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We at energypedia consult consider ourselves a responsible company, treating clients, partners and team members with respect, honesty and fairness. Being a subsidiary of energypedia non-profit we also are conscious of our corporate responsibility. Thus, we try to minimize our consumption of resources as far as possible. This means running our wikis on CO2 neutral servers as well as buying only eco-friendly or second hand office materials. Also with regard to our suppliers sustainability is of importance. Within Germany we travel by train only and for international flights we compensate...

In little sectors the clash between work reality and expectations of staff is as wide as in the development cooperation or aid sector. The idea that a job in this area will provide a sense of existential meaning and fulfillment is widespread. However, daily routine often looks quite different: Instead of working with beneficiaries or partner organizations towards a better world and future many end up with lots of administrative work, institutional coordination and endless approval cycles. Hundreds of emails that need to be read, deleted or answered, combined with general work overload...

I guess, while you’re reading this headline, your first association is Wikipedia and this incredible achievement of putting the entire knowledge of our mankind on one platform. Totally voluntary, open and free for use. Just great and inspiring! Wikipedia proofs that people can achieve amazing things if they work together.

For working together and for sharing knowledge on such a platform you need a wiki. Wiki Wiki (quick quick) is the name of the free shuttle bus on the Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii. Ward Cunningham, the developer of the first wiki software was...

Probably every M&E officer has been in this situation: The deadline for the annual report is approaching, but the data is just not ready. It takes time, effort and nerves to go through all the different monitoring documents that have piled up throughout the year and to copy-paste the relevant information into the format that meets the donor’s requirements.

Even when you work in a neatly organized monitoring system and the data actually is complete and up-to-date, your internal monitoring system and the donor’s reporting format might be two very different stories. This is why...