Short Introduction

Sole owner of APS Consulting Services which is a private independent consulting company, specialising in global agricultural research for development and strategic planning providing independent services to clients.

Based in Denmark, APS Consulting Services has undertaken assignments throughout the world for clients including European Commission; FAO; GIZ; DANIDA; The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC); The Ministry of Economic Affairs, Netherlands; The Directorate General for Development Cooperation, Belgium; the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland as well as universities and various private companies.

Academic and practical background

A solid academic background and education. In addition, he also has a practical educational background. He went to Agricultural College in England and obtained the top grade in a Higher National Diploma (H.N.D.). His M.Sc. Agric. was awarded by the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Practical experience from working on farming enterprises including a large market garden in England; large piggery and a small-medium sized dairy farm. His research career has been in Denmark and Mozambique where crop protection in horticultural and fruit crops has been in focus using principles of integrated pest management.

Work experience

Sole owner of a private independent consulting company based in Denmark and built up around an extensive network of contacts in Europe and world-wide. He has worked for over 30 years in the Danish agricultural research system including being employed first as a research scientist for some 15 years and then being in charge of an International Unit at the Aarhus University for over 16 years working especially with collaboration with African and Chinese institutions. In addition he has carried out numerous short-term consultancies including reviews and evaluations both whilst being employed at the university and later as an independent consultant.

Has experience of long and short-term consultancies covering many international assignments in Africa, China, Latin America, Eastern Europe and, of course, Europe. He understands the academic imperatives of research from his employment in research and education at Aarhus University, Denmark and was committed to all stages of dissemination – scientific and popular as well as both written and oral.

He has a good knowledge of various European Commission instruments including the Development Cooperation Instrument covering the Food Security Thematic Programme and ERA Nets and also the various framework programmes including Horizon 2020.

He has carried out pre-feasibility studies, various desk studies, reviews and evaluations and has worked with all stages of the project cycle including project identification, resource identification, project management, resource management, reporting, and quality assurance of deliverables and reports as well as consultancy assignments. He also supports scientist in proof reading draft scientific papers.

Some examples

Short-term assignments have included reviews for DANIDA and for the World Bank; evaluations of research proposals under H2020 for the European Commission; evaluation of research and development programs under CTA; evaluation of a DFID funding mechanism; heading a Call Secretariat under two ERA Net projects supported by EC (development of call documents, handling of applications, managing the international peer review process, final evaluation by funders). In addition he has first-hand experience of research formulation and implementation for DANIDA and for the EC and has also led the evaluation of the first nine years of activities of the European Forum on Agricultural Research for Development (EFARD), identifying its strengths and weaknesses regarding response to the challenges of ARD, as well as providing ideas for different scenarios for the future. He has carried out pre-feasibility studies in Mozambique, as well as for inter-continental platforms for research and dissemination collaboration between Europe and other continents and has also carried out an evaluation of competencies needed by Young Professionals in Agricultural Research for Development in a profiles study.

He has experience from working on assignments related to global issues and Alex Percy-Smith has recently prepared and is helping establish a Joint EIARD SCAR Strategic Working Group focusing on “European Agricultural Research towards greater impact on global challenges”. He is now providing coordination services for this group which is working at the interface between Agricultural Research and Agricultural Research for Development bringing together funders and programme managers in Europe. Food and Nutrition Security and Climate Smart agricultural production are in focus.

He has experience from writing strategies including in an internationalisation strategy for the second largest Danish University and also heading a small team who wrote a Livestock Research Strategy for Uganda. In addition, using his systematic approach to work and English, his mother-tongue, he has regularly provided quality assurance of project deliverables and applications ensuring they are coherent, well-written and easily understood as well as addressing the issue in hand.

Personal competencies

He has acquired extensive experience from organising project workshops and international conferences as well as facilitating processes at workshops and conferences ensuring participants are heard and encouraged to contribute actively to the process.

Was born and brought up in England. So with English as his mother tongue, he is completely fluent in written and oral English. He has written countless reports in English for clients such as the World Bank, The European Commission, Danida and the Nordic Council of Ministers. In addition, he has a proven ability to deliver high quality and well-written reports on time.

Alex Percy-Smith

APS Consulting Services

Morelgangen 13

DK-3460 Birkerød

Denmark

Telephone +45 20 72 75 09

e-mail alex@APSconsultingservices.dk

skype name: alexpercy-smith

Linkedin: http://dk.linkedin.com/pub/alex-percy-smith/6/77b/265/