Applied Anthropology · Research · Design

We study how people actually live, and design what works from there.

Anthrolens is a research and design practice for organisations that take context seriously. We bring an anthropologist's lens to programmes, products, and policies, and pair it with quantitative rigor, behavioural insight, and emerging tools.

  Established 2026   |   Independent · Multi-disciplinary

Most work is designed for the people we wish existed. We work with the ones who actually do.

Approach

A wider lens, applied with precision.

A practice rarely fails for the reason it appears to. Uptake stalls because a household is making a different calculation. A campaign misses because the message reaches the right ear at the wrong moment. A product loses traction because its design assumes a life that no one is living.

We read each engagement across its levels at once, from the individual to the institutional, and design responses that hold together across them.

Our practice is multi-disciplinary by design. Ethnographic and qualitative depth, quantitative rigor, behavioural science, and human-centred methods. We also work with emerging tools, including AI, for rapid synthesis, prototyping, and scenario planning.

The aim is work that is evidence-based, context-fit, and built to remain useful as the conditions around it keep shifting.

Services

From the first question to the final design.

01

Project Design

Concept notes, theory of change, results frameworks, and full programme architecture grounded in context and evidence.

02

Proposal Development

Donor-ready proposals for FCDO, USAID, EU, World Bank, UN, Gates, GCF, and private foundations. Narrative, logframes, MEL plans, and budgets.

03

Formative & Applied Research

Qualitative and quantitative research with IRB oversight where required. Ethnographic, KAP, journey mapping, and rapid assessment methods.

04

Behavioural Diagnosis

We map decision points, identify the social, cognitive, and structural barriers in the way, and isolate where a well-placed intervention will move things.

05

SBCC Approach Development

End-to-end social and behaviour change communication strategy. Audience segmentation, message design, and channel planning.

06

IEC Material Development

Information, education, and communication materials, pre-tested with intended audiences before rollout.

07

Pilot Testing & Evaluation

Rapid prototyping, A/B tests, small-scale field pilots, and mid-line and end-line evaluations with clearly defined measures.

08

Capacity Building

Workshops, project-embedded coaching, and curriculum development for teams that want lasting in-house capability.

Where we work

Across fields. Across scales.

NGOs, INGOs, UN agencies, donors, government bodies, universities, and research institutions.

  • Public health & MNCH
  • Nutrition
  • Climate & adaptation
  • Family planning & SRHR
  • Adolescent health
  • WASH
  • Financial inclusion
  • Education
How we work

Four principles, applied to every engagement.

Diagnose first.

Most work fails because the wrong response was chosen for the right question. We invest in understanding before we recommend.

Test before scale.

What works in one context can fail quietly in another. Piloting is non-negotiable.

Measure what changed.

Outcomes are defined upfront and measured. Awareness is not action. Attendance is not change. We track what actually moved.

Translate, don't import.

Frameworks built elsewhere need careful translation. We adapt rigorously rather than transplant wholesale.

About

A practice with an anthropologist at its centre.

Anthrolens
Applied Anthropology · Research · Design

An independent practice sitting between academic insight, on-the-ground reality, and emerging technology. Built for organisations that want depth, rigor, and work that holds up.

Discipline Applied & medical anthropology
Methods Qualitative · Quantitative · Mixed
Tools Behavioural science · HCD · AI

Anthrolens begins with the discipline of asking better questions. Who are we actually designing for, what shapes their day, and what is the work meant to change. Before recommending an answer, we go and find out.

The practice is deliberately multi-disciplinary. Ethnographic and qualitative depth, quantitative methods, behavioural science, human-centred research, and implementation expertise sit together rather than in separate rooms. We work with emerging tools, including AI, for rapid synthesis, prototyping, and scenario planning, so the work we deliver remains useful well past the moment it was designed in.

Engagements range from a short diagnostic to a multi-year programme. The discipline is the same at every scale: understand the system first, design for it carefully, test before scale, and measure what actually moved.

Team experience

Prior working experience of the Anthrolens team spans institutions including:

USAID · Gates Foundation · Packard Foundation · Takeda Foundation · icddr,b · Save the Children · Pathfinder International · BRAC JPGSPH · MoHFW Bangladesh

Listed as professional experience of team members. Not Anthrolens engagements.

Ways to work with us

Short engagements. Long partnerships. Both.

Project-based

6 weeks – 12 months

Defined scope, timeline, and deliverables. Most of our work sits here.

Retainer

Monthly, ongoing

Dedicated research and design capacity across multiple projects, for teams with continuous need.

Workshops

Half-day to multi-day

Training programmes that build internal research, design, and SBCC capability inside your team.

Advisory

Senior level

Strategic support for leadership teams thinking through programme direction and organisational approach.

Contact

Start a conversation.

If something in your work is not landing the way you expected, or you have a question you would rather think through with someone outside the room, we would like to hear from you. The first conversation is useful in itself, even before there is a project to scope.

Contact
Sohrab Hussain
Office
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Write to us