About
Órla Cronin, Director
I am a facilitator, trainer and consultant – mainly to NGOs and other civil society organisations but I also provide some services to private and public sector clients .
My work cycles through consultancy, facilitation and training and I love this trifecta, which is reflected in my logo.
I started my career a research psychologist, following the well worn path of PhD and postdoctoral fellowship and I then spent five years in private sector research organisation. Since establishing Orla Cronin Research in 2003, I have developed a focus on social justice, in all its variegated forms, and widened my services to contribute to organisational development, including evaluation, research and learning, and developing the strategies into which these feed.
I deliver my expertise in a variety of ways which I co-create with clients. These include coaching and mentoring, accompanying, training, facilitation, desk research and writing. Though I have been privileged to have worked face to face with fabulous colleagues around the world, in each of the seven continents (yes, including Antarctica: ask me about that over a coffee!), I made a decision in 2013 to specialise in remote working, and I have a particular expertise in both delivering virtual workshops and events, and in training others to do so.
I love collaborating with and leading multidisciplinary teams, so I often find myself convening with other independent consultants from within a number of different networks, for example Framework Collective, ICA:UK and the
I also deliver with colleagues from, or under the umbrella of, other organisations, including
- Framework Collective, a learning collective and civil society consultancy (member)
- ICA:UK, a not for profit specialised in facilitation and facilitation training (associate, licensed trainer of ToP methods)
- INTRAC, a not for profit organisation building skills and knowledge in civil society (associate consultant and trainer)
- NCVO Charities Evaluation Service, supporting voluntary organisations with their impact and evaluation expertise and activities (associate consultant and trainer)
- ToP Network USA (membership network of facilitators and trainers specialised in Technology of Participation methods)