Associated Experts
VNG International can only do its work in close cooperation with good experts. We have closely related associated experts who are fiercely committed and strongly connected to VNG International’s network and its objective to strengthen democratic local government in our world. These inner circle experts are often involved in project implementation, preparing proposals for winning new assignments, developing knowledge products for local government and representing VNG International in certain situations.
Alfonso is an experienced and practical advisor in local government management issues and the design and implementation of national policies aimed at decentralisation. Extensive experience working with governments and donors in more than 40 countries in Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Pacific Islands and Asia. Knowledge in public sector management, public finance management and local governance. He has been working on decentralisation reforms for the past 25 years, first, as National Director of Municipal Strengthening and CEO of the National Fund for Regional Development in Bolivia and, subsequently, as a consultant for DFID, projects funded by USAID, VNG-I, the European Union, Dutch Government and UNDP. He has been working as an associate expert of the VNG-International for ten years.
Anne-Marie Schreven is a development professional with over 25 years’ experience in mainly Asia and Africa. Her areas of expertise are capacity development in local governance and leadership for organizational change. At the start, she worked as an advisor / project manager supporting organizational performance of NGOs (in India, Rwanda and Ethiopia). Later on, she assisted in reform processes of national and sub-national governments (in Bhutan, (back to) Rwanda, Myanmar). In 2017, she joined VNG International in Myanmar as country representative and team leader of community development and local governance projects focusing on strengthening capacities for democratic local governance. As a consultant, she carries out project evaluations and (organizational) capacity assessments. As people are responsible for their own change, her role, as she sees it, is working with them to find answers to their questions and challenges, keeping an eye on achieving expected results and maintaining respectful relationships. Her passion is understanding and dealing with (intercultural) complexity and change. In capacity development, there is no end to learning and she encourages others to learn and grow. Though this is serious business, a good sense of humor often does wonders too!
A seasoned peacebuilder, conflict transformation, governance and development advisor, inter-faith and intercultural specialist with over 25 years of experience at the intersection of politics, development, governance, civil society, religion and public affairs in the Middle East, West Asia and North Africa regions. Baker worked closely with leading politicians, policy makers, academics, youth and women groups, in addition to international NGOs, development organizations and advocacy groups and amassed experience working within the private sector, advising a range of companies from start-up enterprises to leading regional organizations.
Mr. al-Hiyari specializes in engaging local governments, traditional and religious communities and civil society actors across the Middle East, West Asia and North Africa regions, in addition to managing multi-layered development programs that promote freedom and diversity, advance social cohesion and communal peace through cooperation exchange and contact, all while harnessing the assets of local communities to enhance resilience and build peace, thereby advancing effective governance processes, address radicalization and violent extremism.
Carla holds a degrees in Philosophy, Biology and Public Administration. She is a driven strategic advisor, process and project manager, proud of over 25 years of experience in the local governmental field and enjoys working on socially complex issues, no matter what the subject is.
She had been posted in Jerusalem, as a part-time team leader of the Municipal Alliance for Peace in the Middle-East, running a small office hosted by UNDP/PAPP. With the start of a new program, IDEAL, she moved with the office to the city of Ramallah, and worked on the Local Economic Development of cities on the Westbank. The last assignment brought her to the city of Pathein in Myanmar for the development of a program on sustainable and green growth.
Partners know her as a serious sparring partner, good listener and bridge builder, with an open, interested attitude. She gets quickly familiar with topics, is able to defend positions both kindly and convincingly. By nature she always has an overview, and is sensitive to inter-cultural and governmental issues. She easily gains the trust of people from different backgrounds.
A Doctor in Political Science, I am an expert in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (ME&L) with a wide experience in the field of international development. For 10 years, I worked for public development agencies at the national and European levels including in senior managerial positions. In 2015, I started to work as an ME&L advisor in development programmes. Since 2019, I work as an Ethics Advisor at the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) and I combine my professional responsibilities with pro-bono advisory work, through which I continue to help development organizations bridging the gap between knowledge and practice.
