Costanza de Toma

KEY SKILLS AND EXPERTISE

  • Advocacy and Campaigns (specialism: European Union)
  • Strategy development and implementation
  • Policy analysis, mapping and research (see below for key areas of expertise)
  • Advocacy assessments, monitoring and evaluation
  • Training / organisational capacity building including workshop facilitation, mentoring and coaching (e.g. long-distance coaching on advocacy, running training courses on rights-based advocacy, Bond EU Corridors of Power trainer 2009 to present)
  • Writing and editing (e.g. author of a number of toolkits on advocacy, CSO development effectiveness and on influencing the EU, as well as of published policy papers on nutrition and social protection).
  • High level event organisation (e.g. UN launch events at the European Parliament, international conferences and civil society and public consultation processes in the UK)
  • Interim management
  • Media and communications
  • Key areas of expertise: social protection, food security and nutrition, gender,child rights, health, sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, education.
  • In-country Experience: Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Belgium, France, Italy, United Kingdom.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Aug 08 – presentAdvocacy Consultant – Advocacy etc. - London, UK

Focusing on strategy development, policy analysis and research, monitoring and evaluation,toolkit development, training and capacity building in advocacy and influencing the European Union. Registered Bond and INTRAC trainer. Recent clients include Oxfam, EveryChild, Save the Children, Bond, INTRAC, Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness, MSF, Care, Action Against Hunger, International Children’s Trust, HelpAge International, Caritas Europa.

Jan 06 – May 08Advocacy Adviser, Hunger Reduction – Save the Children UK

Developing and co-ordinating Save the Children’s advocacy work in nutrition and food security in the UK and internationally. Providing support and training in advocacy to international staff, co-ordinating media and campaigns work with a focus on infant feeding and social protection.

Feb 04 – April 07UK Delegate to CONCORD (European NGO Federation for Relief and Development)

One of two UK delegates, directly elected by Bond member agencies to represent the UK at CONCORD meetings in Brussels and for advocacy to the EU.

Sept 03 – Dec 05Advocacy Adviser, Basic Services – Save the Children, London, UK

Responsible for developing and co-ordinating advocacy campaigns in the UK and internationally to further Save the Children’s goals in education, health, HIV/AIDS, and nutrition.

April 02-Sept 03Advocacy and Representation Manager – Bond – London, UK

Responsible for consolidating BOND’s advocacy work towards the EU and the UK Government. Overseeing development of the ‘Tackling poverty’ and the ‘0.7%’ campaigns in the EU and the UK respectively. Member of the Management Committee of The Reality of Aid coalition.

Jan 01-April 02EU policy Officer – Bond – London, UK

Responsible for EU development policy analysis and advocacy providing support to BOND members, maintaining relations with and advocating at the European Commission, the European and UK Parliaments, DFID and UN bodies.

June 99–Dec 00European Advocacy Manager - Marie Stopes International – Brussels, Belgium

Responsible for heading the Brussels office, managing a team of three, and fundraising – Developed and implemented a public affairs (advocacy/ communications/ campaigning) strategy in collaboration with MSI London.

Aug 97-June 99European Advocacy Co-ordinator - Marie Stopes International – Brussels, Belgium

Secretariat to the European Parliament Working Group on Population, Sustainable Development and Reproductive Health. Influencing EU development policy to mainstream health issues, particularly reproductive health and HIV/AIDS.

Oct.97 – June 99Consultant to a Member of the European Parliament – Brussels,

Belgium

Part time consultancy for Luciano Vecchi MEP (Socialist co-ordinator for the Parliamentary Committee on Development Co-operation). Providing political advice and technical support on development issues. Responsible for liaising with Italian NGOs.

July-Aug. 1997Trainer in Participatory Appraisal Methods - Sutton Urban Regeneration Project - London, UK

Training local residents as part of a team in order to empower them to set priorities for the regeneration scheme of the area.

Jan-June 97Traineeship at the European Parliament – Luxembourg and Brussels

Awarded a Robert Schuman Scholarship – Focused on the re-negotiation of the partnership agreement between EU and Africa, Caribbean and Pacific states.
April 95-May 1996Participatory Appraisal Assistant for Latin America- Institute of
DevelopmentStudies, Brighton, U.K.

Working to Robert Chambers and liaising with participatory practitioners internationally to develop a resource centre for participatory research and action (PRA) at the Institute of Development Studies.

July-Aug. 1995Visiting Researcher – Autonomous University of Yucatan, Mexico

Field research on gender relations and the management of natural resources using participatory rural appraisal (PRA) methods.

July-Sept. 1994Research Assistant – Research Centre for Agricultural Sciences, Toluca, Mexico

Field research on infant malnutrition, and on the use of sustainable agricultural practices.

EDUCATION

1994-96M.Phil in Development Studies

The Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, U.K.

1991-94BSc in Social Anthropology, Class 2.1

London School of Economics, University of London, U.K.

1977-91International School of Milan (Italy)

8 GCSEs, 2 International Baccalaureate, 4 ‘A’ levels

PUBLICATIONS / PORTFOLIO

  • “Influencing the European Union -An Advocacy Manual” - Bond– August 2011
  • “Outreach Toolkit” – Costanza de Toma with Rose Wanjiru, Open Forum for Civil Society Development Effectiveness (unpublished), September 2009
  • “Running on Empty” (documentary film) co-produced by Save The Children UK and Television for the Environment, 2007
  • “Advocacy Toolkit” Costanza de Toma and Louisa Gosling, Save the Children 2005 (unpublished – revised 2007)
  • “We don’t do childhood poverty, we do large roads!” – The EU, the Millennium Development Goals and Children, D. Sutton, C. de Toma, H. Lind, Save the Children Europe Group 2005
  • “Handbook on European Community Support for Population and Reproductive Health Assistance”, Marie Stopes International 1999
  • “Scaling-down as the key to scaling-up? The role of participatory municipal planning in Bolivia’s Law of Popular Participation” in“Who Changes? – Institutionalizing participation in development” J. Blackburn & J. Holland (eds.), Intermediate Technology Publications 1998, London, UK

LANGUAGES AND SKILLS

Italian / English bilingual
Spanish: fluent
  • French: fluent
Portuguese: working knowledge
Computer Literate: MSWindows / Apple Mac, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, PageMaker, Quark Xpress, Premier, Final Cut.
PERSONAL DETAILS

Date of birth: 23 June 1972

Marital Status: married, two children

Nationality: Italian