Evaluation and MER capability — Waste & circular economy

Cobalt59 designs monitoring, evaluation and reporting frameworks and delivers independent evaluation for complex programs. This statement summarises 3 waste & circular economy projects, the practitioners involved, and the firm's published methodological work.

Demonstration document. Everything shown like thisis invented placeholder content, supplied by nobody and verified with nobody. Insurances, memberships, referees, qualifications and capacity are sample values only, included to show the finished structure. Cobalt59's real details must replace them before this goes near a tender. Project descriptions, publications and practitioner names are genuine.

The firm at a glance

Legal entity: Cobalt59 Pty Ltd
ABN: 53 613 360 348
Structure: Proprietary limited company
Established: 2016
Team size: 6 practitioners
Location: Earlwood NSW

Relevant experience

Green Living Centre
Strategy & business development: green innovation
The Green Living Centre was established in 2002 as ‘The Watershed’ and funded through the NSW Government’s Stormwater Trust Program. Its initial focus was on stormwater and local business environmental issues. Over the years this focus broadened to becoming a sustainability 'hub'.
Waste & circular economy · Public programs
Productive Use of Industrial Wastewater
Turning mill effluent into farm profit
An industrial paper mill near Albury needed a lessee for its Maryvale and Rosevale farms who could safely and productively use treated wastewater for irrigation. After treatment, this wastewater is high in nitrogen and phosphorous. It cannot be disposed in the Murray River because it accelerates algal growth, leading to oxygen crashes and fish kills. Irrigation use with a strict and supervised program of growth and crash feeding is very successful in the right hands.
Waste & circular economy · Water
Wonga Wetlands
From Waste to Resource: Environmental Benefits
Downstream of Albury, Wonga Wetlands were developed to receive treated effluent from the city’s wastewater treatment plant, polishing the water and providing habitat, education and recreation opportunities. The challenge was to manage this system so that wastewater reuse, agricultural production and wetland values all reinforced rather than undermined each other, and to demonstrate that a working agricultural landscape could sit comfortably beside a high‑value wetland complex.
Water · Waste & circular economy · Environment

Services applied

Program and Policy Evaluation
Stakeholder Engagement and Co-Design
Strategic Planning and Cost-Benefit Analysis
Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting (MER)

Practitioners

Brian Keogh — Director | Evaluation & Strategy · MEval, BSc; 20+ years evaluation practice
Dr Kara Scally-Irvine — Evaluation Specialist | Systems & Impact · PhD; 20+ years research, monitoring and evaluation
Rod McInnes — Senior Economist · MEc; 25+ years water and resource economics
Sue Donnelly — Senior Consultant | Arts Leadership, Governance & Social Policy · BSW; 30+ years arts leadership and social policy
Beth Medway — Principal Consultant | Environment · MEnvPlan; 25+ years environmental assessment and planning
Julieanne Campbell — Director | Strategy, Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement · MBA; 25+ years not-for-profit leadership

Insurances

Cover	Insurer	Limit	Expiry
Professional indemnity	Sample Insurance Australia	$10,000,000 any one claim	30 June 2027
Public and products liability	Sample Insurance Australia	$20,000,000 any one occurrence	30 June 2027
Workers compensation	icare NSW	As per NSW statutory requirement	30 June 2027

Certificates of currency available on request.

Memberships and panels

Australian Evaluation Society — organisational member
Australian Water Association — corporate member
NSW Government Performance and Management Services Scheme (SCM0005) — panel supplier

Capacity

Able to mobilise a three-person evaluation team within four weeks, with surge capacity through established associate arrangements.

Referees

Sample Referee One — Director, Evaluation, Sample Government Agency · Available on request
Sample Referee Two — Manager, Water Planning, Sample Water Utility · Available on request

Selected publications

Scally-Irvine, K., Elliott, J., Hawkins, A. and Keogh, B. (2025), AES Systems Special Interest Group, June 2025.
Keogh, B. and Maloney, J. (2025), Australian Evaluation Society International Conference, Canberra, September 2025.
Elliott, J., Hawkins, A., Keogh, B. and Scally-Irvine, K. (2024), AES Systems Special Interest Group, February 2024.
Renger, R., Keogh, B. and Atkinson, L. (2024), online workshop, Australian Evaluation Society.