2. First Names: Magdalena Luise

CURRICULUM VITAE

1.   Family name: BLUM

2.   First names: Magdalena Luise

3.   Date of birth: 25.08.1956

4.   Nationality: German

5.   Civil status: single

Address: Via di Villa Torlonia 1, 00161 Rome, Italy

Tel. (office) 00 39 06 57056098, E-mail:

6.   Present position: Extension Systems Officer, FAO, Rome

7.   Years of professional experience: 32 years

•  27 years of rural and capacity development experience - FAO contract/Rome (08/2005 to date);
4 long-term contracts in Africa (01/1986-01/2001), including 10 years in German bi-lateral Technical Cooperation and 13 years in women and highly gender and organizational development programmes; international senior development consultant work (2003-2005);

•  5 years of teaching experience in Germany (1981-1985).

8.   International Experience by region:

Short-term missions: Africa: Botswana, Niger, Senegal, Swaziland, South Africa, Uganda, Ethiopia, Angola, Liberia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Rep. of Congo and Nigeria; Near East: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Palestine; West-Balkan: Macedonia, Bulgaria, Asia: China, The Philippines, Vietnam; LA: Chile;
Others: United States, Switzerland, Chile, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria.

Long-term contracts: Italy, Togo, Central African Republic, The Gambia, Kenya and Germany.

Project visits and personal journeys: Brazil, Madeira, Portugal; Turkey; Senegal, The Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Ghana, Zanzibar, Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Chad; Egypt, Morocco; and Vietnam, Thailand and Martinique.

9.   Key qualifications:

•  Policy design/dialogue/advice and Management: Policy design/advice; assessments of policies and policy options, evidence base; Policy development by multi-stakeholder processes, Political Economy, Innovation Policy; Result and Impact Oriented Project Planning, Result based management, Project/Programme Cycle Management, logical framework, personnel and financial/budget management, monitoring and evaluations.

•  Institutional and Organizational development, Partnerships and Capacity Development (policy, institutions, and human resources): Governance, organisational and institutional assessments, steering multi-stakeholder processes, partnership and network development, change management, managing organizational complexity, implementing change and strengthening capacities, sustainability issues, empowerment, participatory approaches, promotion and networking of diverse organisations (platforms, networks of rural institutions, NGOs, Micro-Finance Institutions and producer organisations/federations).

•  Innovation Systems, Advisory Systems and Networks: Promotion and Governance of international and regional extension platforms, Policy advice for strengthening and reforming national extension systems (decentralization, privatization, demand and market orientation, pluralistic systems, new financing mechanisms, etc.) in an innovation concept framework; Institutional and human capacity development for improving quality of services and accountability to clients; Networking/integration of knowledge and information systems (farmer organizations, research, extension, education) in the wider innovation system, incl. ICTs; Worldwide study on extension; Investment assessment, investment requirement model and projections for extension in Zero Hunger framework.

•  Gender and development: Gender differentiated analysis, policy assessments and evaluations, conceptualizing and implementing of women and gender-responsive projects/programmes, gender aspects in rural advisory services, promotion of women and their organisations, empowerment, and gender mainstreaming in organizations and technical assistance.

•  Rural development (RD): Sustainable agricultural and RD Policies and strategies, agricultural/rural advisory systems, participatory approaches/methods, sustainable development, strengthening rural institutions, gender/wealth and target group specific policy design and procedures for RD, community-driven development, gender responsive rural micro-finance/savings and credit policies and renewable household energy.

•  Poverty alleviation: Poverty reduction strategies (PRS) and their mainstreaming, PRSP related policies and processes, poverty reduction strategies in RD, self-help oriented poverty reduction, targeting, poverty as cross-cutting issue, Millennium Development Goals and Zero Hunger objectives.

•  Education, training and communication: didactic and curriculum development, training methods and tools, secondary and non-formal education, vocational training, moderation skills, structuring processes, team-building.

10. Education:

Institution: / University of East Anglia (UEA) / School of Development Studies, Norwich/U.K.
Date: from … to … / 1989 to 1990
Degree(s) or diploma(s): / Master of Arts in “Rural Development Planning” –
Courses: Agricultural Policy and Planning, Political Economy of Agrarian Chance, Gender in Development, Rural Development Planning, Qualitative and quantitative methods
UEA focus on Asian and African Studies
Institution: / Teachers Colleges in Freiburg & Karlsruhe/FRG
Date: from … to … / 1981 to 82 in Karlsruhe; 1976 to 80 in Freiburg
Degree(s) or diploma(s): / 1st and 2nd State Examination for the Teaching Profession for Secondary Education - Physics, Home Economics (including nutrition) and Textiles
Distinction: 1.1 (A)
Focus on development subjects since 1979

11. a) Training in Management and Organizational Development

FAO provided or financed trainings:

•  Social Media, FAO (05/2013)

•  Budget Holder course, FAO (07/2012)

•  Strategic Leadership course at CCL (08/2011, see below)

•  Management and Leadership Forum (09/2010)

•  Innovation Policy for Inclusive Growth, World Bank Institute, (03/2011)

