Company profile - Staff

Multimedia, NetWare networking, first line troubleshooting, access programming, DTP

I have been working for MDF since 1986. I have been responsible for the IT sector within MDF.

I am married and I have three children.

Secretary to the two managing directors, personnel matters, organise social events, etc

Marjan Zandee started working with MDF in 1986, two years after its establishment, as secretary of the founder and director of MDF. At present, she is supporting the two managing directors in the execution of their managerial tasks. In the past, besides secretarial support, she has a.o. been responsible for a wide range of other supporting activities (support to financial administration, course registrations, internal travel agency).

I have studied at the "International Business School" in Arnhem for 3 years and since then I have worked at a few International companies in Holland as assistent buyer and sales- and marketing assistent.

Before MDF, I was working as secretary/sales assistent at Wall B.V. I did the logistics, sales and after-sales, co-ordination and the planning for the outdore advertisements (billboards, abri's and informationboards) and was secretary for the sales department.

But after 5 years I wanted to spread my wings in another way so I came to MDF in Ede.
I have started my work at MDF in February 2004 as secretary/course co-ordinator of the HID cluster and still with lots of fun and pleasure.

Project director of long term training assignments implemented by MDF staff on behalf of the EC in ACP, MEDA, TACIS and ENPI states.

Management of project portfolios (project cycle management) and project management, analysis and appraisal. Adequate management of development interventions, including the therefore required administrative organisation of the development agencies concerned.

Languages: Dutch, English

During my studies in Economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam Professor Jan Tinbergen, the Nobel price winner in 1969 was one of my tutors. His inspiring personality and ideals made me opt for the specialisation development planning and project appraisal, and thus a career in international development cooperation.

My first assignment abroad was with the Department of Economic Affairs on Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, responsible for the National Accounts Statistics and the appraisal of industrial project proposals and feasibility studies. In 1981 I became project manager of an institutional development project in Guinea Bissau and thereafter three years project coordinator of a vast integrated rural development programme in the south of the same country.

In 1987 I moved to Nepal and made the switch from project manager to portfolio manager. As head of the Dutch mission in Kathmandu I was responsible for a portfolio of 27 projects with a total annual turnover of Euro 14,5 million.

Since 1993 I work for MDF. Initially as a trainer in ID/OS, later as head of the project and portfolio management section and since 2000 as one of the two directors. People say my fields of expertise are project,- programme and portfolio management (PCM); analysis and appraisal of proposals, organisational development and the procedures of the European Development Fund. Since 2003 I became increasingly involved in sectoral and general budget support. Hence, back to my macro-economic and public finance roots. In my own view my core competencies are: analytical and constructive critical mind, dedication and commitment to international cooperation activities aiming at decreasing social and economic inequalities in the world.

Organisational development, project cycle management, strategy development, policy planning, communication, information management, process facilitation, alternative conflict mediation.

Languages: Dutch, English, French

During my studies Sociology and Journalism at the University of Groningen, I became strongly motivated to work on international cooperation and especially in the field of organisational development. I am inspired by the diversity of human behaviour. I am particularly drawn towards analysing and understanding how people within organisations coordinate and organise their efforts. Communication plays an important part in that matter. I like the challenge of finding linkages between organisational and individual learning processes and facilitate effective and open communication.

With this background I have worked in the communications department of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as a programme officer at PSO (capacity building in developing countries). For the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime I worked in West Africa and South East Asia on strengthening capacities of governments and NGOs to develop and implement strategies to deal effectively with Drug Demand Reduction. I carried out learning needs assessments, analysed capacities of local stakeholders and provided training sessions on project management and communication. Moreover I facilitated partners in joint planning and process harmonisation.

The alignment of (donor) coordination, bringing stakeholders together towards shared programme goals and working with various stakeholders was challenging and rewarding at the same time. Lastly I worked as a consultant public sector at Ernst & Young with a main focus on social policy implementation on local level. My specific interest was the translation of national and local policy into programmes and hands-on instruments. 

My analytical mind and investigative nature help me to frame institutional and policy issues in a practical way. Furthermore, I try to make my communication skills and the capacity to build bridges of use in my (volunteer)position as a mediator between conflicts in my own neighbourhood.

• Project Cycle Management: project and programme planning, appraisal, monitoring and evaluation
• Institutional Management: strategic planning and organisational change
• Process Facilitation and Training of Trainers

Languages: English, Russian, Georgian, Dutch 

Click here to view Irma's LinkedIn profile and to connect with her.

I work as an MDF trainer and consultant in Project and Programme Management as well as in Organisational Management since January 2006. I work on training and consulting worldwide on planning, monitoring and evaluation using participatory methods. Most of my work is related to the facilitation of participatory planning, setting a system for participatory M&E and evaluating programmes. I take a specific interest in complexity-oriented PME approaches. During the last years I have worked on projects in Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. 

Before joining MDF I worked as a trainer/consultant of Organisational and Programme Management since 2000. During this time I conducted training/consultancy assignments in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Moldova, mostly within the non-profit sector.

I obtained my first masters degrees in Economics and Management of Enterprise in 1994 at Tbilisi State University. Since then I worked for six years for the university as a lecturer in marketing. Parallel to academic work, being an IDP (internally displaced person) myself, I was involved with peace and conflict work with non-governmental organisations: lobbying interests of IDPs, organising peace-building seminars and conferences, participating in negotiations between conflict parties on different levels, publishing, etc. Later, I broadened the scope of my work to the monitoring and evaluation of projects in the field of Human Rights, Environmental Issues and Migration and developing projects and programmes. I obtained my second masters degree in Development Economics in 2003 at the Institute of Social Studies, the Netherlands.

External Relations and Acquisition

Gender adviser

Hady Klaassen became seriously interested in international development cooperation after high school and being abroad for a year. She studied and graduaded as MSc. in Archeology and Cultural History of Indigenous America, so she could combine her interest in ancient cultures with the today situation of many marginalized peoples in Latin America.

After having lived and worked as a gender adviser for 8 years in Latin America, she has come back to the Netherlands for a few years and soon after her arrival she joined MDF. She is currently working at the Unit of External Relations and Acquisition, communicating with many partners and consultants, while pursuing consultancy and tailor made training contracts for the company, especially all issues regarding the EU FrameWorkContracts.
At the same time she joins some consultancy and training assignments.

Training and Workshop Facilitation, Result Based Management, Logical Framework Approach, Project Management, Rural Development.

Languages: English, Spanish

I graduated from Wageningen University in 1987, as Agricultural Development Economist. I started as associate expert with the FAO, after which I joined the Dutch Ministry of Development Co-operation. Later on I worked as consultant with DHV Consultants BV. I joined MDF in 2001.

From 1987 until 2000, I did long term assignments in the Philippines, Bolivia, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, implementing participatory (planning) processes in rural development. After returning to the Netherlands in 2000, for some time I was involved in process management, but decided to work again in the context of international cooperation, and joined MDF.

Since then I have carried out many training, facilitation and consultancy assignments. Lately I am involved in a number of projects in South America (educational project for ex-guerillas and paramilitaries in Colombia, and strengthening of the national institute for public administration in Guatemala). In Bosnia-Herzegovina I have been teamleader of a number of training and facilitation projects, focusing on high level ministry officials.

Financial management MDF and de Bosrand

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR);
• Private Sector Development (PSD);
• M&E;
• Quantitative and qualitative research in development cooperation.

Languages: Dutch, English, German, Spanish

After obtaining a Bachelor degree in Science of Religion at the University in Groningen, Esther realised that the knowledge and skills acquired during this study would be useful in daily life but would not be the focus in her future work. She decided to subscribe for the Master Development Studies at Nijmegen; a study in which all her interests and questions were incorporated which she developed as a young girl and which were sharpened and extended during her travels and voluntary work. Within this Master she focused on corporate social responsibility and private sector development.

Subsequently, she worked at CIDIN (Centre for International Development Issues Nijmegen): first as a junior researcher at the IS-academy where she executed research for (among others) DGIS and Cordaid. Later she started working as the interim-coordinator of AMID (Advanced Master in International Development). After CIDIN she executed a couple of short-term activities for different organisations, such as an auto-evaluation for Tropenbos Wageningen.
 
Since the beginning of December 2010, she started working at MDF where she is occupied with exploring the opportunities for MDF and the private sector. Within the roaring times we are ‘currently’ living, a million of opportunities are present but which is the one-million dollar solution for MDF? To be continued…

Have a look at her LinkedIn profile

A qualified trainer, advisor and facilitator with experiences in various different cultural settings. My field of expertise within MDF lies in Project Cycle Management and related issues like Logical Framework based planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. I am also familiar with the EC guidelines on Project Cycle Management.

I started my international development career in 1993, when I left the Netherlands to live and work in Chad. What started, as a 2-year contract became in the end a lifelong experience of 8 years. In those 8 years I worked as a technical assistant in the NGO sector. It brought me lots of insights on the complexity of international development work. It taught me especially on how North and South can work together to concretise the same goals.

After Chad, I went to Cameroon for 3 years as a programme co-ordinator of the support programme to civil society. Again a lifelong learning experience in managing programmes and creating stakeholder networks.

Eleven years of field experience made me realise that it would also be important to capitalise these experiences in the Netherlands. I tried to find a sector in which I can put these experiences into value and be part of the development discussions in the North/ Europe. I returned to the Netherlands, did a Master in International Development Studies at the University of Wageningen and started to work with MDF as trainer/consultant.

Within MDF I have found a platform where I can valorise my experiences and knowledge and offer these in the form of training courses and consultancies in the international development sector.

• Education and development
• Planning, project and programme management
• Quality and equity in education and development
• Learners, learning and teaching in the context of Education For All (EFA)
• Research in education and development

In 2009 Maurits completed his Master degree in Education & International Development at the Institute of Education, University of London. During his MA he focused on the concept of quality and equity in education in Zambia. He has got a specific interest in the Capability Approach as an evaluative tool for educational development. As part of his degree he focused on multiple issues including project and programma planning; education in Muslim communities; and learners, learning and teaching in the context of the Education For All (EFA) movement.

Furthermore, Maurits gained practical work experience in South and Eastern Africa  mainly working in Zambia and Tanzania for over two years. After his physical education teaching degree he initiated, developed and coordinated sport for development programmes by providing human resources to schools. In addition, he conducted needs assessments, capacity building, research and project management tasks.

Managing for Development Results

Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation

Languages: English, Dutch

Working for a local NGO in Sri Lanka, I discovered some of the challenges of development cooperation; the good intensions versus sustainable change, quick fixed versus long term solutions, poverty versus the pressure to spend all the allocated money in the given time - to name a few. The challenges of development cooperation appeal like no other sector does. For that reason I started working for MDF Training & Consultancy some years after my experiences in Sri Lanka. Not with the intension to solve the problems but to face the challenges and apply the lessons learned.

Due to my background as Sociologist, I always try to find the factors that move and bind (or oppose) people. With this focus as starting point of my work as trainer and consultant, I focus on people, as the drivers of change. Staying up to date with changes in development cooperation, I am able to facilitate processes in line with the newest management conviction: Managing for Development Result. Based on the Paris Declaration, my planning, monitoring and evaluation exercises stay - as much as possible - in line with the concepts of the declaration.

Recent consultancy jobs done for MDF were e.g. Joint Sector Review for government of Suriname, facilitation of the Social Economic Initiative at Sint Maarten and a long term consultancy in Ghana, facilitating monitoring and evaluation in one of the many Nuffic NPT projects MDF is coordinating.
Training courses conducted I have conducted are specifically in the field of planning, monitoring and evaluation (different methods) or managing for development result in general.

Moreover, I am specialised in data collection and analysis.

IT specialist

Languages: English, Dutch, French

I am originally from Burkina-Faso, West-Afrika. I live in Wageningen and work in the IT department of MDF in the netherlands. I am someone who likes to learn new things and my hobbies are sports, cooking, dancing.

Supporting participants; Taking care of logistics during the course; Registration of participants; Secretarial tasks

In 2000 I started working at MDF as course coordinator and secretary.
Logistical support of course participants is my favourite task. I also take care of the organisation of excursions and make the stay for our participants as pleasant as possible. Another task is to register and support people, who like to apply for our management courses with the support of NUFFIC sponsorship.
Before 2000 I worked as a teacher of primary school; as initiator of a foundation for stone sculpture from Zimbabwe and as secretary.

