Guyana

Working as a Project Adviser for the Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme.

Cuida a tu vecino, y llegarás lejos.

Political Scientist and Lawyer with a Specialization in International Cooperation for Development 

With a solid background in political science and law, and specialized in international cooperation for development, I have more than 20 years of experience in the management, monitoring and evaluation of development programs and institutions. 

I have played key roles in consulting, evaluation and training for the programming, design and management of international cooperation and training interventions, covering various regions, including South America, Central America, the United States, the Caribbean and Europe. After extensive fieldwork, I established myself as an independent consultant, bringing my experience in change management and capacity building. I have successfully participated in missions in different regions, working closely with local, regional and international actors. 

My commitment to sustainable development is manifested in an approach focused on human rights, governance and socio-economic development. My technical background is complemented by an MBA in project management, giving me a solid understanding of the economic, strategic and operational dimensions. I have had the privilege of working with multilateral organizations, government agencies, civil society organizations, and the private sector. My studies in political science and law allow me to address development challenges from a comprehensive and interdisciplinary perspective. 

My methodological rigor has been recognized in my role as a trainer and coach for private companies, multilateral institutions such as the Organization of American States, United Nations, member countries of the European Union (Norway and France) and in Latin America (Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador). 

I have supported the implementation and evaluation of complex programs, and I have contributed to the development of monitoring and performance measurement frameworks for key EU initiatives, such as: FLEGT Forests in Colombia and Amazonia+, present in eight countries in Latin America. 

I am passionate about promoting positive change through adaptive and agile approaches, ensuring that development interventions are both impactful and sustainable.

Consultant specialised in project design, logframe methodology, management, monitoring and evaluation of interventions managed by civil society organisations.

I am a Sustainable Development Practitioner with a diverse expanse of interests and subsequent expertise, which are founded on a keen understanding and appreciation for the significance attributed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Joaquin, director of To the core of things, is a monitoring, evaluation, researcher and programme manager of multimillion regional programmes and projects specialised in human rights, media, gender, community tourism and children/youth.

As the director and principal consultant of To the core of things consultancy firm, I bring over two decades of experience in results-based management, monitoring, and evaluation of international development programs, with a deep familiarity with EU and UNEG norms and standards. Throughout my career, I have developed and refined evaluation systems, policies, and related guidance for various DGs, national authorities, international NGOs and UN agencies. My work spans multiple regions, including Africa, Latin America, and Asia, focusing on human rights, media, gender, and education and youth programs. Notably, I have led strategic consultancies for different EU instruments including EIDHR, the EU social fund and also outside the EU for UNESCO and OHCHR. These consultancies focused on monitoring, evaluation, and reporting functions of international organizations including the assessment of these functions of UN agencies, OECD, the Council of Europe and the European Union.

My methodological expertise includes mixed-methods approaches and quasi-experimental designs that emphasise client and partner ownership, coherence with learning curves, and pragmatic solutions. These tools, developed under the Creative Commons IP from To the Core of Things, include research guidelines, organisational capacity assessment, modular reconstruction and adaptation of theories of change, stakeholder network maps methodologies, case study guidelines and approaches, outcome harvesting through Most Significant Change stories and implementation of machine learning approaches to development cooperation programmes.

The principles I apply in all my works are ownership of the works and the processes by the client and partners (through a strong participatory approach); alignment with latest trends in the field (including ICT4D, statistical techniques and humanistic considerations); coherence with the learning curve of the clients, and; pragmatism, proposing solutions in line with the interests, philosophy and capacities of the clients and its partners.

Key relevant work that reflects this range of skills and passions include ROM reviews for multi-country EU programmes, consultancies for UNESCO (evaluaitons, periodic reporting consultancies or MEAL system TA). Also for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) I have developed as well another strategic consultancy assessing their in-house monitoring and reporting function plus other programme and country evaluations. Other donors, include USAID, with consultancies carried for US Internews setting up the methodologies, managing seven multicultural teams and producing seven research products for their Rooted in Trust programme and leading several programme evaluations. Some other relevant examples of my works are the evaluation of an agriculture cooperative based project in Ethiopia funded by NORAD, the evaluation of a community radios programme in Zambia funded by the Netherlands; the research manager position for ECORYS and also academic publications in the Journal of Multidisciplinary Evaluation.

For more information visit https://tothecoreofthings.consulting; check our track of projects.

My working experience focuses on development cooperation, knowledge management, peace building and conflict resolution, MEAL, mostly in the social sector. I was a civil servant, and I worked afterwards with international NGOs, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and UN agencies in several countries (Nicaragua, Guatemala, West Bank and Gaza Strip, Kenya, Guyana, Sierra Leone, Belgium, Ecuador, Mexico). I am currently living in Rome and I have been I have been commissioned by the development firm DT Global Idev Europe S.L. to systematise good practices/lessons learnt within the scope of the triangular cooperation initiative between Argentina, Mexico and Italy "Water education for sustainable rural development", funded by the EU Delegation in Argentina through the instrument "Ventana Adelante" - Latin America and the Caribbean 2021 - 2024.

I have a degree in Political Sciences (specialization in sociology), a MSc in Development Management, postgraduate studies in Librarianship and Archive Management and certificates of achievement in: "Causes of War"; "Planning for Monitoring and Evaluation"; "Instructions in Peace Keeping and International Conflict Resolution"

I look forward to exchange experiences and to establish fruitful collaborations