•  Result-based Management, FAO (2010)

•  FAO ‘Personality Dynamics in the Workplace’ (2007)

•  FAO Project Cycle Overview Course (2006)

Others: PEMS training (2010), PowerPoint (2007), PIRES (2006)

Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), Greensboro, NC (USA) (08/2011)

•  Leading for Organizational Impact: The Looking Glass Experience (5 days)

Arbeitskreis Gruppendynamik Münster (agm), Wiesbaden/Germany (2000-2002):

Certificates for professional leadership training in

·  Leading and Guiding in Organizations (4 training blocks, individual counseling on organization issues)

·  Group Dynamics (4 training blocks, group counseling on organization issues)

Regio-team, Uetikon/Switzerland (2001):

3 training blocks in Organizational Development (organisational diagnoses, conflict management)

German Technical Cooperation (GTZ):

•  Member of the sector network and the technical division ‘Organization and Management Advice’ of GTZ (1993 to 2001) within the department ‘State and Economy Reform, Civil Society’.

•  Yearly summer workshops on organizational development (1994 – 2000);

•  ‘Advice-Action in projects of the technical cooperation – understanding of roles and intervention techniques’ – by GTZ & Eurosystem (1997-98) composed of 3 training blocks:

Advice as social competence; Advice as co-creative process, Advice as management of change.

•  Seminar on ‘advice and culture – culture of advice’ (1996).

11.  b) Conferences and Steering Committees

·  Africa Extension Week organized by the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS) in Gaborone, Botswana; presentation provided on ‘Knowledge Management and Networking in Extension using ICTs’ 08/2013.

·  Conference on Political Economy of Agricultural Policy in Africa, organized by Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC), Pretoria, South Africa, NEPAD related, 03/2013.

·  Annual meetings of the Global Forum of Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS): Berlin, Germany 09/2013; Manila/The Philippines 09/2012; Nairobi/Kenya, 10/2011; Vina del Mar/Chile, 11/2010

·  GFRAS Foundation member and FAO representative in the GFRAS Steering Committee, 2010 to date.

·  Expert Consultation Workshop in Market-oriented Advisory Services with 8 West-African countries, Dakar/Senegal, preparation, organisation and presentation, 10/2012.

·  Extension Symposium of the German Ministry of Cooperation and GIZ, Panel discussion member, Bonn/Germany, 09/2012.

·  International Workshop on Investing in and Strengthening Agricultural Innovation Systems, Washington/DC at the World Bank, May 30-June 1, 2012; launching of the WB Agricultural Innovation Sourcebook, Chairlady of the session on extension.

·  Roundtable Consultation on Agricultural Extension for Strengthening Sustainable Agriculture and Farmers’ Participation in Value Chains in Asia, Beijing, China, Presentation, 05/2012

·  ‘Tracking investments in AR4D’ organised by GFAR, Berlin, Germany, 01/2012.

·  Extension Conference, Nairobi/Kenya, Coordination of FAO inputs into the Conference, Representing FAO in the International Steering Committee of the Conference and the Technical Committee on Policies; Presentation of paper on national extension investment requirements; 11/2011.

·  CAADP Pillar IV Research and Extension Workshop organised by FARA, Zürich, Switzerland, 02/2011

·  Global Conference on Agricultural Research and Development (GCARD I), Montpellier, France, 03/2010.

·  European Seminar of Extension Education (ESEE), Assisi, Italy, 2009.

·  IFPRI conference on “Advancing agriculture in developing countries through knowledge and innovation”, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 04/2008.

·  Neuchâtel Initiative, FAO representative attending the Annual meetings of this donor and extension expert platform: Vienna 2006, Montpellier 2007, Uganda 2008, Assisi/Italy 2009 (organized by FAO/myself in collaboration with the Univ. of Perugia), Chile 2010.

Other conferences and seminars:

·  Conference ‘Globalisation shapes communities, communities shape globalisation’ by InWent, 11/2004;

·  DeGEval conference on ‘Evaluation and Organisational Development’, 10/2003; spring conferences in 2003 & 2004 on ‘Learning from evaluation’ and ‘Evaluation of the promotion of democratisation’;

·  EC Evaluation (Mai 2004) and EC Project Cycle Management Seminar (June 2003) by AGEG;

·  Eschborner Fachtage, Youth as partners in Development Cooperation, GTZ Eschborn June 2003;

·  Seminar on ‘Development Cooperation in conflict regions’ (10/2004), ‘Poverty Alleviation through education’ (05/2004), ‘Public Private Partnership’ (05/2003) by GTZ Rückkehrerforum;

·  Intensive study of poverty reduction strategies and PRSP, Millennium Dev Goals and poverty & policy monitoring, PRSP related policies and processes (2002-04);

·  Training Course for future international delegates working in humanitarian aid by the German Red Cross (Berlin) in cooperation with the ICRC and the Red Cross Federation (Nov. 2002);

·  Seminar on ‘New Development Finance’ by Frankfurt and Ohio State University (Sept. 1999);

·  «Sommet du Microcrédit» by the World Bank in Abidjan (Juin 1999);

·  Seminar on Open Funds (08/1995) by the GTZ ‘Organisation and Management Advice’;

·  Study Leave at the International Rice Research Institute (social dep’t. & seed dep’t.) in Los Banos, visits to research rice fields in the Northern part of Luzon/The Philippines (March 1992);

·  AURA (06/2003), Objective Oriented Project Planning, Project/Programme Cycle Management, intercultural and other courses by DSE and GTZ (March/April 1997, Oct./Nov. 1993 and March/April 1991).