In my free time I 'm a grandmother of 8 grandchildren.

Project management, planning, monitoring and evaluation. Rural development . Policy formulation and appraisal. Training in project cycle management, monitoring and evaluation, organisational and institutional strengthening. Socio-economic and anthropological research.

Languages: Dutch, English, French

I have studied Social Anthropology at the State University in Leiden and have been working in International Development Cooperation since 1978, mainly in large bi-lateral, multi-sectoral development programmes, as planner, coordinator and team leader for the Netherlands government in Sudan, Burkina Faso and Mali (EDF and DGIS) and as advisor in the Ministry of Development Cooperation in The Hague.

I conducted research in Lebanon, India, Nepal, Sudan and Burkina (PhD on international cooperation, in 1996) and in Tanzania for an evaluation study for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Inspection (IOB). In 2000 I joined MDF as member of the training and consultancy staff. I have been involved in training, advisory, backstopping and monitoring and evaluation in a number of African countries (for the EU, for various Dutch Ministries and for NGO), and in the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.

Recently, I was engaged:

1. in the organisational capacity assessment of NGOs in Burkina Faso, Benin, Chad and Haiti, for Woord en Daad
2. in the evaluation of the W&D programmes Job and Income, Basic Needs and Education (meta analysis) by MDF and ETC Crystal
3. in the evaluation of the TMF (Theme-based co-financing programme) - cross-cutting study M&E (lot 8) for the Dutch Ministry of Development Cooperation (2006)
4. in  the design of a monitoring system (Project Tracking System) for Cordaid, a large Dutch co-financing organisation (2007)
5. in various Nuffic-funded assignments: training university staff in Yemen, support to the creation of a new Migration Studies' Centre in Ghana (2007-2008)
6. in the evaluation of Cordaid's Eastern Europe Programme - Desk Study and Field Study - Moldova, Georgia and Albania (2007-2008)
7. in introducing and developing innovative impact evaluation methodologies

After working for five years as secretary for Stoas International, I moved together with 4 trainer/consultant colleagues to MDF in June 2004 when Stoas International was taken over. At MDF I became more and more involved in the acquisition of international projects and finally joined the newly formed External Relations & Acquisition unit (ERA) fulltime in May 2007.

At the acquisition unit I am, together with my colleague, responsible for the identification of project opportunities, coordination of the tendering processes and finalisation of Expressions of Interest and Proposals as well as for the maintenance of the CV's and project reference database and contacts with partner organisations.

Since tendering means working with deadlines all the time it tends to be quite a stressful yob, which also means: there is never a dull moment.

I started working with MDF in 1999 as a secretary and course coordinator for the PCOM cluster. In that periode I organised many excursions for participants, besides secretarial support. I enjoyed that time because I met so many people from different countries with so many stories.

At present, I am supporting the IDS and AEf unit. This year (2009) is my 10th year with MDF and I look back on a very nice period with many memorable moments.

Planning and monitoring process and tools, Development and human rights indicators, Human Rights training, Human Rights Impact Assessment, Human Rights monitoring and reporting, Human Rights protection system

Languages: English, French and Dutch

When Jan graduated from the Lycée Internationale in Saint-Germann-en-Laye, he started studying at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. In Maastricht he studied Dutch law with an emphasis on international public law. He graduated with a masters in Law. Already during his studies Jan started his career in human rights and development as a student-assistant. During the last year of his study he became a project assistant at the Netherlands Institute on Human Rights (Utrecht).

After rounding off his studies in 2003, Jan started working for a Dutch human rights NGO called Aim for human rights (then Humanist Committee on Human Rights, HOM). There he worked on several programmes. For three and a half years he worked on the Programme Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA), including work on HRIA for companies. For three years Jan worked on the programme Linking Solidarity. In that programme he was a trainer and advocacy officer and Jan was working with NGOs of victims of enforced disappearances, general NGOs, politicians, policy makers, lawyers and even judges. Jan trained on many topics such as; International Law, Human Rights Law and specific issues regarding enforced disappearances, such as monitoring and reporting. Jan also employed advocacy, in particular lobby for the Convention Against Enforced Disappearances. The focus areas in this work were: Iraq, Southern Africa, Burundi, Sri Lanka and Georgia.

At MDF Jan trains and advises on planning and monitoring processes and tools. He also continues working on human rights issues. Jan particularly strives towards combining human rights and development issues with better project and programme management. Jan’s passion for sharing knowledge and making knowledge accessible to different target groups, as well as a particular interest in development processes, motivates him to work for MDF Training & Consultancy.

• Project Cycle Management: project identification, formulation, appraisal, monitoring and evaluation.
• EU accession assistance coordination and management under Phare, CARDS and IPA instruments.
• Programming and implementation (monitoring) of EC assistance under centralised and decentralised implementation systems.
• EC procurement rules. 
• Managing multi-stakeholder processes.
• Aid effectiveness issues, especially related to harmonisation and alignment aspects of the donor assistance coordination.

Working Languages: English, Estonian

I have been always inspired by the diversity of human nature and behaviour - that might explain my choice also to graduate from psychology and social pedagogy as my first degree.

I joined MDF in 2007 in the field of Project and Program management. I have 13 years of practical experience working with various EC assistance instruments (Phare, CARDS, and IPA) and working with the EC accession coordination tools that are currently also applied in the potential candidate countries and in the candidate countries (National Program for Adoption of Acquis, European and Accession Partnerships, annual Progress Reports etc.). I have worked under centralised and decentralised EC assistance management systems and managed and applied EC procurement rules for different types of EC funded projects/contracts (twinning, service, supplies). I have thorough practical experience in Project Cycle Management (project identification, formulation, appraisal, implementation, monitoring and evaluation) and in management of multi-stakeholder consultation processes. I am also experienced and very much triggered by the harmonisation and alignment aspects of the donor coordination and work with multi- and bilateral donors - important aspects in the current international aid effectiveness agenda. My second degree is in the Contemporary European Studies, where I had the opportunity to explore the questions on donor harmonisation and alignment further and write my master thesis on it.     

My core consultancy work in MDF lies in the fields referred above. I train and facilitate workshops on project/program development (incl. IPA programming) and management, stakeholder consultations, on appraisal, monitoring and evaluation. I am a trainer also on the EC budgetary financial and contractual procedures, incl. grant management.

I am known for my open, lively and friendly communication. I am characterised also as a person with structured thinking and as a well-organised planner being able to implement what was foreseen.

Result-based management of projects as well as programme based approaches, including management of sector-wide approaches and (general) budget support.

Languages: Dutch, English, French and Spanish

Working in MDF as a senior trainer/consultant, I can combine my passion for international co-operation with my enthusiasm for training and advisory work.

After my studies "Tropical Forestry" in the University of Wageningen, I spent almost 15 years abroad. In my present training and advisory work, I still greatly benefit from the experience I gained during long-term assignments in Burkina Faso, Peru, Cameroon and Nepal, even if specific working modalities have changed significantly.

During a recent study "Masters of Public Management", I deepened my knowledge of management within public and not for profit organisations. In my present work, the question how public and not for profit actors can become more effective (result-oriented) plays a central role.
In this context, I carry out assignments (training as well as advisory work) for many different organisations, including governmental agencies, international institutions (EC), trade unions and (I)NGOs.

• Performance management
• PME
• Organisational audits
• Change processes
• Human resource development and management

 Click here to view Nancy's LinkedIn profile and to connect with her.

After her studies of bio-engineer at the University of Leuven (Belgium), Nancy worked eight years abroad in Guatemala as a program advisor for the Belgian NGO ACT.  Together with local counterparts, she coordinated microfinance and capacity building programs to enhance local micro-entrepreneurs and small farmers. And also to strengthen the socio-economic position of women within their family context in order to improve livelihood security. This period marked Nancy's further career, as she developed a passion for coaching and advising people and organisations. 

Back in Belgium, Nancy coordinated a small consultancy/training organisation within the welfare, public and social profit sector.  During that period of six years she worked as consultant and trainer on topics such as strategy development, performance management, organisational audits and change processes. Her consultancy work became gradually more oriented towards finding an optimal linkage between organisational and individual learning processes. During that period she obtained also a Master of Science in Human Resource Development at the University of Twente (Netherlands).   

In 2007 Nancy entered the international cooperation sector again by starting to work for Trias, a Belgian NGO with nine regional offices abroad in Africa, Latin America and the Philippines.  As head of the Research and Development department, she coordinated and stimulated the internal organisational learning processes, the implementation of an integrated planning, monitoring and evaluation system and the development of knowledge management and knowledge productivity.  In September 2010 Nancy joined MDF, where she carries out consultancy and training assignments related to topics she has very much at heart: organisational and human resource development.

• Corporate communications
• CSR
• Reputation management in nonprofit-profit partnerships

Connect with Reinanke on LinkedIn

Reinanke Haagsma joined MDF in February 2010 and is involved with two different departments. Currently Reinanke is working for the External Relations & Acquisition department and she is also supporting applicants with their course registrations as part of her activities for the registration department.

Reinanke graduated at the Manchester Business School in December 2009, where she achieved her MSc degree in Corporate Communications and Reputation Management. During her dissertation period, she devoted herself to the topic of nonprofit reputation management. This resulted in the report ‘Taking care of Business – How nonprofit organisations manage their reputation in cross-sector partnerships’. An empirical case study research in co-operation with UNICEF Norway.

Prior to her master studies she became familiar with the rigours of communications during her BA Communications study in Amsterdam. After three years Reinanke moved to the United Kingdom to continue her BA study in Southampton and London. She wrote her BA dissertation about key messages for the Qatar Financial Centre, client of Hill & Knowlton, London Division (part of the WPP Consultancy Group). She has also been an intern at TomTom navigation system provider, where she joined the corporate communications department.

Interim Management, Restructuring, Organisational Capacity Assessment and Strategic Orientation Processes.

Trainer / facilitator in Policy Influencing and Advocacy, Networking and Organisational and Institutional Development, Facilitation of international partnerships, networks and alliances, and multi-stakeholder dialogue like sustainable market value chains.

Languages: Dutch, English, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and French

Being born in The Hague and growing up in the South of the Netherlands I was raised in an "intercultural" environment. My interest for development cooperation was raised as a kid in school.

As an agricultural economist I worked in Venezuela, Brazil and Portugal (1979-1986) setting up agricultural projects and a cooperative. As a project manager I worked in Africa and Latin America for the Dutch co-financing organisation ICCO (1986-1994). I set up and managed several lobbying and advocacy networks on Human Rights and Organisational and Institutional Development in Brazil (UN), on Food Trade and Nutrition (WTO, DG Trade) and the Soy Coalition involving a variety of development organisations like Aprodev, Both Ends, Bread for the World, Christian Aid, EED, ICCO, Kerkinactie, Solidaridad, WECF and Wemos (1995-2007).

As a manager I worked in several positions in ICCO (management, lobby unit and employees council), Wemos (management team) and WECF (director) including several restructuring processes in these organisations.  In my experience a combination of engagement in development cooperation hás to go hand in hand with a sound internal organisation, effective relationships and a regular institutional assessment in order to create sustainable results.

The years in change processes inside organizations and my interim management work as a consultant since 2007 turn out to be a rewarding way to contributing directly and indirectly to lasting results and performance of staff and management in development networks and organizations.

I joined MDF in 2008. In this very stimulating professional environment I am able to consolidate my experiences in trainings like Policy Influencing and Advocacy, Network Dynamics, Private Sector and Value Chain engagement, and management, advisory and facilitation skills and effective behaviour.

Human (trainers, facilitators and managers) and institutional development (facilitation of multi-stakeholder processes and organisational strengthening)

Languages: Dutch, English, French

Working in MDF as trainer/consultant, provides me with the opportunity to combine hands-on experience in the field with more conceptual reflection related to international co-operation.

After my studies "Communication and Innovation" at the University of Wageningen I went to West-Africa for several long-terms assignments. Working in the agricultural sector of various countries like Niger, Togo, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana, I gained experience in the development of participatory approaches, training of trainers and facilitators. As my career evolved I combined the aspect of people development with strengthening of organisations and assisting them to build institutional linkages and the facilitation of multi-stakeholder processes.

After arriving at MDF I strengthened my experience in organisational development and managerial skills such as teambuilding, leadership, negotiating and conflict management in an inter-cultural context.