VNG International Senior Advisor, Washington, D.C., USA. Don has worked in a broad range of leadership and governance/PFM posts over his 40-year career, including 10X as the long-term Chief of Party/ Team Leader for development projects funded by the EU, FCDO, USAID, UN, and other bilateral and multilateral donors in the most difficult nations of the world: Iraq, Sudan, Nigeria, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Nepal. He serves as a key expert on fragility, decentralization and local governance at The Hague Academy for Local Governance in The Netherlands and GIZ’s Summer School in Potsdam. Earlier in 2020 Don retired from Mott MacDonald after leading their International Development Services business unit in Washington, working with USA-based donors: USAID, MCC, USTDA, and the World Bank Group. He’s currently leading FCDO’s Public Financial Management Reform Program in Tanzania, a 3-year capacity and systems strengthening project focused on 26 regional governments, 185 Local Government Authorities, and the President’s Office – Regional Administration and Local Government.
Ellen is an independent advisor on sustainable (local) development. Through advice on integrated governance approaches and practical tools she assists municipalities in achieving social, economic and environmental sustainability in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Ellen previously worked for 18 years as diplomat and civil servant at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and international cooperation, notably in the areas of (economic) governance, service delivery, human security and aid effectiveness. She has extensive experience leading multi-disciplinary programs and processes. With strong analytical, writing and networking skills and an open, informal attitude, she successfully connects people and ideas across thematic areas and organisations. She also has experience as local councillor in the areas of spatial development, environment and biodiversity.
As team player, Ferdinand König is an independent specialist with sound theoretical knowledge and 20 year demonstrated practical experience related to governance decentralisation, institutional reform and development political and administrative regulations, policies and procedures, standard administrative operating procedures, managerial guidelines and manuals for ministries, central, regional and local government in post conflict Africa countries. His hands-on practical skills and experience in providing technical support and transfer applicable skills to senior host country political and senior government officials and official counterparts, supports sustainable governance change management processes and procedures.
Frans is an experienced and motivated adviser in the field of land registry, cadaster, local taxes, mapping, geo-information systems and urban planning. He worked during eight years on assignments for SNV, Dutch Government (DGIS) and for enterprises in the seventy’s and eighty’s in Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Congo. In the Netherlands (home country) he was head of the department for Geographic Information in several municipalities and during ten years Manager/Director of GBKN-South in charge of large scale topographic mapping of the southern part of the Netherlands for all local governments, Dutch cadaster and utility companies. Combined, since 1998, he was involved in more than 50 short term missions for VNG-International in Cape-Verde, Mali and Bénin, mostly in the field of land registry focused on the role of local government in collecting and use of geo-data both on the technical side as well as the social accountability side.
George Hartman has a strong background in local administration, local development, housing, heritage management and institutional development. His experience as former deputy mayor, management consultant and manager in Dutch municipalities enable him to establish productive partnerships with local authorities. His proficiency in Arabic and knowledge of the Middle East greatly contribute to his effectivity as development expert in those areas. He worked on assignments for the World Bank, EU, USAID, and GIZ, pre-dominantly in the following countries: Pakistan (on irrigation management) Syria (on local administration, regional planning and legislation), Egypt (on taxation), Lebanon (on strategic planning for ministries) and Jordan (on improvement of municipal service delivery)
Gerrit Jan dedicated most of his career as consultant and manager to decentralization, public administration reform (PAR) and capacity building for the Dutch government and municipalities. Since the early nineties he also used his knowledge and experience in international projects. This was a win-win situation for himself and his clients, because working simultaneously on the Dutch and international level offered mutual benefit from cross-over experiences in reforms and governance. From 2015 onwards he decided to follow his dream and focused fulltime on international projects, as consultant and team leader.
He worked and works on assignments for the EU/ Worldbank/ UN/ Dutch Government, pre-dominantly in the following countries: Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Mali, Ukraine, Kosovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro and more.
With his teams he likes to convince our partners and beneficiaries that change is possible and to empower them to make change: to improve public services for citizens, to include citizens in public policy design and implementation, and to upgrade the competencies and capacities of public administrations.
In his previous and current role as team leader of projects project in Egypt (EU, WB, UN), and as senior expert in Ukraine (USAID) and Kosovo (EU) he is focused to achieve exactly this. With his Dutch experience in governance he has a lot to share.
