Dr. Nicolas Marcoux is the lead expert on institutional development and knowledge management for the MELDEA project for the European Commission external relations services where he oversee the development of knowledge and learning products and services for DG INTPA, NEAR and FPI. Prior to working for the Meldea project, he was a Senior Governance Specialist in the Irish Institute of Public Administration providing consultancy, training and assistance to Government Departments on Governance arrangements, public policy and governance evaluation and effectiveness reviews.
He previously worked for the European Commission in DG External Relations, DG DEV and DG Enlargement in sub-Sahara Africa, the Balkans and Eastern Europe where he managed large projects in human rights, institutional building, economic development and reconstruction as well as public administration reform. Under the newly-elected democratic government of President Mandela, he led the operations of the Foundation for Human Rights in South Africa in 1996. Following the end of the Kosovo war in 2000, he managed the institution-building and democratisation portfolio of the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR) in Pristina before being appointed Head of Operations of the Belgrade centre of the EAR after the fall of Milosevic in 2003. He also worked for the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs as Deputy-Director of the North Africa and Middle East Unit and is a member of the Department’s Audit and Evaluation Committee. He also teaches on the Master of Diplomacy and International Relations offered by the College of Europe.
As part of his managerial responsibilities, he led on setting up bespoke and effective monitoring and evaluation systems and processes and has developed a deep understanding of the key tenants of aid effectiveness, which he explored as part of his Doctoral research on Governance. He is a keen advocate for using evaluation as a learning tool towards improving public policies, services and development projects.
