There is a version of research that looks correct on paper and fails in the field. The frameworks are sound, the indicators are logical, and the data is clean, but the findings do not reflect what is actually happening in the communities the program serves. The cultural context was assumed, not investigated. The methodology was imported, not designed.
This is the gap AnthroConsultancy exists to close.
I am Dr. Barbara Mutedzi, a medical anthropologist and qualitative researcher with more than 25 years of field experience across sub-Africa, and have conducted research, monitoring and evaluations with organizations in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States. My work is grounded in the conviction that rigorous research is not just technically correct research. It is research that is designed with, and for, the human and cultural realities of the environments it operates in.
What I Bring to Your Work
I have operated as a Principal Investigator across the full cycle of research and programme work: designing studies, securing and managing grants, navigating ethics clearance at local, national, and international level, recruiting and training research teams, conducting qualitative data analysis, and presenting results to funders and stakeholders. I understand what it means to work under donor timelines, across multiple stakeholders, in complex and often fragile environments where standard Western research frameworks require significant adaptation.
My most recent grant was awarded through King’s College London, funding to test the feasibility of rolling out a locally produced grief and bereavement tool in a Zimbabwean community. My broader portfolio of partnerships includes UNICEF, Maestral International, Population Services International (PSI) Zimbabwe, the Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPSSI), and the BuildCare Fund, among others.
Academic Credentials
- PhD (in completion)
- MSc Medical Anthropology — Durham University, United Kingdom
- BA Honours, Socio-Cultural Anthropology — UNISA
- BA Health & Social Sciences, specialising in Health & Community Psychology — UNISA
- BA and Masters in Metaphysics — the conscious integration of inner intelligence with outer leadership and decision-making
My MSc thesis, based on primary data collection advocating for children and adolescents living with HIV in Harare, Zimbabwe, is published as a monograph and available on Amazon →
Published Works
- Advocating for Children and Adolescents Living with HIV: MSc Monograph, available on Amazon →
- Am I Insane, Black or Just a Woman: available on Amazon→
Academic Publications
View full list of academic publications in Google Scholar here →
Beyond the Research
My work does not begin and end with data. I am also the founder of the Design Your Life Foundation, a conscious leadership practice rooted in neuroscience, where I work with senior leaders and high-performing executives navigating the gap between outer success and inner truth. The Mutedzi 3D Protocol, developed through my Foundation, draws on the same academic grounding — anthropology, neuroscience, metaphysics, that informs my research practice.
These two bodies of work are not separate. They are two expressions of the same conviction: that evidence, when properly understood and humanely applied, transforms organisations and lives. Learn more about Barbara’s leadership and coaching work on the Company Website here →
AnthroConsultancy is a subsidiary of the Michael Nelie Group.
AnthroConsultancy 