The strongest evidence of SDI Training’s impact is the work we have already delivered for African institutions. The case studies below illustrate how the SDI 5-Step Capacity Transfer Framework has been applied to real engagements — the challenges clients brought, the interventions we designed, and the outcomes that followed. Names of client institutions and individuals are anonymised in this public version; full references are available on request under NDA.

Case study 01 · National Treasury reform unit

Engagement: Capacity Diagnostic + 12-week leadership programme

Client: Reform unit within a national treasury, SADC region.
Challenge: A newly-established reform unit needed to move from policy mandate to operational delivery across four cross-cutting workstreams, with limited internal capability in programme management, stakeholder engagement, and adaptive leadership.

Intervention: SDI ran a 6-week capacity diagnostic using the SDI 5-Step Framework, followed by a 12-week blended leadership programme for the unit’s 18-person team. The programme combined weekly instructor-led sessions, peer coaching circles, and an application project per delegate aligned to a live workstream.

Outcomes: Six months after programme completion, three of the four trained workstreams were operating independently — a measurable lift from baseline. The unit’s director credited the SDI methodology for the durability of capability transfer, noting that the application project structure was the single most effective element in driving real workplace change.

Director, Public Service Reform · National Treasury

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Case study 02 · Reserve Bank supervisory team

Engagement: IPSAS conversion + risk supervision upskilling

Client: Banking supervision department at a regional reserve bank.
Challenge: The team was preparing for an IPSAS conversion programme and needed to upskill 24 supervisors on both the new accounting standards and the supervisory implications for regulated institutions.

Intervention: SDI delivered a customised 5-day in-house intensive combining IPSAS technical content with supervisory case studies drawn from the reserve bank’s own portfolio. The programme included a final-day panel assessment where each delegate presented an application case to the head of supervision.

Outcomes: 22 of 24 delegates passed the panel assessment on first attempt. The reserve bank’s IPSAS conversion steering committee adopted three of the application cases as inputs to the conversion roadmap. SDI was subsequently commissioned to deliver the same programme to a sister institution.

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Case study 03 · Donor-funded M&E capacity programme

Engagement: Train-the-Trainer + M&E system design

Client: Multi-country donor-funded development programme with implementing partners in 6 SADC countries.
Challenge: Inconsistent M&E capability across implementing partners was undermining donor reporting quality and programme adaptive management. The donor required a structured capacity-building intervention that would build durable M&E capability rather than deliver training events.

Intervention: SDI delivered a 4-day train-the-trainer intensive to a core team of 12 M&E leads, followed by 6 weeks of group coaching as they cascaded the training to their country teams. SDI also co-designed a standardised M&E framework template that all implementing partners now use for quarterly reporting.

Outcomes: All 6 country teams successfully cascaded the training within 90 days. Donor reporting quality improved measurably in the subsequent reporting cycle, with on-time submission rates rising from 67% to 100%. The donor is now scaling the model to a second cohort of countries.

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Request a detailed case study pack

The case studies above are anonymised summaries. Full case studies with named client references, methodology details, and outcome metrics are available under NDA to qualified buyers evaluating SDI for a potential engagement. Contact our team to request the full case study pack.