Gijs Langeveld designs and implements organisational and business models for sustainable materials (plastics, integrated solid waste management, circular economy, extended producer responsibility). He drives change by taking a consultative and staged approach, engaging stakeholders, and ensuring implementation on a larger scale. As a senior consultant, Gijs has worked on projects for international organisations, multinationals, business support organisations, national governments, and cities. His clients include the World Bank, Unicef, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, and Oxfam. He has worked with VNG-International on projects in Jordan, Palestine and Sint Maarten. Today, he is working as managing director at Polymer Science Park and as VNG International’s technical lead to prepare the realisation of a Waste Authority in Sint Maarten.
Henri started his professional career in the 80s as a business analyst for municipalities, utility companies and water control boards. He was responsible for the integration of processes and information systems of several of these organizations. In 2000 Henri switched to the Ministry of Finance and the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration (DTCA). He was the lead architect for the biggest business change program of the DTCA, the modernization of the revenue collection processes and supporting IT. Starting in 2013 Henri has been working on several modernization projects supporting tax administrations (national and local) in different countries such as Mozambique, Ghana and Peru.
Since January 2018 he is working as business architect and senior programme manager local taxes for VNG International (the international department of the Association of Municipalities in the Netherlands) to develop and implement a collection led methodology and tooling to improve local tax revenues and public services. Examples are the Ghana TREE (Tax Revenues for Economic Enhancement) project, the decentralisation of property tax project in the Palestinian Territories and the water pricing project in Ethiopia.
Hervé is a governance expert who has been active in the field of Local Economic Development (LED), land management, gender inclusion and advocacy, local finance and environment for the past 18 years. He has worked for a number of projects and assignments in Benin, Togo, Senegal, Mali and Niger. Since 2010, he has been an expert for VNG International and has worked with Benin’s municipalities on various issues related to decentralization and local governance. Hervé enjoys working in a complex context by facilitating practical and strategic solutions through dynamic thinking, analyzing and problem solving. He holds advanced degrees in project management, economics, geography and environment management.
Jacqueline is an energetic and ambitious WASH expert with many years’ experience in complex development projects. Her work has focused on community organization and empowerment, civil society engagement and capacity building of WASH actors for effective service delivery. She has worked on assignments for the Dutch Government, USAID and GIZ pre-dominantly in Kenya, Sudan and South Sudan. In her recent role in a project for the Dutch Embassy in South Sudan, she succeeded to oversee the establishment and strengthening of community based management structures for over 700 decentralized water systems. She is convinced of the need for and viability of sustainable development even in fragile contexts.
Jan Edwin is an experienced, positive and dedicated person and has been team leader of complex international projects focused on local government, associations of municipalities, as well as energy efficiency. He has worked on assignments for the EU in the countries of the Balkan and former Soviet Union, and for UNDP in Central and South East Asia. The past decade he has pre-dominantly been working in support mechanisms to help municipalities implement EU-funded grant projects. He thinks that implementing priority infrastructure and investment projects at the local level are crucial for engagement of citizens, civil servants and politicians in development and democratic processes. Clients trust him to do the right thing, deliver the goods in time and feel that he cares about the work that he does to improve local governance.
Jean is a dynamic and ambitious person who has worked for more than 15 years in international cooperation in different roles. He worked on a range of governance assignments: decentralization, public administration reform (accountability and transparency), empowering (local) democracy, citizen commitment (participation). He worked on assignments for Dutch Government, for the UNDP, for USAID, pre-dominantly in the following countries: Mali, Benin, Ghana, Tunisia, Turkey, Rumania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Bosnia Herzegovina and recently in Ukraine. During a long career in The Netherlands he combined his experience with the government practice in his home country with the varied challenges to improve the functioning of the public domain in countries where he works. His experience is both on the political side (Senator, member of the Benelux assembly, (vice) mayor, City council member) and in the civil service (chief executive of a regional cooperation of municipalities, deputy director of legal and administrative affairs of the Dutch Association of municipalities (VNG), governing moderator of a network of local authorities working on SDG’s). He is excellent in working with others to achieve common goals. He is an experienced coach in transformation processes and a true and tested moderator in complex learning projects focused on social and political innovation. “Learning is sharing”.