For MDF I carry out assignments (training as well as advisory work) in the Netherlands as well as abroad. In this context, I work with many different organisations, including governmental agencies, international institutions, civil society organisations, private sector and international and local NGOs.
My colleagues and clients often value my capacity to build bridges between different concepts and link up people. With my enthusiasm and dynamic attitude I am able to motivate and stimulate people to solve the problems they face in a practical and tangible way.

Value chain development and facilitation, risk-based quality management system, sector development, capacity building for organizational and institutional development, result-based management, (strategic) planning, monitoring and evaluation, network facilitation and multi-stakeholder processes.

Languages: English, Dutch

Edit Tuboly holds a Master of Arts in Cultural Anthropology. She has gained extensive experience in sustainable agriculture and rural development, as well as in participatory processes, networking, advocacy and policy influencing and management of projects and programmes. When she worked for Both Ends, she was involved in setting up and steering an international NGO network to combat desertification and participated in the UN negotiations for a Convention to Combat Desertification.

After joining Hivos as a Sector Specialist for Environment at Bureau Africa and later as a programme officer at the Sustainable Economic Development Department, she supported organizations and private sector actors in chain development and facilitation, multi-stakeholder processes, risk-based quality management system, result-based management, organizational and institutional development, planning, monitoring and evaluation, sector analysis and strategy development. 

Before she joined MDF in September 2011, she has intensively been involved in supporting a programmatic regional approach in West Uganda initiated by civil society actors. She has skills in intercultural communication, multi-actor processes, advocacy and negotiation in international settings, and facilitating network dynamics and participatory processes. She conducted training for MDF in Project Cycle Management, Managing for Development Results, proposal writing and Outcome Mapping.

I obtained my masters degree in Community Forestry at the Agricultural University of Wageningen in 1983. Since then I worked more than a decade in community forestry and natural resource management programmes in different African countries such as Kenya, Sudan, Guinea Bissau and Tanzania.

In 2000 I joined MDF as a trainer/consultant in the field of Project Management and Institutional Development. I have been involved in a large number of standard and tailor-made training and consultancy assignments for a wide variety of clients such as large international NGO's, small local ngo's, government ministries and public agencies, UN organisations and the European Commission.

I am one of the core MDF team of trainers on Financial and Administrative procedures for the European Development Fund (EDF), a training programme that MDF is implementing for the European Commission in a large number of countries in Africa, the Carribean and the Pacific.

Decentralisation and local governance, institutional change processes, capacity development, institutional development, sector development, organisational strengthening, strategic planning and leadership coaching

Languages: English and Danish

Having worked with capacity development for several years, I am particularly drawn toward analysing and understanding how dynamic actors organise and coordinate amongst themselves through complex institutional and organisational arrangements. More and more, organisations and public institutions are required to work together under new and changing types of partnerships, demanding different individual and organisational competences.

My work focuses on assessing these institutional links between actors and proposing new ways of planning, coordinating and managing common tasks. This may happen under decentralisation and local governance processes, as part of sector or institutional assessments, and it will often involve an essential element of stakeholder consultation to work capturing the different and conflicting interests involved. I also provide longer term support to organisations and institutions undergoing complex change processes requiring a clear understanding of the organisational and political dynamics to succeed.

Not surprisingly, perhaps, I thrive on searching for creative, innovative responses to complex problems that require thinking outside the box and see myself as equally skilled when it comes to consultancies, trainings and facilitation.

I hold a M.Sc. in International Development Studies with a focus on organisational and institutional processes as well as a MBA in strategic consulting and organisational development giving me a healthy balance as a professional. I have lived and worked in India for UNDP, in Bangladesh for CARE International as sector coordinator and in Guyana as Country Director for VSO. In addition I have acquired a variety of short -term consulting experiences from several countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.

Project & programme management, organisational strengthening, capacity development, sector development, strategic planning, health economics and financing

I can best describe myself in four 'chapters', being (1) health economist, (2) business development manager, (3) adviser corporate social responsibility and (4) trainer/consultant for organisational development.

Languages: English, French, Dutch

Graduated in Economics from the Erasmus University of Rotterdam in 1991 and working in development cooperation since 1992. The red thread in my professional life is working for development. During the 15 years of my professional life, I've worked in both technical and management positions. What I like most is the combination of these two.
As health economist, I've over 10 years hands-on experience in project implementation, cost-effectiveness studies, capacity building and policy development in the field of health financing & insurance, mostly in Sub-Saharan countries.

I've 8 years experience as business development manager. The last three years for MDF as head external relations & acquisition. Before, I was heading the business development department of KIT-Royal Tropical Institute, where I was responsible for international tenders, linkages with partner organisations and contract management for the agriculture, health, gender and culture departments.

Between 2003 and 2006, I made an excursion outside the development sector. I became senior adviser corporate social responsibility with Nuon, a large energy supplier in the Netherlands with 10,000 staff and €5 billion revenues. Responsible for lobby and advocacy for renewable energy and more sustainable production processes. Maintaining dialogue and negotiations with external stakeholders such as the Ministry of Economic Affaires and environmental NGOs; and building alliances within the organisation to keep sustainability high on the agenda.

All previous experiences come together in my current function with MDF, being trainer/consultant in the area of people & organisational development. I have started up with a branch office in Ghana, MDF West Africa, operating in the English and French speaking region. I will be back in Ede in November.

Coach, adviser and trainer in the field of organisational development and (project cycle) management.
Developer of methods and approaches related to institutional sector and organisation analysis.

Languages: English, French, Dutch

Click here to view Herman's LinkedIn profile and to connect with him.

During my studies at the Technical University of Eindhoven, faculty of (technical) business administration, I became strongly interested in working in development cooperation and specifically in the field of management and organisation.

The first five years of my working life I was a manager of a large rural development project in Congo. The next 5 years, in Rwanda, I was a manager of a production unit where lime and cement was made on the basis of locally available raw materials and a strong input of labour.

After these ten years and a short intermezzo at the University of Twente, I joined MDF in 1989. Here I got the chance to develop myself as a trainer and adviser in Organisational Development and Project (cycle) management. In 1996 I became director reporting to the owner and managing director. Since 2000 I am co-owner and managing director of MDF.

In recent years I am more and more asked as a coach/adviser of managers and teams in (development oriented) organisations. I facilitated meetings and reviews in Netherlands' embassies as well as in organisations based in the Netherlands. Recent assignments as a trainer/facilitator often relate to capacity development issues in international co-operation and of bilateral development organisation.

As a coach I am involved in a programme called SPICAD, Support Programme Institutional Capacity Development for Netherlands' Embassies, particularly in Rwanda.
As a trainer/facilitator I am involved in exchange of experiences regarding introduction of Managing for Development Results, one of the outcomes of the Paris declaration 2005. I am also involved in a change processes in organisations to work increasingly according to the principles of Managing for Development Results.

I co-developed several practical methods and models such as the Integrated Organisation Model (IOM), the Institutional Sector and Organisation Analysis (ISOA) and the Project Cycle Management (PCM). I am the main author of the manual on institutional and organisational analysis (ISOA/IOCA) for bilateral agencies such as BTC (Belgium) and DGIS (Netherlands).

I am also a member of an informal group of organisation development practitioners studying and publishing on alternative models to the Anglo American approach, i.e. the Rhineland model. Regularly we publish articles on the set up and functioning of organisations according to the Rhineland principles.

I have started my work at MDF Head Office in Ede in April 2005 and everyday I go with much pleasure to my work! Especially when we have many participants around. My job is: telephone, assist the course-secretary and many other things. One of my favorite tasks is to organize dance-parties and accompany the participants on the excursions of MDF.

Before I started working at MDF, I was working in a Center for Refugees in Ede and Arnhem. I gave Dutch lessons to Refugees coming from all over the world. After teaching I was co-ordinating the volunteers at both Centers.

Mother of a daughter and a son.

Regional / Rural Development Planning, Institutional Development,
Local Governance

Languages: English, Swahili, Dutch

Professionally working in International Co-operation since 1978 Mr Van Dijk holds a wide experience in regional/rural development planning, the co-ordination and management of projects and programmes; identification, formulation, appraisal, monitoring and evaluation of projects; the management of comprehensive local government programmes and institutional development.

In the past years he has been active in institutional development consultancies in local government development and regional planning in Uganda, Tanzania, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, in diaconal development programmes in Armenia, Poland, Romania, Kenya, Uganda, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Fiji, Lebanon and Jordan, in relief and rehabilitation programmes in Ethiopia and Kenya, and as management consultant to sectoral and regional development programmes in Zambia, South Africa and Yemen.

As senior trainer he is responsible for project cycle management training (PCM), logical framework approach (LFA), institutional development /organisational strengthening (ID/OS), institutional strengthening of local government (ISLOG), Sector Wide Management of Education (SWMoE) and management of sector wide approach (MSWAp).

Organisational strengthening through training and facilitation, monitoring and evaluation of community based development at project, programme and institutional level.

Languages: English, Dutch, French, Portuguese

Click here to view Jolanda's LinkedIn profile and to connect with her.

Working in MDF as a trainer/consultant, I can combine my passion for international development co-operation with my enthusiasm for training and advisory work.

After my studies in Facility Management in Deventer I started my professional life first of all in Holland in rural development issues and legal aid. Afterwards I worked for 6 years as an advisor, facilitator and in project cycle management, enterprise development and non governmental organizational development in rural settings in Niger.

Then I started my work as an independent consultant and combined this with my Master study for Education in Training and Development in UK. So, I worked in short assignments in Congo, Burundi, Niger and Europe. In 2004 in another long-term assignment in East Timor I worked in decent work development by strengthening the Timorese vocational training system and worked with many different actors involved in vocational training, including donor organisations, industries, trade unions and training providers.

After almost 15 years abroad, in 2007 I returned to the Netherlands to join the MDF.

Process analysis and redesign, strategy development and strategic planning, information technology and information management, knowledge management, financial management

Languages: Dutch, English, French, German

Connect with Miriam on LinkedIn

Holding a Master Degree in both International Technological Development Sciences and Industrial Engineering, Miriam Tegelaers started her career as a business consultant for several IT and consultancy agencies. From 2001 until 2009, she was overseeing her own IT consultancy agency, employing some 16 technical and business consultants. During her years as a consultant, she gained experience with the project management of large IT rollouts, process analyses and redesigns and the training of both clients and colleagues. As a managing director of her own company, she became experienced in strategic planning, financial management and human resource management.

Having worked in the IT sector for 13 years, Miriam decided to return to her first area of interest: the international development sector. Her first steps in this field were taken during her research in Tanzania regarding the performance upgrading of informal building contractors. In March 2010 she started working for MDF. Based upon her experience as a business information consultant, she has been assigned the course directorship for the open subscription course Knowledge Management for Development. Furthermore, Miriam is involved in several e-Learning initiatives and consultancies with a strategic planning component.

Miriam is known for her good analytical skills, her capability to make others perform better and her excellent communication and presentation skills.

• Rural Development, Participatory rural extension and research, Gender Mainstreaming, Water Management and organisation of farmers, Community Based Organisations 
• Participatory monitoring and evaluation, Programme and project planning and implementation 
• Marketing and acquisition: strategic planning and development, Website development, develop marketing materials

Languages: English, Spanish, Dutch, French, Bahasa Indonesia

Since my study at Wageningen University on irrigation and rural extension, I have worked long term in developing countries for about 13 years in Indonesia, Benin, Nicaragua and Bhutan. I started to work as an adviser in the FAO on farmers' participation in irrigation and water management and also analysing gender issues related to these issues. Later I shifted and working for SNV to rural extension and gender issues in the extension services and community development. Later more on management of integrated rural development including strategic project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation in complex situation where many stakeholders were involved. Bringing all the stakeholders together and taking commitment towards the programme goals was challenging and rewarding. This required good insights in organisational settings and partnership relations between various ministries (and various levels within the ministries and local government), donors, banks and local (non-governmental) organisations. During this period I realised that development depends on the commitment of people and their possibilities to bring about changes.

In 2003 I started to work for MDF in the development of the International Advisory Trail. Since then I have been involved in various activities like course acquisition, trainer and consultancies. During this period I took up a study to professionalise myself as a trainer in a course called: 'Trainer with Hart and Soul'.
I enjoy working for MDF as a consultant and trainer and have done consultancies on gender mainstreaming, gender in HRM and marketing, proposal development, evaluation in Afghanistan and Rwanda. As a trainer I work in courses on planning, monitoring and evaluation, training of trainers and courses on EDF procedures.
Apart from that I am working on the marketing and on all kind of publicity of MDF: website, training brochure, newsletters, announcements and customers relations.