12.  Membership of professional bodies and other organisations:

·  Steering Committee member of the Global Forum of Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) (2010 to date); Foundation member of GFRAS; elected Co-Chair of GFRAS (2010-2012 and 2014-2016); member of the International Reference Group on Extension Evaluation;

·  ‘German Evaluation Society’ / DeGEval (2004 to date), active in the Development Policy Section;

·  German Association of Development Consultants / AGEG, Kirchheim/FRG (2003 – 2008);

·  Member of the sector network and the technical division ‘Organization and Management Advice’ of GTZ (1993 to 2001) within the department ‘State & Economy Reform, Civil Society’.

13.  Other skills (e.g. computer literacy):

•  Leadership skills, strong analytic, strategic and conceptual thinking, managerial competences,
moderation skills, intercultural skills; Microsoft Office Word, Outlook, basic Excel.

14.  Working Experience:

Present position: Extension Systems Officer, 08/2005 to date, P 4.12

Employer: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy

FAO Unit: Research and Extension Branch

Full description of duties:

·  Advising member countries in policy formulation, institutional and organizational reform and/or strengthening of their extension and advisory systems in an innovation system concept framework;

·  Promoting and supporting changes towards a pluralistic, demand led and market oriented extension system that responds to the multiple and changing needs of male and female farmers, young people and marginal groups in rural areas and which is supported through new funding mechanisms for a more sustainable delivery of relevant extension and advisory services; and making recommendation for improving the quality of services in the dissemination of information, technologies and knowledge using innovative approaches and tools;

·  Providing inputs for the FAO flagship publication on the State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2014 on ‘Agricultural Innovation in Family Farming’;

·  Writing up international experiences in extension for a concept note to the President of Brazil (2013);

·  Advising in strengthening the linkages within the Agricultural Knowledge and Information System and with the wider innovation system through communication and coordination mechanisms, the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) like VERCON, Information centres, etc.;

·  Coordinating all extension activities of the Research and Extension Division and respond to all incoming extension requests in the absence of the Senior Extension Officer (10/2006-01/2007; 01/2008-10/2008; 10/2013 to date);

·  Alternate leader of Output 1.3 ‘Organizational and institutional capacities of public and private institutions, organizations and networks strengthened to support innovation and transition toward more sustainable agricultural production systems’ (since 10/2013 and for 2013/2014):

·  Studies on Financial mechanisms for advisory systems (Senegal, Denmark, Chile/Colombia);

·  Studies on gender and rural advisory services with inputs to the Extension Conference in Iran (09/2014);

·  Conceptual work on defining indicators for the agricultural innovation system and its sub-systems;

·  FAO-GFRAS collaboration for the International Year of Family Farming with event during the Annual Meeting in Buenos Aires (09/2014).

·  Leading the Organisational Output ‘Partnership’: Agricultural innovation promoted through coalitions with CGIAR, GFAR, GFRAS and other international partners (2012/2013)

·  FAO focal point for the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS), Memorandum of Understanding developed and signed (02/2014); facilitation of a meeting of the GFRAS Steering Committee with the DDG Knowledge and FAO technical units to identify areas of collaboration;

·  Representing FAO in GFRAS as Steering Committee member, elected GFRAS Co-Chair (2010-2012 and 2014-2016); major inputs to its Charter, governance, strategy, operational guidelines and thematic work (gender, capacity development, good practices, etc.);

·  Contributing to the Annual Meetings of GFRAS and supporting regional and national extension networks which are emerging in Africa (AFAAS), West-Africa (RESCAR), Latin America (RELASER) and Asia (2010 to date);

·  Member of the International Reference Group on Extension Evaluation;

·  Guiding and coordinating the joint FAO-GFRAS extension publication for the GCARD I Conference (2010); Contributions to papers for Rio+20 and GCARD II Conference (2012);

·  Coordination with Research and International Platforms such as the Tropical Agricultural Platform (TAP), and the Gender in Agriculture (GAP) initiative.

·  Leading the Unit Result F06G102: Evidence base and advice for policies and investments in Research and Extension provided (2010/2011)

·  As OEKR focal point: Coordinating all research and extension investment inputs to the Investment Assessment Project (IAP) initiated by the Director General; leading the development of a concept and new formula for estimating the extension investment requirements and calculations for 86 countries; investment projections in the Zero Hunger objectives for 2025 for the 86 countries, results presented at the Extension Conference in Nairobi, Kenya;

·  Coordinating FAO inputs into the Extension Conference 2011 in Nairobi, Kenya; FAO representative in the International Steering Committee of the Conference and in the Technical Committee on Policies;