Jorge has extensive experience combining policy, conceptual and operational work in the fields of decentralization reforms, local governance and local development through a territorial approach. He has an extensive experience organizing, coordinating and facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogues and engagement processes. He has been working as Technical Assistant for 14 years in Haiti and Madagascar, coordinating multicultural teams for the designing and implementation of EU funded local development programs with a focus on local, institutional and policy outcomes. He assured during six years (2011, 2017), as responsible of promoting the territorial approach to local development (TALD) in EU DEVCO, the design and delivery of TALD seminars among EU staff in EU Delegations, the drafting of EU differences pieces of guidance on TALD approach and concrete field support to EU Delegations in the formulation and implementation of decentralization and local de development programs with a TALD approach.
Lamar Cravens is an expert on decentralization and public administration reform and a seasoned manager of complex development assistance projects. Trained as a lawyer, Lamar has learned what he knows about governance through experience. For instance, he worked on service delivery in Iraq, Bangladesh and Tajikistan; worked with professional associations in the Kyrgyz Republic (lawyers, judges and law students) and Bangladesh (village and municipal chairmen); with micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs (the Philippines and Egypt) and citizens’ groups (Iraq, Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Jordan) as well as with elected officials (the Kyrgyz republic, Iraq, Bangladesh, Jordan). And he has worked with ministers and secretaries general (Iraq, Egypt, Yemen and Jordan) and the senior staff in the offices of prime ministers (Iraq, Jordan) and presidents (Tajikistan). in Iraq, he led the largest governance project in USAID’s history, the $807 million USD Local Governance Program (2003-2011). In addition to his native English, he speaks Russian and Arabic.
Lucia is an energetic and skilled facilitator of democratic local governance processes. For the past 30 years, from a home-base in African as well as Asian countries, she has designed, implemented and evaluated programs for the World Bank, the EU and various bi-lateral development partners. Among other VNG International assignments, she has been providing technical leadership to the Ethiopia Social Accountability Program (www.esap2.org.et), guiding government and CSO stakeholders to jointly improve basic service delivery, now scaling to 50% of all 1000 districts across the country.
I dream of a less wasteful and more inclusive society; a sustainable society that uses natural resources within the limits of the planet at minimal environmental and social impacts. I combine 15+ years of experience in the areas of circular economy, waste management, environmental impact analysis, sustainability governance and inclusive green growth in diverse roles: as team leader, project coordinator, expert consultant, auditor, researcher and teacher. Using systemic and lifecycle perspectives and qualitative and quantitative tools and skills, I support the formulation, implementation and evaluation of sustainability and circularity strategies at the company, municipal and national levels. I have worked and/or supported projects and research in Latin America (Colombia, Costa Rica and Argentina), Europe (Norway, Germany, Czech Republic) and Asia (The Philippines). My background is in Environmental Engineering with MSc and PhD studies in Industrial Ecology; specialized in the material, water, ecological and energy footprinting of the socioeconomic activities. I have published scientific articles in renown international journals, and contributed to book chapters and technical reports and presentations at conferences and seminars on four continents.
Maïta is an ambitious and culturally aware professional with a variety of skills and experience in the field of Local Government and Inclusive Policy Making, ranging from inclusive economic development to local safety and security programs. She has worked on assignments for the Dutch Government, the EU and USAID in the following countries: Ukraine, Georgia, Albania and Libya. She uses her hands-on experience with different aspects of Local Government and Community Building to bring people and projects a step further in complex situations.
Marianne combines 20+ years’ experience working on the humanitarian – development nexus in conflict and in fragile environments with commitment to team work, a practical hands-on approach and excellent negotiating and peace building skills. She specializes in developing, implementing or guiding governance processes that bring together communities with traditional leadership, civil society and (local) governments to improve service delivery, strengthen peaceful coexistence, cooperation, and community and institutional resilience. Through her longstanding involvement in displacement and return and reintegration stages of forced migration she is also specialized in addressing social, economic and legal reintegration issues and access to services and rights. Marianne has worked as director, programme manager, technical advisor and team leader on programmes funded by i.a. EU, ECHO, WorldBank, GiZ, USAID, UN, NORAD, DANIDA, SIDA, CIDA and the Netherlands’ Government. She has worked with VNG International, mainly in Sudan and South Sudan, since 2009.