Workshop facilitator on Participatory planning, monitoring and evaluation of projects; Trainer Project Cycle Management and EU-procurement procedures.

Languages: English, Dutch, French

I loved maps as a boy, studied human geography in development issues at the Free University in Amsterdam and worked as a programme officer for the Dutch Development Organisation, SNV in Cameroon and in Mali (1985-1993). When I joined MDF in 1993, I discovered that a lot of what I had been doing abroad before was nowadays called "project cycle management, monitoring and evaluation".

I am engaged in training and consultancy in strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, for NGOs as well as public and international organisations. I particularly enjoy when people become aware that sometimes they are less effective in their communication with respect to projects, than they would like to be. It is marvellous to experience people discovering new ways of communicating about the things that they are involved in and that really matter.

As one of the core-team trainers in the EDF financial and administrative procedures I became aware of the importance for an improved understanding of the functioning of public procurement among a large number of people. Moreover, I discovered how nice it is as a trainer to convey messages on highly bureaucratic issues in a dynamic, simple and practical way. I also spent about 2,5 year as a director of a secondary school in the Netherlands which was a big challenge to me, but I am very happy to be back at MDF since 2002.

Project management, facilitation of change processes;
Curriculum design and competency based education;
Labour market research and identification of competencies;
Identification, design, implementation and evaluation of projects;
Systematization and impact studies

Countries: Colombia, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Honduras, Chile, Guatemala and Tanzania
Languages: Spanish, English

Since July 2004 I am part of the MDF/ERD cluster and involved in Competency Based Learning courses and projects in the field of academic and vocational education on, for example: Educational Change Agents, Local Environmental Management, Environmental Law and Business Education. In these projects, as MDF we have shown our capability to manage and take ahead institutional change processes and curriculum development, contracting in a flexible way 'content knowledge' when it's needed.

Born in the eastern (rural) part of the Netherlands I grew up on a farm in a small village. In the Profesional Agricultural University of Dronten and Stoas I prepared myself in the areas of: livestock production, economics and education, bringing theory and practise together with and for people in a way that it can work. In the years herafter I did short but intensive courses on biological agriculture, Competency Based Education, a diplome course on rural development and the NOVO course in organisational change processes.

My first long term assignment was in Colombia. In an Integral Rural Development project in the department of Chocó, I worked within the programmes of: extension, credit, agribusiness and an Indigenous programme combining middle management, practical work and training of trainers.
In Nicaragua I worked as freelance consultant in rural development programmes in a characteristically post-conflict situation working on project identification and design, implementation and evaluation. Early nineties, with INATEC/Stoas I got the unique opportunity to combine my love for rural development with education and training in a programme in which I worked on labour-market research, curriculum development, gender, environment, training of trainers, translating these aspects in institutional strengthening. With Bolivian and Guatemala universities I've been working on the design of demand driven curricula and training of lecturers on teaching and learning methods.

Controller, financial management

Registration of participants and acquisition; support in the course co-ordination for the French participants.

Languages: English, Dutch, French

In August 2006 I started to work for MDF and it feels as if I have been working for the company for a couple of years now. Very pleasant colleagues and a ditto atmosphere.
I love it when the participants are around, for then I get to know the persons who are behind all the (sometimes very extensive) mail contacts. All these international conversations are very interesting and enjoyable.

Before MDF I worked as a secretary for various international companies in Holland but also abroad.
In the asylum seekers centre OC Deelen I have been working as a volunteer for about five years which was a very instructive experience and a valuable period in my life.

My four adult studying children are still living under my roof, which makes that I have a far from boring life.

• Institutional & Organisation Assessments
• Facilitation Institutional and Organisation Strengthening
• Strategic Planning, Project Planning
• Monitoring and Evaluation, Human Resources Management
• Sector Wide Approach & Policy Cycle Management

Languages: Dutch, English, French, German

Mr. Zuijderduijn holds a Master Degree (with distinction) in International Management Science from Eindhoven University of Technology. After working in Tanzania to write his Master Thesis on the adaptation of a 'Western' organization diagnosis methodology to an African context, he worked five years for the UN dealing primarily with projects in the sphere of Good Governance and Public Adminstration Reform. He was also involved as internal consultant in the introduction of Results Based Management in the UNDP office in Vietnam.

After joining MDF in August 2000, he has been involved as lead consultant / team leader / trainer / facilitator in ample assignments for both governmental and non-governmental agencies in Africa and Asia in particular in the area of Institutional and Organisation Development. Through these experiences he has further honed his expertise in the fields of Strategic Planning, Management and Leadership skills, Institutional & Organisation Diagnosis (in Programmatic and Sector-wide Approaches) and Human Resources Management. Throughout these assignment the area of Change Management, and in particular the challenge of balancing institutional, organizational and individual interests, has had his particular interest.

Over the last four years, Mr. Zuijderduijn has also developed hands on management experience by overseeing the MDF branch office in Sri Lanka and from 2008 till 2011 he has headed the unit Operations & People in Development at the MDF Headquarters in Ede, the Netherlands. Now is is one of the directors of MDF.

Institutional Development and Organisational Strengthening.
Management in different cultural context.

Languages: English, Dutch

Sometimes participants drive their trainer mad by questioning underlying principles. It seems I was one of them during the first MDF course I attended in 1996.

Working for 15 years in a variety of development projects - often focusing on vocational training and business development - as advisor, manager and portfolio manager, made me to advocate that cultural peculiarities had to be taken profoundly into account into any development intervention. MDF appreciates authenticity and inquiring minds and invited me to work for them.

Hereafter I developed a professional understanding of the cross-cultural issues I raised, and the value and limits of a wide variety of tools and approaches towards the development of management of development organizations. I have an analytical mind, that is what people say. As a kid I experimented with the real word in all possible means (sports, music, arts, dismantling the family-clock), and when the present became kind of done with, I discovered the limitless space of times past and other cultures.

In 1977 I finished my studies in electronics, and after a brief period as a researcher with Philips I became manager of a village polytechnic in the slums of Nairobi, the beginning of a long career in development work. In 1993 I started a mango-farm in Sri Lanka, and in 2002 received a PhD after writing a thesis about the history of local public administration in the South of Holland since the Middle Ages till modern times.

For MDF I gave all main courses, specializing in Institutional development and Organizational Strengthening. Since September 2001 I worked for long periods as a capacity builder and country representative in post-conflict nations (Afghanistan and Sudan), thriving in this brave new world in which quality, speed and quick understanding of complex situations count.

• Project cycle management, monitoring & evaluation
• Project management and training development
• Institutional development / organisational strengthening
• Social development programs

Working Languages: English,Tamil and Sinhala

I was labeled as a 'people's person' as I spend more time on the process of learning than focusing on the end product. Standing in front of highly versatile and challenging participants for more than 15 years moulds a person into a matured seasoned trainer. My area of expertise at the beginning of my life at MDF was designing projects, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Down the road, with international and national exposure, my territory has expanded to areas such as organisational assessments, management skills, conflict resolution as well as advocacy and lobbying. Since I am fluent in English, Tamil and Sinhala; I work as a multi task trainer and consultant.

After my graduation I began my career as a secondary school science teacher in the government sector. After 16 years of service, I joined a GTZ funded government educational programme as a teacher/ advisor. During my 6 years on this programme with the advisory and monitoring activities, I also designed projects and programmes.

I switched career from the government sector to the role of a fully fledged development worker. I worked for Care International for 5 years as a Management Trainer. After that I joined MDF South Asia in 2003 and became a member of the MDF family.

Since then I have been carrying out many trainings, consultancies and evaluations Island wide in Sri Lanka and internationally in countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Netherlands, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Vietnam. My clientele encompasses the government, corporate and development sectors.

Being appointed as an Island wide Justice of Peace (JP), I serve in areas of civil society and am able to make a fare contribution towards the good governance of the country. I too volunteered myself as a member of board of trustees for a charity based organisation that helps the children for right to Education.

Analyzing, diagnosing, designing, planning and implementing of MDF training programs and workshops.

Chaminda has been with MDF South Asia since 2001 and has been involved in a large range of MDF assignments.

He is a co-faciliator in MDF Organizational workshop. He also organises exposure trips and exchange visits for MDF trainees from various countries, bringing training theory and informal experience together in the field.

My job as training coordinator engages me on a journey with the participant right from the first email up until he/she leaves the island after the training. I organise the training venue, hotel accommodation, welcome packages, workbooks and other logistic related issues for the trainings. Good organisation and being systematic have been keys to success in this sphere of my job.

With MDF South Asia I have grown from Management Assistant to Training coordination to Marketing & Training Coordinator. As the marketing person, I design marketing material such as the brochure, year planner, leaflets, and promotional items to mention a few. Quality and accuracy are tools I heavily rely on to make my work efficient.

My career path has been a diversified one. Starting with organising desert safaris, tours, catamaran boat cruises in the travel trade to transportation of cargo by air, sea and land in the cargo industry to being promoted as secretary to the Managing Director. My last job in Dubai was with Promis Project Management Engineering Systems (www.promis-group.com), in its formative years. Little did I know that this job would pave the way to MDF South Asia. Working with people from different countries, cultural backgrounds and languages was the seasoning I needed to work in an international organisation such as MDF Training & Consultancy.

Getting to know people and making new friends is my favourite pass time. Writing is my passion and creativity is my soul mate. The other side of me is totally immersed in nature and adventure.

I believe that “keeping a relationship warm” is the key ingredient in bringing the client back to MDF. The client needs to feels that he is important, is heard and know that he is understood. To that end, I strive to make sure that every participant and client is given this “priority” status.

I am resigned to the conviction that MDF is the place where knowledge, skills and experience come together under one umbrella. It’s a pleasure working with MDF Training & Consultancy and in particular in my branch office at MDF South Asia, Sri Lanka.

I am friendly by nature and accommodative to new ideas and change. I am ready to take on new challenges and strongly believe in the approach of “let me try” instead of “sorry, we can’t do this because…”

Institutional development and organisational strengthening

Rochanga has over ten years of experience in organisational analysis and strategic planning.

He is an allround planner, who uses value based management tools, models and theories for analysis and a consultative participatory method (Workshop based training) to bring about change in organizations. He is working as a part-time consultant for MDF South Asia.

I started my career in 2006 as a Receptionist in a construction firm and later was promoted as a trainee Secretary to the Managing Director, where my work was a multi-tasked one and I was able to learn computer literacy mainly AutoCAD.  After that I moved to a Freight forwarding firm where I worked as a Secretary to the Managing Director. Besides, I was supporting the company in carrying out data entry and analysis for one of the tsunami projects of WaterHealth Inc. USA.  While working there I followed a course in Secretarial Studies in Ladies College Department of Vocational Studies, Sri Lanka and was awarded the 1st place in that field. I followed a Certificate course in Human Resource Management at the Institute of Personnel Management Sri Lanka (Inc.). At present I’m in the process of enrolling myself for Bachelors Degree in Social Science at the Open University of Sri Lanka.

After working for more than 3 years as a Secretary in the private sector I joined the MDF SA team as a Secretary/Management Assistant in 2010 hoping to switch my career towards development and humanitarian sector and my vision is to become a consultant in the long run. On top of my current position in MDF SA I enjoy supporting the consultants and other staff in their tasks such as assisting evaluations in data entry and analysis. I strongly believe that it is a good opportunity for me to be a part of MDF family where I can develop myself to grow by help others to grow.

Adult Learning Specialist, Coaching and Counseling (I am a licenced Master NLP Practioner)

Languages: English

At heart, I would describe myself as an adventurer. In my career, I have been a mechanical engineer, computer graphics specialist, jungle explorer, technical illustrator, entrepreneur, business owner/manager and for the last 10 years as an Adult Learning Specialist. With more than 15 years of broad international consultancy experience particularly in South East Asia, I started my career path in the private sector prior to shifting to the development arena after the 2005 tsunami, where I found my spiritual home. I like to push boundaries, challenge myself, norms and others to achieve the maximum in terms of personal and professional actualization; making lives, workplaces and the world a little better, a little more fun and more fulfilling for everyone in it. I have strong leadership skills and believe that delegation and empowerment are the tools which assure staff motivation and team development. I constantly strive to be a better listener. I particularly enjoy strategic challenges including managing and supporting change, and shifting mindsets and organisational paradigms.

