Mr. Nnamdi Anene has been working in the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development of the Federal Republic of Nigeria since 2008 as a geologist deployed to the Artisanal and Small-scale Mining Department. His roles focus on assisting the Ministry in formulating and implementing policies for the effective development and regulation of the Artisanal and Small-scale Mining sub-sector. Prior to joining the public service, Mr. Anene had a brief stint in the private sector working with a water borehole construction company. He also participated in various geological investigations whilst undergoing the National Youth Service Corps programme at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency. Mr. Anene has a degree in Geological Sciences. He also obtained a postgraduate diploma in Environmental Management from the Centre for International Postgraduate Studies of Environmental Management at TUD Dresden and a Master of Technology in Environmental Management from the Federal University of Technology Minna, Nigeria.

Freelance expert, highly experienced in implementing and managing EU-funded programmes and projects in the fields of support to civil society, democratic governance and human rights, with a special focus on Africa (Western and Central) and the EUROMED region.

Marie Körner is a senior Socio-economist and M&E specialist with over 30 years of experience

in all aspects of project cycle management from assignments in Africa, Asia (including Vietnam),

Europe and the Middle East. She has worked for different clients including UN agencies,

multilateral and bilateral donors, NGOs, IFIs, and the private sector. Ms. Körner is a skilled

evaluator with extensive experience in designing and implementing formative and summative

evaluations of development projects and programs using participative qualitative and

quantitative methods. She is also skilled in the planning, organization and implementation of

socio-economic surveys and in setting up monitoring systems. Her particular interest is the

sustainability and continued benefits from development interventions

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.

I have over 30 years of professional experience working in external relations and development cooperation, gained as short- and long-term expert in TA teams of UE-funded projects; Over 30 years of professional experience in project cycle management including planning, budgeting, progress monitoring and evaluation, evidenced by numerous projects' successful implementation; Over 25 years of working experience in assignments that involved collaboration with governments of countries listed as ODA Recipients in the OECD DAC List, gained mainly by working directly in the EUD (Mozambique), in the beneficiaries’ offices (Angola, Cabo Verde, Mozambique and Sao Tome e Principe), in regional projects (PALOP, SADC and SIDS), and sectoral projects (Agriculture, Education, Health, Governance, Environment, Climate Change, …); 10 long term assignments (> 1 year each) working on a Technical Assistance Team based in the beneficiary country (e.g. Mozambique (3 long-term assignments), Angola (2 long-term assignments), Cap Vert (1 long-term assignment), Sao Tomé e Principe and Timor Lest (2 hybrid long term assignments); • 4 years of working experience working in the areas related to smart cities and regions, gained as executive director of NOVA Cidade – Urban Analytics Lab at UNL-NOVA IMS; Working experience as technical advisor to the Secretary of State for Spatial Planning and Nature Conservation of the XIX Constitutional Government of the Portuguese Republic; Working experience in training of national officials in project cycle management, EU procurement, elaboration of proposals for local and international calls; Exceptional knowledge of a wide range of EU policies and procedures, gained over 25 years of experience working in EU-funded projects; Excellent skills in drafting reports and/or ToRs as evidenced by numerous reports and/or ToRs approved during the last 30 years of professional experience; Strong inter-personality and excellent skills in facilitating multi-stakeholder relations gained through 30 years of professional experience working in different countries and contexts, different teams, different technical areas, and different institutions.