Meskerem Girma is a development professional who is keen on better local governance, inclusive development, and gender transformation. She has implemented programs funded by the world bank, EU and other bilateral donors. She brings a Multi-sector (public, private, UN, and local and international Civil Society Organizations’) experience. Meskerem is equipped with full aspects of project cycle management, capacity development and communication. She is working with VNG international since 2014. From June 2022 – November 2024, she has been leading a large VNG International’s social accountability program (https://www.vng-esap.org/) in Ethiopia covering 416 districts/municipalities, nearly a third of the country of 120 million people. In this role, she has been leading 35 senior experts including internationals. Meskerem has excellent soft skills particularly problem solving, teamwork communication and integrity. Meskerem has found and were a member of governance bodies of local CSOs working on various fields such as (https://timran.et/, https://www.meserethumanitarian.org/ , ISAP, NaSAC (nasacethiopia.org).
Loochi Muzaliwa is a lawyer by training and holds a Master’s degree (Bac+5) in Private and Judicial Law. With over twenty years of experience in the field of analysis and knowledge in conflict transformation and human rights, he has a career of more than ten years in the service of international organizations and the United Nations, where he has held several qualifying positions. He contributed his expertise to the development of the Participatory Action approach applied to conflict transformation, and as a result, was instrumental in the design of the second phase of the stabilization program in Eastern DRC (North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri). For a long time, he worked with Congolese civil society organizations that he was able to coach in the peace process in the DRC, first as a coordinator and trainer in human rights and electoral matters (long-term observer of the electoral process), and then as an advisor to several negotiation forums between Congolese belligerents (conference with armed groups, preparation of civil society for the Sun City negotiations, etc.). Loochi Muzaliwa has acquired great skills not only in the field of research, having participated in several publications and studies, but also as a mediator and negotiator in conflicts between communities as well as between the government and armed groups. He is also a university teacher, where he teaches several courses in law. During his studies, he contributed to the creation of two Congolese law organizations, Justice For All and Alternatives, which work in the defense of human rights and peace. Loochi is a former police officer who has worked in the field of security governance. Today, Loochi Muzaliwa is an associate consultant for the international cooperation agency of the Association of Dutch municipalities (VNG International), leading the implementation of local governance projects in the Kalehe and Uvira territories in South Kivu, as well as in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu.
Niels is an ambitious professional that is characterised by a practical and result driven attitude. He likes to be challenged by complex issues that are on the edge of business and IT. He has a degree in industrial management and started his career as a business consultant for a larger IT company. Because of a natural interest in development projects, it did not take him long to find an answer when he was asked to join the TREE (Tax Revenues for Economic Enhancement) project in Ghana as a full-time project member. Since the start of the TREE project in 2018 he has continuously been engaged with VNG International projects in Ghana, Palestine, and Ethiopia. His expertise lies in IT project management, data collection and data visualisation. In a world that is rapidly digitizing, these topics are relevant for almost any type of project. For this reason, Niels has gained experience within a variety of projects where most of them were related to local taxes and social accountability. His strength lies in the ability to analyse complex situations and advise how modern-day IT solutions can help overcome challenges. When it comes to the implementation of solutions, Niels prefers a role as team leader. He has the ability to make colleagues enthusiastic and guide a team in the right direction.
I have a passion for development and governance. More specifically the intersection between the state and citizens and have been working in the field of local governance for the last 7 years. I have worked in South Africa and Rwanda in a number of sectors including in IWRM, LED, public participation, and inclusive governance. I also have a keen interest in gender dynamics in development. I enjoy working in diverse settings and thrive in contextualizing high-level objectives within local contexts.
Blending business skills and knowledge with deep experience in complex, regularly fragile, settings, Paul brings the right attitude and aptitude to engage people. Having worked extensively across Africa inside government at all levels, he brings diplomatic skills of functioning with heads of states through the respectful approaches in working alongside people and communities with intrinsic knowledge and skills we all continue to appreciate. Innovative, a futures thinker, will always ask What if….? to keep us moving positively.