As a consultant, I am passionate about aid intervention effectiveness and since joining MDF as a consultant have built the team capacity in projects as diverse as dog population management in north Thailand, women's rights in Bangladesh, livelihood development for refugees in Afghanistan, environment journalism in Nepal, community television in Indonesia, conflict and tsunami-affected refugees in Sri Lanka and anti-trafficking teams of WWF around the world.

I am an enthusiastic and charismatic trainer and facilitator and this helps me overcome language and cultural barriers and gain the engagement of participants at all levels. I am an instinctive and responsive trainer and like to work closely with the client and with the participants to ensure that the learning experience meets their needs, expectations and that fits to their realities.

I am creative and flexible with proven ability to manage others, strategize, implement and monitor business plans to achieve strategic goals.

I am competent in consulting/capacity building in the following areas:

• Adult learning methodologies
• Management training: Planning, Designing and Implementation
• Management consultancy (in particular Organisation Development and HRM)
• Project Cycle Management including Logical Framework formulation
• Project monitoring and evaluation systems
• facilitation of Strategic Planning
• Project Evaluation
• Design and Implementation of Performance and Competency Management Systems
• Job Definitions and Job Evaluations
• Communications Skills (interpersonal, presentation and public speaking)
• Competency-Based Training and Development
• Recruitment and Selection Management
• Coaching and Counseling (I am a Licensed Mast NLP Practitioner)

Trainer/Consultant/Coach specialized in Human Resource Development and Organisational Development; he has developed expertise in the area of:

• Adult Pedagogy 
• Human Resource Management,
• Environmental mainstreaming
• European Development Fund procedures
• Change Management/capacity development
• Individual and team coaching

Languages: French, English

After a Master in Organizational Psychology (Université Libre de Bruxelles), he studied Politics of Development at the Universita della Sapienza di Roma (Erasmus program). He also attended various training programs in project management, human resource management and organizational analysis. He has gained more than 15 years of experience in the international cooperation sector: 3 years as technical assistant United Nation project in the field and 12 years as Independent Consultant working with various organizations in developing countries and Europe.

He participated in the development and implementation of several major training programs for the European Union AIDCO Directorate: Contractual and Financial Procedures of the European Development Fund, Environmental Mainstreaming and Aid Delivery Methods.

He is keen on developing expertise based on the following question: "How can we work together? And how can you better work with your team?" Besides working in the area of cooperation and development, he has also worked with teams of public and private sectors in Belgium.

In 1997, when he moved back in Belgium as an independent consultant, he worked several years for the ILO as a trainer/consultant in the field of Entrepreneurship Development. His mission was primarily capacity building: namely to develop the ability of the local organisation to provide support to the contractor. During these missions, he learns that you can't obtain any lasting result, if as a consultant, you are not able to build a relationship with your local partner, with his client. This is why he became more interested in inter-personal relationships.
Meanwhile, in 1998, he began working in close collaboration with MDF in the field of Human Resource Management. Since then, he has delivered training programs in the field of "situational leadership", "techniques of interview", "staff evaluation", "conflict management"…as well as some consultancy work to assist organizations to set up evaluations, recruitment procedures and team functioning for NGOs and public sector administration.

• Interactive planning/facilitation of plan and change processes
• Organisational and institutional strengthening, especially of NGOs
• Evaluation of projects and programmes
• Project cycle management, including financing 
• Workshops and training

Languages: Dutch, French, English, German

“Common ground” is the basis for change and makes development possible. Facilitation of such processes, especially assuring enthusiastic support, informed co-decision making and self determination by groups and individuals who are in a relatively weak position, is at the heart of my work.
My studies in human geography of developing countries provided me with the possibility to work for over 10 years in various projects in East Africa (Kenya), the Caribbean (Dominica), then West Africa (Burkina Faso) and South Asia (Sri Lanka), for both the ILO and the Dutch Cooperation: socio-economic research, reconstruction, organisation of local level organisations, and bottom-up planning were recurrent characteristics in these projects. Almost 5 years as a trainer in project management courses and consultant for MDF followed.
As the coordinator (6 years) of the NGO- Federation of local level organisations in the Province of Friesland-Netherlands, I worked on the positioning of village organisations in bottom up planning processes and inclusive mobilisation of people in the villages.

Since 1996, I have found an almost perfect mix of working abroad and in the Netherlands as a private consultant. In the Netherlands I do facilitation of steps in local planning processes, especially through applied workshops, facilitation of medium and long term village development plans (visions, projects) and local level organisation and change. I also give training in setting up and facilitating such processes.

Since 2000, activities abroad have become more and more important again. Evaluations of projects and programmes of International NGOs in reconstruction after natural disasters and in post-conflict regions are amongst the main activities.

Claiming to be an “old hand” of MDF seems justified, as I have continued to work for MDF ever since I left in 1994 as a permanent staff member. I contribute to the MDF training activities in project cycle management, EU contractual and financing procedures, grant management or work as a consultant in project formulation.

Trainer/consultant specialised in:

• EU Programme Management
• EU Contractual and Financial Procedures related to External Actions (EDF & Budget)
• Project Cycle Management (Planning/Logical Framework/OOPP Monitoring & Evaluation)
• Managing for Development Results
• Organisational Development

Since my universitary curricula in European Studies at the University of Amsterdam and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Strasbourg I have always been much interested in the relations between the EU and in particular the ACP countries. Furthermore, through my experience with the international NGO Youth for Development and Cooperation, I saw how powerful and meaningful a training and learning event can be for development actors.

My path led me logically to the heart of Europe, Brussels, where I could follow a traineeship at the then DG for Development of the European Commission.  Here I dived into the functioning of the EDF, the European Development Fund for the ACP countries. Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group Belgium offered me the possibility to continue on the path of the EDF/ACP cooperation. Through them I got the chance to be part of the team who set up the first training programme in the financial and contractual procedures of the EDF, which started in 1995. This again confirmed how much I enjoyed working in a real learning setting.

So when MDF Training & Consultancy came on my way in 1997 proposing to start their branch office in Brussels, I did not hesitate one second. The combination of training, development cooperation and entrepreneurship is just great.

Since then and in parallel to building a performant and pleasant team, I managed the two following Training programmes in EDF procedures for the European Commission and all ACP countries, which we hold with MDF twice, from 1998 until 2009; and later on also the EU procedures training programme for the ENPI countries. As a trainer and consultant, I work in the fields of EU procedures and EU programme management, Aid Delivery Methods (ADM) (Technical Cooperation Reform process, Environmental Mainstreaming and Climate Change), project (cycle) management & Logframe Approach, Management for Development Results and Organisational development.

I love to be involved at all stages of a training process, ie from assessment of training needs, development of course curricula, design of didactic material and training sessions, facilitation and training, training and coaching of trainers to evaluation of training programmes. Seeing people during a training or learning event opening-up and gaining confidence in themselves is a great satisfaction. Hearing and observing later, after the training, how they were able to improve their results is wonderful.

Trainer / Consultant specialised in EU external aid procedures: DG DEVCO-EuropeAid & DG ECHO (Humanitarian Aid), project cycle management (PCM, MfDR) as well as rural development, food security and agricultural extension.

Languages: French, English

Before joining the MDF-Brussels team in 2008, this Agricultural Engineer from University of Louvain (Belgium-2001) took part in several development cooperation actions in the South. Loving very remote areas and passionate about rural development and agricultural challenges to face in Africa, Grégoire worked during more than 4 years on fish farming in Guinea, food security in Sahel and agricultural extension in Algeria, as Technical assistant and Head of project for different European NGOs.

Totalising 7 years of professional experiences, he has a very good command of project cycle management (PCM), in the field of humanitarian aid and development cooperation, for several fund raisers. Grégoire is since 2009 Trainer and Coach in PCM and in Management for Development Results (MfDR) notably for Acodev (Federation of Belgian NGOs).

Since 2009, he is specialised in EU external aid procedures: DG ECHO (with a focus on grants, procurement and audit) & DG DEVCO-EuropeAid (with a focus on grants, procurement and programme estimates).

Project Cycle Management (also in EC context)
Private Sector Development

Languages: English, Dutch

During my Master International Business Studies at the University of Economics and Business Administration in Maastricht, I got involved with MARA, a student organization organizing medicine transports to hospitals in former Yugoslavia. From that moment on my passion has always been closely linked to the development sector. First by working for SOS Children’s Villages in Botswana, and thereafter for an NGO which stimulates private sector development in post-conflict countries by supporting young people to set up their own business. During these experiences I encountered the struggle of the developmental sector for efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability.

I also worked for several years in the private sector - again in the field of economic development. This time to help countries and regions to strengthen their local markets by attracting more foreign companies to their region. Based on these experiences I got especially interested in the field where business and development cooperation meet: creating sustainable economic development in other to tackle poverty in a structural manner.

With MDF I have found a way to combine the best of 2 worlds: the passion for the development sector and the results oriented approach of the private sector.
Within MDF I have developed my training experience mainly in the field of Project Cycle Management, Logical Framework Approach and EU Contractual Procedures (Procurement, Grants) for clients such as the European Commission, Ministries (NAO Botswana, DPRK,…), NGOs (MSF, Fair Trade Original,…) and Trade Unions.

I strongly believe in the power of forging links between people with different backgrounds and different perspectives to create a strong network. Training helps to bring people together and open up to possibilities and ideas they had not imagined before.

Trainer/Facilitator with a legal protection background, specialized in proposal writing, fundraising and project management of EU funded programs in development countries and humanitarian settings.

Languages : Italian, English and French

She began her career with an Italian NGO while finishing her post-graduated studies in development and human rights at the Bologna University. After few years of backstopping at the Head Quarter she decided to gain field experience and moved to Burundi where she started managing humanitarian programs. She was in charge for nearly three years of the coordination and management of projects, funded mainly by ECHO, aiming at providing health and nutrition assistance to the displaced population affected by the internal conflict. Building on her legal background and her experience she then moved to UNICEF to act as emergency expert with a particular focus on Gender Based Violence. There she started facilitating workshops and training CSO’s and stakeholders on protection issues.
In Uganda as liaison manager she has established the country office of a German NGO and later act as Country Representative for four years doing fundraising, managing programs to support the return of 500.000 displaced persons and supervising and guiding a team of 10 international staff. Still in Uganda in 2009 she started working as consultant/expert for INGO and UN agencies to write project proposals for the EU.

After moving to Brussels, two years ago, building on her knowledge and understanding of EU procedures and experience in managing EU funding programs she started conducting Result Oriented Monitoring missions in African countries on behalf of the European Commission AIDCO Directorate.

During her career she devoted a lot of attention and energy to studying and establishing coordination mechanisms, within cluster structures and in existing local networks, developing a natural attitude towards networking.

With 12 years of experience in fundraising, coordination and management of complex projects and programmes she joined MDF Training and Consultancy in Brussels in May 2010, working as a trainer - expert conducting tailored made workshops for NGOs, trainings on EU grant opportunities, proposal writing, and EU program/grants management.

 Click here to view Nancy's LinkedIn profile and to connect with her.

After her studies of bio-engineer at the University of Leuven (Belgium), Nancy worked eight years abroad in Guatemala as a program advisor for the Belgian NGO ACT.  Together with local counterparts, she coordinated microfinance and capacity building programs to enhance local micro-entrepreneurs and small farmers. And also to strengthen the socio-economic position of women within their family context in order to improve livelihood security. This period marked Nancy's further career, as she developed a passion for coaching and advising people and organisations. 

Back in Belgium, Nancy coordinated a small consultancy/training organisation within the welfare, public and social profit sector.  During that period of six years she worked as consultant and trainer on topics such as strategy development, performance management, organisational audits and change processes. Her consultancy work became gradually more oriented towards finding an optimal linkage between organisational and individual learning processes. During that period she obtained also a Master of Science in Human Resource Development at the University of Twente (Netherlands).   

