New Platform Vice-Chair elected
Senior IFAD expert steps up to head the Platform's Steering Committee
Brian Baldwin, Senior Operations Management Adviser at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has been elected Vice-Chair of the Board of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development as well as Chair of its Steering Committee. The vote came during a meeting of the Platform Board in Brussels on March 14, 2008.
 Platform Chair Kohlmeyer and newly elected Vice-Chair Baldwin: Reinforcing ARD at centre-stage of rural poverty alleviation Mr Baldwin replaces the FAO's Michael Wales, who co-chaired the Platform since its creation in 2004.
"We're all really grateful to Mike Wales for his tireless and skilful work", Mr Baldwin said after his election. "The Global Donor Platform for Rural Development is about reinforcing ARD’s role for rural poverty alleviation and the attainment of the MDGs. I appreciate this sign of confidence from my colleagues and look forward to working with all of them and the wider Platform membership."
Mr Baldwin, an agricultural economist and geographer, initially worked with DFID from 1978 to 1982 in Sri Lanka and Zambia. Subsequently, he was a consultant to other Platform member organisations (USAID, FAO and the European Commission) in the Caribbean, South-East Asia and East Africa. In 1990, he started full-time work with IFAD, focusing on operational programmes in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Cambodia.
Since 2000, he has provided operational support to IFAD's strategic change programme, the Heavily-Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, the IFAD Performance-Based Allocation System (PBAS) and the Paris Declaration, including the Managing for Development Results (MfDR) initiatives.
According to the Platform Charter, the responsibilities of the six-person Steering Committee include "day-to-day supervision of, and guidance to, the Secretariat" and assistance with fundraising activities.
Membership on the Platform Board and Steering Committee is an unsalaried, pro-bono function. Members retain their full-time jobs in their respective organisations. More details on Platform governance. |
