"There is impact in moving people in the right direction and helping them achieve their individual and collective goals," says Claudia Rojas, pictured her with her children.
With a background in law and a career at the intersection of international cooperation and monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), Claudia Rojas leads the data team of Syspons, a German monitoring and evaluation, organisational development and human resources consultancy that joined NIRAS in 2024. As a Syspons founding member, she has spent a decade championing projects that make use of information to create profound impact.
It took less than three days for Claudia to see the magnitude of her work. A litigation lawyer in 2009, the then 24-year-old had won her first case defending Colombian journalists' and citizens' right of access to public information. A couple of days after winning the case, the government made these records public and an online newspaper ran a big feature covering the story.
"I forwarded the piece to my husband, explaining it was my case. I was very happy,” she said, radiating joy as she recalled the memory. The stark difference she felt from her previous job – drafting contracts in a cubicle where the work was “very dry” – clued her in on the life she was meant to lead. “If I could sum up in one word what was missing in that job, it would be impact. My contact with people was very limited at the time, and my work was far from politics and social relevance,” she said.
That early sense of purpose – of using information to make a difference – stayed with her, even as her career evolved and took her far from Colombian courtrooms. Now living in Germany with her family, Claudia leads a team working on MEL- and people-driven projects in international cooperation. And while the data she works with today may not always be destined for the public eye, her mission remains: to uphold the principles of transparency and accountability through the power of information.
That mission also led to a defining decision in her career. Along with ten like-minded invidividuals, she is a founding member of Syspons.
As manager of Syspons’ data team – comprising data, IT and people development experts – Claudia is primarily driven by two things: data and people.
While part of her work still relies on her data and technical expertise, the challenge for her now, as with any leader, is getting a diverse group of bright minds to deliver Syspons’ mission – to support organisations in maximising their social impact and adapting to change, focussing on sustainable development and social responsibility.
“But truthfully, I enjoy this part a lot. There is impact in moving people in the right direction and helping them achieve their individual and collective goals.”
Catering mainly to public organisations, the three data teams that Claudia manages at Syspons are:
Claudia’s team developed an IT-based tool designed for MEL projects that is now being used in people development. For example, it helps the team carry out employee surveys in a straightforward and accessible way. Through features such as data aggregation and custom-made dashboards, the tool collects data and synthesises it, allowing the team to analyse the employee satisfaction in a given organisation.
"I really appreciate how collaborative Claudia is," says Edgar Leidner, a consultant at Syspons. "She creates an environment where you feel valued and builds on people's strengths to achieve shared goals."
This strength in people management has recently come into full swing, not just for Claudia but for her team as well. Earlier this year, Syspons won a contract with ekom21, a very large municipal IT service provider supporting over 500 local authorities with digital solutions and administrative modernisation, to help the company better identify their employees’ needs.
“It’s a complex project because ekom21 is a huge organisation with different employee services,” Claudia explained. “This contract is very data-driven and contributes to development as these public servants have a direct impact on citizens’ lives,” she noted, further explaining that its aim of conducting employee surveys improves the work environment of the organisation’s employees.
Fundamentally, the question this contract hopes to answer boils down to this: how can meaningful data help ekom21 understand its employees' satisfaction? It is a project that marries and mirrors Claudia’s priorities as a leader within Syspons strikingly well. But even greater is how it aligns with what Claudia values – decision-making based on facts and data, and empowering people.
For as long as she can remember, Claudia has had a knack for debate. Fierce and forthright, she stands her ground in every argument. No tears or yelling, only persuasion based on facts. She would even argue with her father, a medical doctor whom she loves dearly despite butting heads once in a while about day-to-day tasks.
“It would drive him crazy when I told him the “proper” way of washing the family car,” she said. “But I was raised to be rational. Ideas and arguments are important to me in general, and I knew you could only develop those when you had enough data. So, when I was a child, I would always try to win an argument with facts.”
Once she entered the legal profession, Claudia quickly realised that practicing without the anchor of purpose left her feeling unfulfilled. For a year, she was drafting contracts in an office amid growing political tensions and threats to press freedom in her country. It was at odds with what she felt called to do.
She left her cubicle for good and began to channel her legal knowledge towards a worthwhile cause. “I became a lawyer at the NGO Foundation for the Freedom of the Press, doing strategic litigation for journalists who wanted to get access to public information from the state. It didn’t matter which ministry or government body – it's information that, according to the Constitution, must be public.”
When she won her first litigation case, Claudia knew she was on the right path. “I saw the impact of my work immediately. I didn’t have to wait years,” she recounted. She stayed with the Colombia-based NGO for two years, finding purpose and fulfilment in her career.
Eventually, she moved to Germany to pursue a Master’s in Public Policy. But the clarity of her mission stayed with her. With her legal training, keen interest in political science and vast knowledge of Latin America, Claudia found new ways to contribute beyond the courtroom.
“When you look at my CV now, it’s more aligned with evaluations of projects in international cooperation and the legal systems in Latin America,” shared Claudia. Even though she now manages a team at Syspons, Claudia still carries out MEL assignments in the company. She recently wrapped up an evaluation project in Mexico and is conducting another one in Latin America. Both are concerned with the legal system. “It's the perfect match for me.”
“Our teams have always been mission-driven, and what’s exciting is that NIRAS shares that same DNA – a commitment to meaningful change through data, evidence, and partnership. It’s encouraging to be part of a larger ecosystem that values both technical rigour and social relevance.”
Claudia Rojas
Claudia also thinks the Syspons-NIRAS merger is a natural fit. In 2024, Syspons officially joined NIRAS. For Claudia, the merger represents an opportunity to scale impact while remaining true to Syspons’ founding values. “Our teams have always been mission-driven, and what’s exciting is that NIRAS shares that same DNA – a commitment to meaningful change through data, evidence, and partnership,” said Claudia. “It’s encouraging to be part of a larger ecosystem that values both technical rigour and social relevance.”
Claudia's natural tendency for rational and analytical thinking has always been a means to an end – ensuring systems work in the service of others. As a MEL and international cooperation professional today, she may no longer be fighting in court for access to information. But her work still centres on facts, transparency and impact. Through data, she continues to ask hard questions, inform better decisions and empower others – and that, for Claudia, is what it means to make a difference.