In 2007 Nancy entered the international cooperation sector again by starting to work for Trias, a Belgian NGO with nine regional offices abroad in Africa, Latin America and the Philippines.  As head of the Research and Development department, she coordinated and stimulated the internal organisational learning processes, the implementation of an integrated planning, monitoring and evaluation system and the development of knowledge management and knowledge productivity.  In September 2010 Nancy joined MDF, where she carries out consultancy and training assignments related to topics she has very much at heart: organisational and human resource development.

Commercial administration  :

• Administration and organisation of trainers’ missions, and open inscription courses 
• Administrative and logistical follow-up of clients and contracts
• Administrative preparation of prequalification files and proposals
• Development and follow-up of information systems

Financial administration:  Accounting preparation and follow-up, Invoicing, treasury …

Human resources administration

Internal organisation of the Brussels office

Languages : French, Dutch, English, Italian, German

I have joined MDF Brussels in January 2011.

I am French, have completed a Master in International Management at Thunderbird – Arizona in the US in 1988, and moved in Belgium 20 years ago. 

I have built an international experience of 20 years in project management and coordination for various international companies such as Jacob Delafon, Star Clippers, Umicore. Thanks to this international exposure, I have developed a passion in interacting with people from various origins and backgrounds.

I was looking for an international company whose business is about people, I guess I have found it with MDF !

Project coordination (OIC courses, EU courses and other), acquisition & marketing activities and related tasks.

Emmanuelle Gratia holds a master degree in Biology and has been working for 10 years in the sphere of Sciences in particular as a researcher and university assistant in Belgium and the UK. On that path, she discovered that she really loves organising, coordinating, administering as well as … home decoration. So she decided to start launching her own business in flower arranging whilst working for MDF Brussels since the end of January 2007.

Emmanuelle takes care of the organisation of courses (preparation, organisation, repro and sending, logistics and evaluation). She is also in charge of acquisition and marketing activities such as brochure, website update and maintenance, database maintenance, contribution to administrative process of proposal writing, updates of references, mass mailings, etc

Project Cycle Management, financial management

Languages: English, Dutch

My interest in development co-operation was raised during my studies in tropical agriculture and rural development. After an initial start in my professional life in flower production in Uganda, I have shifted to rural development.

I have a special interest in rural development and organisational theory, especially the relation between organisational culture, rural development and organisational development and change. Working with rural development professionals, I quickly discovered that the embedding of new techniques within an organisation in a sustainable manner proved to be far more complicated than first thought. This kind of experience has triggered my interests in the functioning of organisations. What excites me is to see how various actors in the development arena are able to organise themselves and bring about change.

I joined MDF in 2007. Previously, I have worked for a small university focussing on rural development. Within this setting I have focussed on organisational culture and behaviour, mainstreaming and change processes and actor network development. I have worked with rural development practitioners in various regions in Africa and South Asia on capacity building in livelihood and stakeholder analysis and HIV/AIDS mainstreaming.

Mrs Ngido is an experienced trainer and facilitator in the Objective Oriented Project Planning (OOPP) method and specialised in Logical Framework based programme and project formulation assignments. Moreover she conducted a vast number of communication skills workshops for a wide variety of clients.

During the last years she further specialised in organisational analysis, analysis of institutional contexts and organisation development issues.

Office Management and Administration, participant registration for MDF Courses, logistics co-ordination, acquisition and marketing

She holds a B.A in Psychology from the United States International University and a Higher National Diploma in Human Resource Management, Nairobi, Kenya.

She joined MDF-ESA in January 2010 as Office Manager for the Nairobi Liaison Office and particularly to assist in the Management of the Technical Cooperation Facility funded by the European Union through External Resources Department - Ministry of Finance.

Over the last four years, she has gained working experience in office administration and management. She has worked in association with several NGOs, Government Ministries, and International Donor Agencies including Danida, SIDA and European Union funded projects.

She has sharpened her skills in human resource management, public relations, organisation and co-ordination of conferences, capacity building workshops, training and seminars. These include MDF trainings, European Union funded projects [SSP II, TCF and preparation of the 2008-2013 Kenya Country Strategy Paper], Ministry of Health [National Health Sector Strategic Plan- NHSSP II], European Development Fund (EDF) Procedures, Implementation of Programme Estimates (PEs) and Payment Procedures.

Her keen interests are the acquisition of training skills for the development world.

Office management, administration, finance, logistics, training services and secretary to the managing director.

Huong has five years working experiences with various INGO's as a Project Officer and in Office and Finance management.

Huong has been working with various organizations in the educational field as a program and management assistant. She has joined MDF Indochina in 2008 and enjoys the professional working environment there. She finds that humans are among the most important factors for the development of an organization. Thus she wishes to devote herself to an organization whose world is about people.

• Communication, training and facilitation skills
• Organisational Strengthenging and Institutional Development
• PCM, RBM, strategic planning and monitoring
• Management skills and Human Resource Development
• Coaching and coaching skills

With a Masters in Irrigation and Sociology, I have worked in drinking water in Bhutan (1994-1998), irrigation in Albania (1999-2001), and then joined MDF head quarters (2002-2007). For the next three years (2008-2010) I worked from Nepal with a regional organisation, as I wanted to experience management and change first hand again. Late 2010 I enthusiastically rejoined MDF, though now the Indochina office, looking forward to lead and facilitate learning events and consultancies.

A characteristic of my way of working is that I like to clarify and work on the core of issues, although as a client or participant you determine where we focus and how deep we go. It is my experience that getting to the basics has the most lasting impact on both personal satisfaction and professional performance, while witnessing progress in these areas gives me a sense of making a contribution. With the intend to bring out or re-engaging the best in people and organisations, I look forward to welcome you to one of our courses, or to work with you in assignments.

· Policy analysis and proposals;

· Project management: participative planning, project documents, implementation, monitoring and evaluation (internal);

· Training and backstopping;

· Participative evaluation (external).

Anne Pirotte is representative of MDF in Lao PDR.  She is specialised in rural development, especially in the agricultural sector, social infrastructures and energy.  She has 18 years of experience in projects aiming to poverty reduction and food security, supporting gender balanced development, governance and decentralisation. 

As a senior trainer, Anne trained government staff, NGO managers, extension workers and farmer's organisations.

As a consultant and long term staff, Anne was employed by several NGOs, bilateral and multilateral projects. She was involved all along the project cycle, designing projects, managing teams implementing them, setting up and analysing monitoring and evaluation systems.  She also developed various thematic studies related to income generation activities, micro-credit, rice cropping, livestock, gardening, soil protection and natural resources management, water and sanitation, rural electrification, hydropower, biomass energy and crafts.

• Leadership and Management skills
• Human Resources Management and Development
• Teambuilding and team work
• Training of Trainers / Facilitation skills

Ms Pui Yee Chan is director of MDF's branch office in Vietnam, she is specialized in training and consulting services related to leadership and management skills, teambuilding, facilitation and training skills, coaching skills and human resources development.

As a senior trainer and facilitator, Ms Chan trained managers and advisors in the profit and non profit sectors. Furthermore, Ms Chan has ample hands on experience as a manager.

As a consultant, Ms Chan was involved in several projects in the field of Human Resources Development. She developed training policies for large organisations, managed projects, and facilitated learning processes in organisations.

As an author, Ms Chan wrote a book about Project Management. She also wrote handbooks for facilitators and trainers: for Oxfam Ms Chan developed a handbook for facilitators on how to guide discussions, with the title "How to develop a workplace policy on HIV/AIDS in your organisation".
Passion: developing people, empower them to grow.

• Rapid Rural Appraisal and Planning
• Project & Program Planning and Evaluation
• Training, Education and Organizational Capacity Development 
• International Networking in NRM for Rural Development

Cor is a trainer/consultant representing MDF in Thailand. He has been based in Bangkok, working in forestry for rural development programs since 1985. He is specialized in training and consulting services related to design and facilitation of participatory field processes, project planning, training development and coordinating international support networks.
He has worked with Khon Kaen University in Thailand to organize a series of international training courses in RRA for rural development and natural resource management professionals in Asia. Follow up support to assist participants in the application and adaptation of RRA approaches in training and development research was provided, in South West China (Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou), India, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Cor has more recently worked with IDRC, Canada to review the 5 IDRC supported projects in community based natural resource management in Cambodia. Based on the review, a rural livelihoods and natural resources development research program was designed with the participation of the key natural resource government agencies and NGOs. Project evaluations include the evaluation of an SDC supported farm forestry project in Pakistan, and of the multi-donor supported institutional reform of the forestry sector in NWFP, Pakistan.
With the Regional Community Forestry Centre (RECOFTC) based in Bangkok, Cor has supported the development of international and national training and education program in 9 Asian countries. He also was the coordinator of the FAO-RECOFTC Forests, Trees and People Program in Asia, from 1992 until 2001.

Financial Management, FS/Proposal writing, Advocacy skills

Huong specialises in training on Proposal/Feasibility Study Writing, Advocacy, and financial management. She also has experience in corporate investment consultancy, and deep market researches. Over 11 years of working, she does different works in different large INGOs or companies.

Recognising Human Motivation is a core value and a driving force to achieve the set goals, she wishes to best contribute to human synergies.

• Project and programme management
• Results-based management
• Organisational development
• and an interest in corporate social responsibility and private sector development

Karen holds a masters degree in International Economics and Geography at Utrecht University. During her masters, she became fascinated by economic development, differences in economic growth and how to achieve sustainable development of emerging economies.

As an intern at the UN Economic Commission for Latin America, Karen examined the effects of different types of development aid and trade acts on economic growth. She graduated with a thesis on the effect of general budget support on economic growth.

After graduation Karen started working in a post graduate management and consulting programme of Twynstra Gudde. During her work as a consultant, she experienced how to manage and develop projects and programmes. She was responsible for planning, monitoring and reporting on the results of several large programmes in the public and financial sector.

Karen: "Working for MDF is a possibility to combine my vast interest in international cooperation with the experience I have in consultancy and project management."

• Peace building and conflict management
• Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in development organisations

Working languages: English, French, Swahili, Lingala

Brigitte Mapendo is a promenent civil society activist and leadership trainer with strong experience in peace building and sustainable development.  She has over 15 years of experience in project planning, monitoring and evaluation with grassroots associations in poor, rural communities. Ms. Mapendo has worked at the local, national, regional, and international levels in areas such as human rights, development, democracy and peace building from a gender sensititive perspective. She has experience in organisational management and coordination with particular expertise in budgeting and accounting.

Ms. Mapendo has excellent skills in communication and interpersonal relations.  She works as part of a team in a multicultural context.

• Essential drugs : Drug supply management, Rational Drug Use, training and research
• Health financing: cost-sharing; user fees, revolving funds
• Performance based financing & contractual approach
• Public Health, Primary Health Care, Mother and Child Health, Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS
• Emergency Public Health, refugee health care, epidemiology
• Household Surveys

Jannes started to work for MDF-AC in 2008 and is coordinating training and consultancy assignments in Public Health Development. He has a rich experience in Humanitarian Assistance, Public Health, Tropical Health Care and Project Management, above all in Africa.

He started to work for MSF in 1992 as Chief of Mission, where he worked for 12 years in North Kivu. From 2003 - 2008 Dr van der Wijk was director of an Congolese NGO and in charge of training, consultancy and research assignments concerning Health Management, Financing of Health and issues related to Quality and Assessibility of health needs. He was responsible for the implementation of various sanitary projects (EU, WB, DGIS).

He loves swimming, tennis, photography and tropical gardening.

Strategic and Operational Human resource management, project cycle management, logistics management, adult education, coaching, cost recovery mechanisms in medical institutions, setting up popular financing systems.

Language: French, English, Swahili, Lingala and Kirundi

I have a vast professional expertise in capacity building with humanitarian and development organisations working in the DRC and overseas. During ten years of intensive activities  as a Country Human Resources (HR) and Administration manager with MERLIN and later Oxfam GB, I gained extensive experience in strategic and operational HR and administration management.

My practical experience with all aspects of project cycle management (including proposal writing, fund raising, budget monitoring, reporting, portfolio management) combined with my background in adult education makes me an excellent trainer. I am currently coaching two young Oxfam GB HR practitioners in general HR management.

A strong believer in community based development I have contributed to setting up an local NGO “CHAST (Chaine d’actions de solidarité pour tous)” specializing in microfinance.
I enjoy football , reading and  above all undertaking new studies. 

Conflict transformation and peacebuilding

Conflict-sensitive Programming

I am Dutch and speak English and French 

I am based in Kinshasa since August 2008 where I worked for a conflict transformation organization called Search for Common Ground.

