about
As a small consultancy with large consultancy smarts, you have access to our broad experience and innovative approaches with the personalised care of a small team.
We are an impact-driven consultancy based in Sydney, and we support health, community, and social sector organisations to plan, measure and demonstrate their impact.
Our mission is simple: it’s to help bring you back to your purpose, so that you can deliver services that have a meaningful and sustainable impact on the people they are designed to support. And we do it by bringing all the right people together to get the best results - for everyone.
Maria Tchan /
Founder, Iota
Maria has always been a listener and a gatherer, so it’s natural for her to bring people together in her work. To create person-centred impact frameworks. To co-design workshops. To develop and evaluate programs in partnership with her clients.
The non-negotiable? The people who use the services must always be consulted. For Maria, coming together is the birthplace of great ideas, so her and the Iota team always take the time to get to know you and your people.
The result? Big and lasting impact.
Which is exactly why she created Iota: to help make a difference to people’s lives.
Iota brings together Maria’s extensive experience and qualifications and her genuine commitment to creating a brighter, better tomorrow. She is an experienced health care professional, evaluation consultant and service manager with over 20 years’ experience in community consultation, Aboriginal health, and mental health. Maria has a Master of Public Health and holds memberships with Australian Evaluation Society and Social Impact Measurement Network Association.
Maria’s work spans the government, academic and not-for-profit sectors across metropolitan, regional and remote Australia. Whatever the project and wherever the location, her commitment to living out the Iota values is resolute.
Sue Muller / Collaborator
Sue is a co-design and ‘working with’ enthusiast. She is passionate about putting people at the heart of policy, health service reform, and product design and development.
Sue has a particular expertise in embedding meaningful lived experience engagement and participation.
She is the founder of the https://www.bettertogethercollective.com/
At Iota, Sue works alongside Maria to facilitate workshops that bring organisations and lived experience together to get real and meaningful results.
Dr Hueiming Liu / Collaborator
Ming is a health services and process evaluation researcher.
Her research focuses on the need for co-design of interventions with end-users.
At Iota, Ming advises on robust evaluation design and methodology for theory-driven evaluations.
Danielle Cuthbert / Collaborator
Danielle is a communication and engagement specialist, with expertise in strategy, content creation and facilitation. A born storyteller and collaborator, she is passionate about connecting people, crafting stories and creating change.
She is founder of https://gluecommunication.com.au/
Danielle’s extensive experience in the mental health sector, coupled with her own lived experience, means she has a knack for translating complex issues into easily understood communication and marketing content.
Dr Allison Salmon / Collaborator
Allison is passionate about using evidence and innovation to inform services, systems, and practices.
After a 25 years public health career, she recently founded a boutique consulting - Allison Salmon Consulting https://www.allisonsalmon.com.au
At Iota, Allison works with Maria to provide high quality:
strategic advice on all aspects of monitoring and evaluation
organisation and service reviews, gap analyses and environment scans
translation of evidence to program design and delivery as well as impactful policies and recommendations.
Why we’re different
We make it personal
We come from the very sectors we support, so our connection to the projects we work on is more than just a job.
We focus on the three Ps
We start every project by getting to know your people, your purpose, and your proposed outcomes.
We flip challenges into opportunities
We help you see a way out of complex problems by co-designing practical and evidence-based solutions.
We scale up or down
We understand that your needs, budget and resourcing are unique, and we work within those parameters to create meaningful change.
What we stand for
Determined
We exist to make a positive difference in people’s lives, and we work with you to set you on the right course.
Adaptable
We don’t prescribe a one-size-fits-all mentality. From beginning to end, you will be brought on the entire journey, so the outcomes reflect your organisation and its purpose.
Insightful
We guide you with confidence, capacity and expertise. Together, we create solutions to your most complex problems.
Collaborative
We work together for far-reaching implications. With us, there’s no space for egos – every voice in the room matters.