1. Paarth the policy adviser
Goals
Demonstrate abilities in data analysis
Career progression in government role
“I want to demonstrate my skills to senior officials.”
35 years old, lives in India
Low ranked adviser to government policy maker on poverty alleviation
Accesses ESPA site on policy maker’s behalf
Needs to quickly find evidence from research that leads to policy change on how to alleviate poverty
Needs to meet demands of his seniors so can’t waste time on hard to understand scientific findings
Wants downloadable infographics
No time
Intermittent internet access/poor bandwidth
IT novice
Weak English skills
Lots of time
Constant internet access/good bandwidth
IT expert
Strong English skills

2. Ida the international policy maker
Goals
Find interesting projects to fund
Learn best practice in how to implement projects
“I want to fund innovative projects.”
45 years old, lives in Washington DC
Works for Conservation International
Travels often for work
Looking for case studies and success stories
Get an idea of what other organisations are doing
Constantly uses her phone and social media
Wants to quickly understand what ESPA is and who funded research
Need to contact researchers on the ground for more information
No time
Intermittent internet access/poor bandwidth
IT novice
Weak English skills
Lots of time
Constant internet access/good bandwidth
IT expert
Strong English skills

3. Andy the academic “Where are the gaps in research I can fill in?”
Goals
Wants to make a difference in the developing world
Career progression to senior academic
43 years old from Senegal
University researcher focusing on land restoration
Needs funding and help creating a funding proposal
Find good partners to work with
Keen to find background information and papers on existing research
Interested in the process as much as the product (frameworks and models to adapt or re-use)
Need to see a broad overview of topics
“Where are the gaps in research I can fill in?”
No time
Intermittent internet access/poor bandwidth
IT novice
Weak English skills
Lots of time
Constant internet access/good bandwidth
IT expert
Strong English skills

4. Nora the NGO practitioner
Goals
Promote women empowerment
Help improve country
“I want to improve the lives of others.”
31 years old, lives in Mozambique
Strong commitment to gender equality and women empowerment
Works for NGO on a UN Development Programme- funded project that promotes environmentally sustainable stoves
Little patience for contents that are too academic
Wants to gather knowledge that has emerged from ESPA projects to put into action
No time
Intermittent internet access/poor bandwidth
IT novice
Weak English skills
Lots of time
Constant internet access/good bandwidth
IT expert
Strong English skills

5. Sources of persona images
Ida persona:
Paarth persona:
Nora persona:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Galen_Hunt.jpg
Andy persona:
All images used under content license agreement