Conflict transformation and peacebuilding is in fact my expertise, having worked for several NGOs in this field for the past seven years as well as completing a Master's degree in Conflict Management. In addition to my experience in this specialized field, I also have a basic knowledge of 'general' development issues thanks to my involvement in policy debates, networks and international forums over the past couple of years.

I look forward to developing a new training course for MDF - AC called 'Development and Humanitarian Interventions in Conflict Zones' or 'Conflict-sensitive Programming' for which I believe there is great need here in DRC and neighbouring countries.
I will, in addition to being involved in training and consulting, take care of the marketing of MDF-AC in Kinshasa.

Education, Human Rights, Emergency Preparedness, Public Health, Project Cycle Management, Participatory Strategic Planning, Organisational and Institutional Development, Human Resource Management & Development, Training of Trainers and Facilitators, Coaching.

Working languages: French, English, Dutch

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My African experience began in Niger, West Africa where I worked in international and adult education from1986 to1990.

I took up a long term assignment with MSF Holland as a health programme coordinator in Goma, eastern Zaïre (now DRC) in 1992. In 1995 I returned to the

Netherlands where I worked at the MSF head office in the area of Human Resources Management & Development.

I became involved with MDF Training and Consultancy in early 1997, leading capacity building activities related to management and organisational development

both in the Netherlands and abroad. 

In 1999 I went back to Goma where I was Director of ASRAMES, a Congolese NGO providing medical supplies and drug management training to health structures in

Eastern Congo. I left to become the first Director of the MDF branch office for Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) in Arusha, Tanzania in 2003.

In April 2007 I came back to eastern Congo again where I currently work as Director of the MDF Central Africa (AC) branch office and senior Trainer / Facilitator /

Consultant. The main office is in Goma and we have an antenna in Kinshasa.

Working in the DRC is a great challenge. I believe that building the capacities of organisations and individuals in crisis-affected contexts by creating and maintaining

development initiatives, is key to sustainable poverty reduction and peace.

• Institutional and organizational change/development
• Programme design, implementation and evaluation
• Integrated rural development
• Informal urban settlement policies and programmes
• E-learning
• Field research- and evaluation methodologies
• Gender

Languages: Dutch, English, Spanish, Portuguese, German

Chiel has an MSc in development planning and bachelors' in political sciences and philosophy. He has over 20 years experience across 3 continents as a practical development practitioner, consultant and trainer.

He started his career in Asia working as a volunteer in slum improvements programmes in India, having hitchhiked, in proper volunteer's spirit, from Amsterdam to Delhi. After 10 years, having  published 3 books and done a post graduate in spatial mathematics, he left Asia, as a consultant to go to the World Bank, not only on urban development issues, but also on the use of satellite imagery therein.

He then wanted a complete change, and left to manage the planning and monitoring unit of an IFAD funded integrated rural development programme in one of the remotest provinces of Zambia. He stayed there for 6 years, spending the last 2 years heading the gender component of the same project. He then moved on to Angola for 5 years, first as a programme manager, later as director of the Netherlands Development Organization there.

2005 saw Chiel working in Latin America to do backstopping for the Netherlands Development Organisation's consultants in the region. He did this for 2 years, and then moved on to become the free lance representative of MDF in Latin America.

Chiel presently lives in Santa Marta, Colombia, where he heads the MDF office.
When not in his office, he occupies himself sailing on the Caribbean or keeping abreast with recent thinking on systems- and chaos theory, especially the parallels between complex physical- and social systems behaviour.

• Human resources management (in international context)
• Competency based learning
• Communication skills
• Leadership 
• People management
• Personal effectiveness

Languages: English, Dutch, French

In March 2011 she joined her husband in a new professional challenge and moved to Accra, Ghana for a period of minimum 3 years. In June 2011, she joined MDF West Africa to continue her professional career. Sofie has a Master degree in organizational psychology from the University of Leuven (Belgium). She also holds a teaching degree.

Before joining MDF, she worked for 3 years in the field of recruitment/assessment for large international companies in the area of Brussels with the company HAYS. She was responsible for the acquisition, client contacts as well as the screening/assessing of valuable candidates. After this first experience she worked for 2 years as project leader for competence development with the training company CEVORA.  As project leader she needed to manage the coordination/organisation of trainings, negotiate with various partners involved and evaluate trainings on topics such as assertiveness, efficiency, stress resistance etc. On the other hand she was involved in the training and coaching of unemployed people who wanted to change their career direction (older people, young graduates, people with a disability, ex-convicts, people without a higher education) to improve reintegration in the job market by improving their self-esteem and practicing presenting themselves to companies.

With MDF she will be responsible for external relations (acquisition, client contact), project coordination and giving trainings/consultancy in her domain of expertise.

Have a look at her linkedin profile

• Hospital Administration
• Health Financing and Health Insurance
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Human Resources in Health Management
• Strategic Management
• Corporate Governance
• Training Skills

William Kwasi Sabi is a Health Economist and a Health Services Administrator with Public Health skills. He is a member of the Association of African Health Economists. William Kwasi Sabi was the Deputy Director of Health Services Administration responsible for general management of hospitals, clinics, Nursing Training College and Midwifery Training College. He later became a lecturer at the Catholic University of Ghana teaching Operations Management, Principles of Management and Health Financing.

In his desire to practise health economics he joined the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) of Ghana as the Brong-Ahafo Regional Manager and later the Operations Manager. He later became a leading member of the National Monitoring and Evaluation Team of the NHIA.

William holds a Masters degree in Public Health in Health Economics from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He also holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Administration (Management Option) from the University of Ghana. He holds certificates in Health Financing, Stakeholder Management, Health Policy and Change Management.

Institutional Management: Organisational Assessment, Business planning, Process Facilitation and Organizational Change.

Languages: English

He is a professional Organisation and Systems Development Intervener with key competencies and skills in Process Consulting and Professional Development, capacity development, transformational change management for Organizational Effectiveness and organizational Action Planning and  learning, Organizational Behavior, Mentoring Teams/Building High Performing Team, Organizational Interventions and Implementation Planning, Emotional Intelligence, Review Business Planning, Best Practices in Leadership, Coaching , Talent Management, System Learning, Action Research for Internal Consultant.

He was actively involved in institutional development consultancies in Ghana health sector namely: management development training, policy harmonization and capacity building of the management staffs of National Health Insurance Schemes in Ghana supported by Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), Mandatory Continuous Professional Development (MCPD) for both private and public sector  Medical and Dental Practitioners in Collaboration with Ghana Health Services (GHS), Ministry of Health (MOH), Ghana Food and Drugs Board, Ghana Medical and Dental Council and Ghana Quality Organization.

He had a formal education in Organisation Development, Management and Administration and a Certified Member of Institute of Organization Development (USA), African Institute of Organizational Development, Institute of Directors - Ghana, International Professional Managers Association-UK, Ghana Quality Organization, Chartered Institute of Administration and Management Consultant and has attended various short courses and workshops giving him a healthy balance as a professional.

Actually, the main base of his work is the consulting services to MDF for the realization of PharmAccess International (PAI)/Medical Credit Fund initiative for Sub-Saharan Africa with the support and coordination for the upgrading and business plans for Private Medical and Dental Practitioners and Maternity homes/clinic.

• Participatory planning, monitoring and evaluation, organisation development, people management.
• Management support and training in the education - and rural development sector.
• Rural development, strengthening farmer's organisations, gender and development.

Languages: English, French, Dutch

Connect with Marie-José on LinkedIn  

Since the 1st of August 2011, Marie-José is heading the MDF West Africa Branch Office, based in Accra, Ghana. She shall at the same time remain involved in the execution of assignments and the management of projects. Marie-José: “I am looking forward to meeting you in Ghana or digitally. Welcome!”

Marie-José first joined MDF in 1993 as trainer/consultant. She has been involved in training (development, execution), consultancies (e.g. evaluations, facilitation of workshops) and the management of multiple annual projects. This for many types of organisations such as international NGOs, European Commission, ILO, Nuffic, etc . Marie-José has been Head of the Education and Rural Development Unit, and later on the Head of the Project and Programme Management Unit supporting a group of trainers/consultants in their work.

From 1988 – 1993, she worked as advisor for strengthening of farmers' organisations with emphasis on women involvement within the Office du Niger/Mali, a para-statal organisation responsible for small farmer irrigated rice production. In 1987 Marie-José developed a gender mainstreaming trajectory for the International Agricultural Training Institutes under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Previously Marie-José worked in Zambia as a Women Extension Officer (Department of Agriculture, Western Province) in charge of training of agricultural field staff, mainstreaming gender in extension programmes and setting up a women income-generating project (1982-1986).

Marie-José Niesten graduated from the Agricultural University of Wageningen (1981 MSc, Household and Consumer studies) with rural extension education, gender studies, rural family sociology, and methodology of socio-economic research as main subjects.

• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Social Responsible Investment and sustainable development
• Languages: English, Dutch

In April 2010 we (my husband and I) left the Netherlands to live for three years with our children in Accra, Ghana. As of October 2010 I joined MDF West Africa. For now I support the office with its external relations for three mornings a week. On the longer term I will look for projects in my field of expertise. I have worked for ten years in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability.

Before joining MDF I worked for four years as a CSR consultant at DHV. As a project manager and team member I gained experience in various advisory projects. It gave me an idea of issues companies encounter when they want to improve their environmental, social and ethical impacts. Projects were always tailor-made to client’s wishes. Clients were mainly Dutch multinationals and medium-sized enterprises, including ABN AMRO, SNS REAAL, TomTom, Samas, Corporate Express, SBM Offshore, Nutreco, CSM, Ahold en Laurus. Projects involved CSR issue analysis; CSR reporting; (Supplier) Code of Conducts; CO2 foot prints; CSR benchmarks; Implementation tools; CSR action plans; and Facilitating of workshops. I also gained experience with acquisition and marketing activities, including presentations, writing leaflets, proposals, articles and organising workshops and an annual seminar on “Sustainability reporting”.

Before working as a consultant, I have worked six years as a Sustainability Analyst at Triodos Bank. In the six years we changed from a small pioneering team into a sophisticated department and a separate company. I performed in-depth benchmark studies and individual company ratings of multinationals on their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) performance. It gave me a good insight into how companies deal with CSR and which issues are most relevant in different sectors. Clients were Dutch Socially Responsible Investors, including Triodos Bank, ING, MeesPierson, and PGGM. I also advised clients on CSR issues and criteria definition, I also have been the account manager for one of our clients and I organised our Stakeholder panel meetings.

I completed my Dutch Master Degree in Business Economics and Environmental Economics at the Free University of Amsterdam in 1998.

• Secretarial services
• Course registration
• Taking care of the practical and logistical aspects around a training or consultancy assigment.

Phylicia Adjei holds a B.A in Management Studies from the University of Cape-Coast as well as a Degree in Business Management from the Institute of Professional Studies (I.PS.) Legon-Accra. She started with MDF West Africa in April 2011.

For the past 12 years Phylicia worked as an Office Administrator therefore has obtained a strong background in that field. She is very efficient and a highly dedicated individual with a knack for attention to details. She possesses the ability of working with little or no supervision and is always ready to take up new challenges. Phylicia is sociable and a good team player. She speaks English but would love to learn other languages. At her leisure time she takes to reading, research and writing poems.

Ms. Andiani Utama is the Office Manager of MDF's branch office in Indonesia.

She has 5 years work experience at managerial level, and proven skills in administrative, team management ikssues and handling petty cash. She also has experience in handling visas and a great ability to work with Government bureaucracies.

Ms. Dian will be in charge of managing all MDF-PI's office issues and the registration of participants to our courses.

Since October 2009, Mr Bob Wenno is working as Consultant Coordinator (CC) for education projects in Eastern Indonesia on: "Strengthening the Institutional and Technical Capacities of Eastern Indonesian Higher Education Institutions".

Mr Bob is working in the FISH4 programme based at Unpatti (Pattimura University), Ambon.  The CC provides consultation  to a National Coordinator at Unpatti and Local Coordinators of four Higher Education Institution (4HEIs) in Eastern Indonesia: Unpatti and Universitas St.Khairun (Unkhair) at Ternate (N-Maluku province), Politeknik Perikanan (Polikant) at Tual (SE-Maluku  District of Maluku province),Universitas Nusa Cendana (Undana) at Kupang (NTT province).

