IEE Team Capability

The ITAD core team consists of the Team Leader, three Senior Experts and a pool of 12 further experts who will have specific responsibilities during the IEE. The core team represents six nationalities from four continents and includes five women. It also represents the required range of language expertise and experience across the IFAD regions. The core team will be augmented for field work by Country Evaluation Teams recruited from the 10-12 countries where depth independent validation will be carried out.

Team leader and three senior experts

Derek Poate, Team Leader

Derek Poate is a Director at ITAD and has acted as Team Leader and Project Director for a number of international development projects in the renewable natural resources, sustainable development and agricultural sectors. He is a much sought-after and globally recognised M&E and performance assessment expert. Recent work undertaken by Derek includes a large scale evaluation of UNAIDs, acting as Study Director of an evaluation of the process of Sustainable Development Agreements for the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as Team Leader for an Impact Assessment of the World Bank's Village Level Participatory Approach. He also recently managed an Evaluation of the Sustainable Development Agreements for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands. Mr Poate has worked with the Agriculture and Rural development Department of the World Bank on their Rural Development Strategy and has carried out numerous long and short-term technical inputs in the developing world and transitional economies. Mr Poate has substantial experience in the evaluation of institutional development, the work of multilateral, bilateral and national institutions, and the United Nations system.

Alison Evans, Senior Expert

Currently working as an independent consultant and Research Associate with the Overseas Development Institute in London, Alison Evans was a senior economist and later a senior evaluation specialist with the World Bank from 1994 to 2000. Alison started out as an academic focusing on, amongst other things, rural institutional economics, poverty and gender. Since then she has developed considerable expertise of poverty reduction policy issues, which has developed into a current focus on Poverty Reduction Strategies, institutional development (state transformation) and donor behaviour. She has significant aid evaluation experience within the World Bank as well as with several bilateral development agencies.

Ian Hill, Senior Expert

Dr. Ian Hill has provides leadership in rural development, natural resource and environmental management projects and programmes. He has experience in around twenty different countries and extensive knowledge of West Africa, South Asia and Indonesia. Ian has been involved in all stages of the project cycle, from preparation and appraisal, through project supervision to evaluation on completion. He has also undertaken various sector-wide analyses, most recently with a focus on participatory natural resource management. His experience has given him a clear understanding of the importance of policy and institutional issues, the requirements of change processes, and the critical need for client ownership. Having worked for DFID, the FAO Investment Centre and the World Bank he has a sound knowledge of the strategies and policies of both bilateral and multilateral agencies and the way in which such strategies translate into implementation programmes.

John Rowley, Senior Expert

After an early career as an entomologist, publishing significant work including a study of locusts and grasshoppers in the Sahel, John's expertise has developed into a focus on institutional development and capacity building, with a strong interest in community development and participation. He has substantial experience in strategic planning, programme organisation and management and has worked on impact assessment and evaluation of major programmes including the Dutch Sustainable Development Agreements with ITAD. He brings a detailed understanding of NGO organisations. Experience includes work on food security, natural resource management and conflict management. He is a fluent French speaker.

Other members of the core team

Chris Barnett: Country Visit Manager

Andrew Batkin: Project and Country Analyst

Neil Chalmers: Sampling and Information Management Expert

Charles Chandler: Process and Portfolio Analyst

Munhamo Chisvo: International Expert for Country Review

Chris Mowles: International Expert for Country Review

Ridley Nelson: International Expert for Country Review

Ted Rice: International Expert for Country Review

Vijaya Shrestha: International Expert for Country Review

Jane Stanton: ITAD Administration

Mary Underwood: Agriculture and Social Expert