Paul Hamilton is an accomplished development expert with longstanding experience and a recognized reputation as a leader and manager of complex development projects spanning various sectors (health; rural and urban integrated development; governance; and other), a vast geography (Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Middle East), multiple levels (global, regional and country-based), and a variety of clients/donors (bilateral, multi-lateral, foundations and corporations). He led and managed partnerships involving multiple institutions and organizations, developing them into strongly performing mechanisms that focus on building local capacity and ownership. Currently, he leads a large VNG International social accountability program in Ethiopia.
Paul holds a degrees in Economics, as well as in Management. He has been posted in Haiti for the EU and in Thailand for the UN, was employed by MDF and ECORYS, before starting Munters Consulting in 2008. Over the last 2 decades he provided advisory services to both the public and private sector, conducted over 100 trainings, performed research, and initiated many institutional capacity development projects in over 40 countries in Asia, Africa, Middle-East and the Balkans. As a methodologist he focusses for VNGi on Social Accountability, Governance and Local Economic Development. He assessed Local Resource Mobilisation (Albania), wrote a winning EU proposal for ALA (Zimbabwe), was the editor of the Social Accountability flagship document (Ethiopia), co-designer of the LGCP programme (covering 10 countries), involved in the development and rollout of both the LGCP programme and its successor IDEAL in the Palestine Territories, and more recently started exploring the water sector and the Balkans. Paul is very motivated and driven to mobilise others to go one step beyond whilst appreciating cultural boundaries.
Taxes do matter! Like them or not, tax revenues pay for all the public services we use: schools and hospitals in our communities; roads and bridges that we take to go to work; police and sanitation workers who keep our neighbourhoods safe and clean. That’s why Peter has been searching all through his career to find fit-for-purpose solutions that enable national and local authorities to become more efficient in revenue collection and to improve service delivery to their citizens. After working amongst others for three decades as project director and senior manager on both national and local taxes in Africa, Middle East, Balkan and Asia, he is now continuing his quest for the holy tax-grail as an associate expert for VNG International.
Peter holds a BSc in Human Resource Management and post graduate degree in Change Management. He is intercultural senior project manager with expertise in: Capacity Building, Change Management, Land Administration, Post Disaster Needs Assessment & Urban Mobility. Has 20+ years experience in public sector and municipalities (The Netherlands, Brazil and Mozambique) and added value in organizations that want to improve their performance and/or service delivery. In his projects in an international setting, he has proven to be resourceful, finding a balance between bringing people together, developing ideas and booking results. Since October 2016 Peter is VNG International’s focal point for Mozambique and now based in Beira, while managing a project to improve land administration and raise tax revenues for the municipality of Beira. Until now he has managed to digitalize the whole cadastral archive and connected processes, resulting in quicker access to information, less land conflicts and secure land rights. In the next phase the project will also address urban planning and improve the tax revenue system. He knows how things work in the public sector in Mozambique and finds his way book results.
Pieter Wiekeraad has since 1996 experience in implementing and managing local and regional government and international projects. Mr. Wiekeraad has gained extensive expertise during his career as an executive in public organisations with particular experience in urban management, urban design, legal affairs, economic development, regional development, regional cooperation, citizens participation and strategic planning. Pieter Wiekeraad has served since 1996 as an Expert and Trainer for local reform programs and projects in Central Europe, Balkan, Caucasus, the Baltic States, the Middle-East and the Dutch West-Indies (Caribbean). As a specialist in urban development and environment he gained broad experience in the field of local management and urban and regional development in Central and Eastern Europe. During his career Mr. Wiekeraad has designed and implemented several unique concepts in local urban development and citizens participation. Since 2003 Mr. Wiekeraad is member of the Pool of Experts of the VNG-International and since 2007 associate consultant of VNG-International. During his career Pieter Wiekeraad worked for several municipalities and regional government as employee and manager. In this capacity he worked in close cooperation with the mayor and aldermen of the municipalities and the town council to reach the goals as put in the programs and within the approved budgets. Mr. Wiekeraad was also trainer in different “trainings of trainers” and lecturer during conferences and workshops on several management topics. Under his editorship a number of manuals on management and urban development and planning were published. Furthemroe Pieter Wiekeraad is member of different international federations for civil engineering. Being a ‘believer in government’, Pieter Wiekeraads main purpose is to professionalise the government and its employees for the welfare and benefits of the citizens. Always focussing on the further development of people and organizations, he encourages civil workers to give their utmost.