• Results-Based Management
• Managing for Development Results
• Institutional & Organisational Development
• Value-Chain Development
• Planning
• Monitoring & Evaluation and Strategic Planning
• Project Management

Mr Van Halteren is the director of MDF's branch office in Indonesia (MDF-PI) and a senior consultant and programme manager in Managing for Development Results (MfDR), institutional and organisational development issues (including Public Admisitration Reform and Local Governance), Results-Based Management, Project/ Programme Management (PCM) and Value-Chain Development, with over 12 years of experience. Mr. Van Halteren is a seasoned manager, with over five years of experience in senior management positions.

Furthermore, since October 2009 Mr Van Halteren has the responsibility as programme director for four higher education projects in Eastern Indonesia: "Strengthening the Institutional and Technical Capacities of Eastern Indonesian Higher Education Institutions".

Ms. Novrita is one of the coordinating consultants for MDF-PI's education projects in Eastern Indonesia. She has been involved in the coordination and facilitation of projects since 2001. From July to December 2009, Ms. Novrita became the focal point to provide management, administrative and logistical support for three different MDF-PI education projects in Eastern Indonesia. 

Starting January 2010, Ms. Novrita has the responsibility as a coordinating consultant for one of education projects to "Improving the quality of education, research and community services in the field of engineering at four Eastern Indonesian Higher Education Institutes (NPT/IDN/299)".

• Project and programme management
• Tourism
• Value Chain
• M&E
• Agriculture

Click here to view Louke's LinkedIn profile and to connect with her.

Louke completed her studies 'International Tourism, Management and Consultancy' (NHTV) and 'Rural Development Sociology'  at Wageningen University. Combined with a significant amount of field work abroad, she is acquainted with the broader development cooperation competencies, linked to tourism.
 
During Louke's field work abroad, she was actively engaged in conducting marketing linkages for the Cultural Tourism Programme for SNV Tanzania. She collaborated with rural communities, the Tanzanian Tour Operator Association and the National Government. For her first thesis, Louke conducted a socio-economic and biodiversity impact tourism study in Lao PDR. With these practical experiences she assisted a starting tour operator in The Netherlands to improve its marketing and sales.

During her second study, Louke conducted a research for Agriterra to strengthen the 'diversified agriculture' unit in developing M&E tools for farmer organisations. In Vietnam, Louke improved management and M&E of the Cultural Tourism Based projects by facilitating participatory workshops for community boards and regional staff. Furthermore, Louke did a study on value chain development for tourism products. She collaborated with the Vietnamese Farmer Organisation (at local, regional and national level), the private sector and regional governments. For that reason, Louke has great interest in public-private partnerships.

• Monitoring and Evaluation approaches, techniques and tools;
• Facilitation of participatory processes;
• Facilitation of PME, Outcome Mapping  and Appreciative Inquiry processes; 
• Writing articles for bulletins and other publications;
• Developing manuals, modules  and reference books.

Ms. Endah Nirarita is the PME-specialist/ Trainer & Consultant of MDF's Branch Office in Indonesia (MDF-PI). Endah has a strong background and ample experience in sustainable development issues, including environmental education, natural resource management, community development and governance as well as experience in PME for the last 5 years.

Endah started in December 2009 as the PME-specialist/ Trainer & Consultant for the four "Strengthening the Institutional and Technical Capacities of Eastern Indonesian Higher Education Institutions" projects. Endah will be responsible for assisting the team-leader and the project coordinators of the education institutions in the planning, monitoring, evaluating and reporting of the project activities and (particularly) the results, and facilitating relevant MDF training activities.

• Project management;
• Development planning and management;
• Leadership;
• Institutional and Organizational Development

Friggia (Rini) Marien is the Project Management Team Leader of NUFFIC funded projects in higher education institutions in eastern Indonesia since January 2010. In this position Ms. Rini Marien leads a project management team comprising of a PME specialist, a Financial Controller, four Coordinating Consultants and four Project Cashiers. Before this position, she was recruited on a short term basis at the end of 2009 to provide assistance in managing the projects to the then Project Manager of the projects.

Prior to joining MDF-PI, Ms. Rini Marien has worked for over 20 years in project management, of which almost 10 years in senior management positions in international organizations, among others, UNDP and RTI. Her experience also includes working with local NGOs, particularly in restructuring and program development. In addition, she has extensive experience in development management and organizational development.

• Programme Management
• Strategic Planning and Monitoring
• Human Resource Development/ Management
• Strategic Marketing and Organisational Behaviour

Mr. Adam works for MDF's branch office in Bali Indonesia and has specific experience in the past as a university lecturer and university leader in managing academic systems and administration at higher education institutions, with 19 years experience. Beside as university lecturer, Mr. Adam also worked as an independent consultant focusing on business development, management and human resources issues for the private and public sector in Indonesia, in which he has over 10 years of experience.

Since September 2008 Mr. Adam has the responsibility as a coordinating consultant in the project of Strengthening Institutional Management of four Polytechnics in Eastern Indonesia.

• Chartered Accountant, Tax Local Brevet A
• Accounting System and Procedures
• Financial Budgeting, Internal Audit

Mr. Edwin Timotius is the Financial Controller of MDF's branch office in Indonesia (MDF-PI), as an accounting/ finance well-trained person with almost 16 years of experience, ranging from staff level and middle/upper management level field work experiences. Edwin's most recent experience is managing financial / accounting / tax matters for an international NGO's branch based in Melbourne, Australia. Edwin was responsible for the overall monthly finance reporting process at this large NGO.

Edwin's experiences include working with SUN Accounting Systems for almost 6 years and experience in multi-donors financial systems in a cross-cultural environment, from Aceh to Lombok. Internal audits and finance/admin technical assistance to partner's staff is another of Edwins responsibilities over the last years. He was working together with the Program Manager and Officer to manage monthly review/ analysis of project finance report and to support the Country Representative to set up and review the annual budget plans.

Edwin has extensive knowledge of the Indonesian Taxation system and local Tax Office. He holds a local Brevet A certification as a junior tax consultant. At MDF-PI Edwin will supervise temporary finance assistants/ project and local cashiers to enable them to do their daily such as: preparing the monthly financial accounts, inputting data into the relevant systems, dealing with bank and external suppliers, etc. Edwin says: "My responsibilities in dealing with project staff, suppliers and related parties also give me a chance to improve my interpersonal and communication skills".

A qualified trainer, adviser and facilitator with experiences in various different cultural settings

My field of expertise within MDF: Project and Programme Management and related issues such as: project identification and formulation (Logical Framework Approach), appraisal, Monitoring and Evaluation. Results Based Management. I am also well equipped on (EU) financial and procurement procedures.

I started my international development career in 1997, when I left the Netherlands to live and work in India. In those 3 years I worked as a technical assistant in the NGO sector. It brought me lots of insights on the complexity of international development work. It taught me especially on how North and South can work together to concretise the same goals.

In 2000 I moved back to the Netherlands and started to work for MDF. I continued to build on my field experience and expanded my views to the development world as a whole. Whereas in India, my focus was on one country and one culture, travelling from Ede, the Netherlands to many developing countries in the world, it created a vast experience base in the same field. It provided me an opportunity to connect experiences from Africa, to Asia, the Middle East and central Europe.

Once in 2007 when our kids were born, I felt empowered enough to start a new challenge: setting up MDFnl. MDFnl is a small organisation within the large mother-firm that concentrates on the public and social sector of the Netherlands (explicitly no development related organisations). We use our world wide expertise in participatory processes and facilitation to assist local government and affiliated institutions in the Netherlands.

My personal qualities are: clear and concise communication skills, process approach, structured and flexible, well-organised planner, motivating others with an optimistic approach.

My LinkedIn profile: http://nl.linkedin.com/pub/anne-marie-van-raalten-ligtenberg/17/84b/629

Registration of participants

My academic studies have been in Rural Sociology at Wageningen University. After graduation in 1994, I started working in Colombia with MSF-Belgium setting up field research in reproductive health behaviour of adolescents in the slums of Cali as part of programme design. Then I moved to East Africa where I lived for 7,5 years, doing a voluntary job with a Netherlands-based NGO amongst deprived families in Nairobi and thereafter coordination of a local income generation project in NW Uganda for Sudanese refugee women.

After almost 11 years of residing in the South I returned to the Netherlands in the second half of 2005, setting up base with my family in Bennekom (5 km from Ede). In June 2007 I joined MDF in a supportive role of registration of international course. I do enjoy the international atmosphere and enthusiasm my colleagues bring to the workplace.

Facilitation of organisational change processes
Training of advisers and consultants, small and medium enterprise development, project management, hospitality management, financial management
Institutional development and organisational strengthening.

Languages: Dutch, English, French, Portugese, German and Creolo

Whilst my ancestors (Bakers) provided food for the stomach, it is my mission in life to provide food for the brain. My work at MDF provides me since 1992 excellent opportunities to combine my interest and experience in international co-operation with my desire to work with professionals on enhancing their managerial and advisory skills. Born and bred in a family that travelled the world already in the early sixties infatuated me with the ambition to work internationally.

I started out in West Africa as a project manager for small enterprise development and privatisation processes, first as a hotel management school graduate and later as an institutional economist. Being in and out of Africa for 10 years between 1981 and 1991, my family and I settled down in The Netherlands.
I took up the challenge of working with MDF. The first five year mainly as a trainer of managers on ID/OS and Project Management Skills, throughout Africa and Asia. Between 1997 and 2000, I set up the first branch of MDF abroad, MDF South Asia in Sri Lanka.

From 2001 onwards, two new challenges appeared on the horizon. The first was exploring new opportunities for MDF, especially concerning our involvement in institutional changes processes in the new member states of the European Union. We facilitate Dutch technical institutions that are involved in assisting their counter parts in the new member states to fulfil the requirements of the European Commission.
The second one in the development of the International Advisory Trail, for which we provide tailor made personal guidance and coaching to advisers and consultants in their professional endeavours.

My last adventure is close to home, using our world wide expertise in participatory processes and facilitation to assist local government and affiliated institutions in the Netherlands.

Project management, organisational change-processes, institutional and organisational analysis, participatory approaches, gender and water management.

Languages: English, Dutch

After finishing my masters in Human Geography I started my 17-year professional career abroad as a researcher on the organisational aspects of watermanagement-organisations in Indonesia. In Rwanda, Nepal, Bhutan, Kenya and Uganda I moved away from research towards advice and training on gender, participatory development methods, policy and strategy development, planning and monitoring and natural resource management. Experience in programme and project management I gained in Nepal and Kenya.

In all this my true passion was to support people and their organisations making their dreams come true. As a facilitator of organisational and institutional change-processes for district governments and NGO's in Kenya I was able to make my passion my work. Work that spurred me to search for new ideas, approaches and methods, enough reason to study again, this time strategy and organisation from a business perspective.

Being trained by MDF twice, I always aspired to work for them. My wish became true in October 2006. Since then I have been a trainer in courses on management for development practitioners, project planning and a trainer/ facilitator in a tailor made course on policy development, planning, monitoring and evaluation.

Training of Trainers, Group Facilitation, Appreciative Inquiry, Community Health, Coaching and Personal skills.

IAF certified professional facilitator/assessor.

Languages: English, French, Dutch

Since 2000 I'm the specialist in Group Facilitation and Training of Trainers at MDF.

During my nursing studies (1988-1992) at the University of Applied Science in Diemen, I became strongly interested in Primary Health Care.  I discovered Training for Transformation in Romania (1992) . This has put my experiences as a change agent and health worker in an empowerment perspective. After a post graduate study in Community Health (1995) I realised that I like training and facilitation most. Since then I trained people from all different backgrounds and education levels, from illiterate to highly educated people.  Working towards change is what motivates me.  Good fun was to train animators in Chad who helped to build the movement of the physical disabled in Chad (1996-1999). Within MDF I facilitate strategic planning, working conferences,  large scale interventions, training needs assessment, organisational analysis and other participatory decision-making events.
The new gemstone I'm cherishing is called "Appreciative Inquiry". I discovered this approach in Nepal, while contributing to a child focussed approach in development programs. Since 2007 I conduct twice a year an appreciative inquiry course. I'm creative and innovative. 

Facilitation of groups, designing training courses that fit as much as possible to clients' needs and facilitation of learning is what I enjoy most in my work.