
She collaborates with COMETA since 2019 in budget analysis and participation research. She is an expert in human rights, gender, equallity and children's rights. She has over 20 years of experience working in civil society in South Africa and internationally. Further, her work draws strongly on an intersectionality lens to support social justice goals.
Christian Gruenberg
He collaborates with COMETA since 2018 in facilitation, and training processes. He is an expert in human rights, feminism, access to information and public bidding processes. Currently, he is an independent legal advisor and founding member of the Collective for Diversity (COPADI). He has been Director of Transparency International Argentina, the Anti-Corruption Program of the Poder Ciudadano Foundation and the Transparency Program of the Center for Public Policies for Equity and Growth. He also worked in the Public Ministry of Defense of the City of Buenos Aires. He is a lawyer from the University of Buenos Aires, has a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University and a diploma in Public Policy from the University of Chile.
Jorge Israel Hernández Herrera
He collaborates with COMETA in facilitation and technical assistance on communication for advocacy related projects. He is a specialist in conflict management, strategic communication, media and political analysis. Currently, he is the General Underdirector of Content and Liaison of the Judicial Channel, the public network of the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice and he is a teacher in various academic institutions such as the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE). He was communication advisor of the Representative in Mexico of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, where he has also been a specialized consultant. He holds a Master degree in Human Rights from the Universidad Iberoamericana, a BA in Journalism and Collective Communication from UNAM and has a diploma in conflict management from the National University of La Plata.
Gerardo Maldonado Hernández
He collaborates with COMETA since 2017 in the design of methodologies for the development of strategic thinking. He is an expert in the construction of indicators, comparative political behavior, culture and political attitudes, public opinion and international politics. Gerardo is currently an Assistant Professor at the International Studies Division in the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE) since 2010. He is also General Director of the Latin American regional project “The Americas and the World: Public Opinion and International Politics”. He has been visiting researcher at the Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University (USA) and the Institute of International Relation in the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil). He holds a BA in Public Administration from El Colegio de Mexico (Mexico) and a PhD in Political and Social Sciences from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain).
Melissa Ortíz Massó
She collaborates with COMETA since 2015 in the design and facilitation of strategic thinking and training processes. She is an expert in gender, legislative analysis and advocacy related with public policy, private enterprises & human rights and stakeholder analysis. Currently, she is the representative for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean of the Information Center on Business and Human Rights. She also worked with Fundar, Center for Analysis and Research during 10 years with various responsibilities. She has a degree in International Relations from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Tania Sánchez Andrade
She collaborates with COMETA since 2017 in facilitation processes, systematization of experiences and strategic planning. She is a specialist in public policies, transparency, access to information and accountability. Currently, she is an independent consultant, has a long career as an activist in transparency, access to information and accountability. She was the Director General of International Affairs of the Federal Institute of Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (IFAI) and Manager of Learning and Research of the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT). She holds a degree in International Relations from El Colegio de México and a Master in International Relations with focus on Political and Economic Development from Columbia University.
Maylí Consuelo Sepúlveda Toledo
She collaborates with COMETA since 2017 in the design of methodologies for research and social accountability trainings. She is an expert in social accountability, community participation, access to information, transparency and accountability. Currently, she is founder and the Executive Director of Controla tu Gobierno. She has been a consultant for international organizations including the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT), American University, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, the International Budget Partnership (IBP), the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program, on accountability and promotion of access to information projects. She was the Director of Liaison with Civil Society in the Federal Institute of Access to Public Information and the Federal Electoral Institute in Mexico. For more than a decade she has given workshops and offered public advice in the Electoral Court of the Federal Judicial Branch and the Federal Electoral Institute.
Eduardo Villareal Cantú
He collaborates in COMETA since 2017 in the design of evaluation and facilitation methodologies for strategic thinking. He is an expert in public policy, design of evaluation methodologies and public participation. Currently, he is professor at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE) and in the Latin American Faculty for Social Sciences (FLACSO). He has collaborated academically with the Organization of American States, the Slim Foundation, Article 19, among others. He holds a BA on Political Science from the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL), a Master in Administration and Public Policies from CIDE and a Master in Public Management by the UANL. He has a PhD on Public Policies from the Institut de Govern i Polítiques Públiques (IGOP, Barcelona) and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po, Paris).
Juan Francisco Bezares
Associate consultant in COMETA since 2015. He collaborates in evaluation and strategic reflection processes. He is an expert in strategic communication for institutions in the public and private sectors. He has a track record in public service in the areas of transparency, accountability and protection of personal data. In his most recent assignment as a public servant, he was Presentation Coordinator of one of the five members of the Plenary of the Institute of Transparency, Access to Public Information, Accountability and Protection of Personal Data of Mexico City (INFO, Mexico City ). He studied politics and public administration at the Colegio de México and has diplomas in Personal Data Protection and cybersecurity from institutions such as CIDE and UDLAP and in Electoral and Political Strategies from ITAM.
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Areas of expertise
- Strategic Thinking
- Horizontal Thinking
- Documentation and Systematization of Experiences
- Evaluation
- Research
- Capacity Building and Training
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