Remy’s is VNG International’s Country Representative in Burundi. He is a Governance Expert who has been working with passion on local governance (LED), peace building and conflict transformation, gender transformation and advocacy for over 15 years. He has done so in different capacities in Burundi, South Sudan, Chad and Malawi and since 2017 as Governance Expert for VNG International in Burundi. In Burundi he aims to contribute to improved decentralized cooperation, local planning (citizen participation, inclusive governance and accountability) and the legal framework for decentralisation. Remy enjoys working in a complex context by facilitating practical and strategic solutions through dynamic thinking, analysing and problem solving.
Rolf has been active in International Development Cooperation since 1984, first in Asia and Africa mainly on regional development. Since 1993 he served as team-leader and/or sector specialist for over 20 years in Central and Eastern Europe with emphasis on EU integration and public administration reform. Between 2013 and 2019 he operated as team-leader in Ethiopia on a multi-donor social accountability program implemented by VNG. All projects were funded by the EU, UN, World Bank or bilateral donors.
Sadun has over 30 years of experience with local authorities. He assumed a managerial position in the Middle East section of United Cities & Local Governments (UCLG-MEWA). As the National Coordinator of the Turkey Local Agenda 21 Program, he paved the way for the establishment of citizens’ assemblies as a new local governance mechanism. His project links with the World Bank, UNDP and OSCE has continued under the umbrella of VNG International, serving as the Team Leader in EU-funded projects on improving local governance and participation. He currently serves as the Team Leader in the project on town twinning between Turkey and the EU.
Keep improving; that’s what drives Sander. Most of his professional life he has worked to improve public sector institutions and to support the people working for them, both in the Netherlands and abroad. He has done so as a project manager, management consultant, trainer as well as lecturer for the Public Administration Academy. His main expertise is Training of Trainers, Association Capacity Building, Public Service Deliver and Project Management. As a VNG Associate he has worked in a variety of countries in Southeast and Eastern Europe and the Arab world. His approach is to give practical and simple to use tools that help organisations and people further in their improvement.
Sebastien Hamel is a senior executive practitioner with over thirty years of experience in international development, the municipal sector, and multi-level governance. He designed and delivered large governance capacity building and funding projects with multidisciplinary teams in Canada and in over 45 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Sebastien has a solid range of expertise in municipal governance, subnational financing and grant funding, climate change adaptation and mitigation, local economic development, disaster response, decentralization and multi-level governance, and municipal association management. He worked for many years for municipal associations in Canada, including as Executive Director of Programs at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Now as a consultant, he provides senior advisory services to multilateral organizations, bilateral funding agencies, NGOs, and national and local governments in program design, governance, administrative reforms, policy development, and organizational strengthening. Sebastien has an excellent knowledge of the municipal culture and a strong ability to provide strategic advisory support to senior government officers, elected officials, ministers, boards, and councils. His extensive network includes multilateral organizations, national governments, and several national and global local government associations in various regions of the world. He is fluent in English and French and has conversational Spanish.
As a specialist in administrative, financial and procurement management with over fifteen (15) years’ experience in project management in West and Central Africa, and particularly in Benin, I have been contributing my expertise to the effective and efficient implementation of projects run by VNG International since 2010. In this capacity, I have contributed to setting up and strengthening the capacities of local authority associations through the ARIAL program (2010-2013) and to improving land governance in Benin through the PFL (2015-2018), PMAF (2019-2023) and PPMEC (2023-2026) projects. I also had the opportunity to support the setting up of VNG International’s new country offices in West and Central Africa by drafting administrative, financial and accounting procedure manuals, defining procurement procedures and managing human resources in accordance with local regulations.
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Spécialiste en gestion administrative, financière et passation des marchés avec plus de quinze (15) années d’expérience dans la gestion des projets en Afrique de l’ouest et du centre et notamment au Bénin, j’apporte mon expertise à la mise en œuvre efficace et efficiente des projets conduits par VNG International depuis 2010. A ce titre, j’ai contribué à la mise en place et au renforcement des capacités des associations de pouvoirs locaux à travers le programme ARIAL (2010-2013) et à l’amélioration de la gouvernance foncière au Bénin à travers les projets PFL (2015-2018), PMAF (2019-2023) et PPMEC (2023 – 2026). Par ailleurs, j’ai eu l’occasion d’appuyer la mise en place des nouveaux bureaux Pays de VNG International en Afrique de l’ouest et du centre en matière de rédaction des manuels de procédures administrative, financière et comptable avec la définition des procédures de passation des marchés et la gestion des ressources humaines conformément à la règlementation locale.
Thierry is jurist by training (Bac +5) at the Université Libre des Pays des Grands Lacs. Committed nationally and internationally for the past twenty years to human rights, universal values, good governance, justice and the peaceful coexistence of differences. VNG International teams often work in complex contexts in which challenges are experienced as traps for entire communities and as an already-pronounced sentence : wretched living in perpetuity. The challenges experienced are then proof of a confirmed death of good governance. Under these conditions, VNG International’s commitment and work for good governance with communities and authorities at various levels brings technique, reason, conviction and faith to bear on the same ground. The resilience of the communities and the successes recorded are testimony to the victory over pessimism.
Based on a multidisciplinary background (BSc in environmental sciences, LLM-master in laws, educational and organization sciences on MSc-level), he can analyze projects and challenges in an interdisciplinary manner and support in finding integral solutions and approaches. Due to long-term work experience in educational institutions and (governmental) organizations as a manager and advisor, he can make these approaches and solutions practical and implementable. Since 2006 he has been working on local authorities’ capacity building and training civil servants on various topics. Such as strengthening local government, building more effective urban organizations, project and program management.
From the legal background, he was involved in topics such as decentralization, public-private partnerships, policy development and policy implementation, management and organization of local governmental departments. And local planning processes. From an environmental background, he has done many projects in waste management/sanitation, guiding environmental and social impact assessments and projects for developing sustainable cities and communities.
He has mainly worked in Africa: South Africa, Rwanda, Burundi, Ghana, Sudan, Tunisia, and Morocco and also for years in Lebanon and Nicaragua (Central America). He works structured and disciplined, but is also cooperative and communicative.
Ülge is an accomplished consultant with extensive experience in technical assistance projects on local government and public administration reform. Since 2005, she has been providing support to central and local level institutions and civil society in Turkey in co-operation with national and international counterparts. Her expertise centres on improving public decision-making and service delivery processes in line with good governance principles. She contributes to strengthening technical capacity and enhancing public governance by way of synthesizing and interpreting latest research and technologies for deliberation with diverse stakeholders. She has graduate degrees in regional and urban planning studies, European studies, and public governance and administration.
Ziad Moussa is a multi-disciplinary development professional with an intellectual and professional passion for Local Urban Governance and Utilization-Focused Evaluation. He consulted extensively over the past 25 years across the Arab world and the Global South, in well over 40 countries and with almost every major donor on the circuit, including a long-standing history of collaboration with VNGI since 2011. He is currently the representative of VNGI in Jordan and Lebanon, advising on business development and acquisitions. Ziad privileges working in fragile contexts, particularly in conflict/post-conflict settings, where building local-level resilience is the cornerstone for any future recovery and/or development effort. His last two projects as Team Leader with VNGI (International Municipal Assistance to Local Governments in Northern Jordan and the Zaatari Refugee Camp , and the Local Government Resilience Programme – LOGOReP) are both geared in this direction. Ziad is also an accomplished evaluator, and was elected as President of the International Organization of Cooperation in Evaluation (IOCE) between 2015 and 2017 and Co-Chair of EvalPartners between 2016 and 2018. He currently serves on the Executive Board of the International Evaluation Academy.