Laurent Ruedin is a social anthropologist (and mathematical physicist) who joined SDC in 2003. He worked previously as a consultant - mainly in Mozambique on community development, empowerment and health promotion. Formerly Advisor in the Social Development Division, Laurent is currently Adviser to the Regional Cooperation Department,working on poverty, social justice and empowerment issues. Laurent represents SDC in the DAC/POVNET and the focus of his advisory work is on putting poor people at the centre of developmentand on assuring the quality of SDC's operational work from a poverty perspective. Contact: laurent.ruedin@deza.admin.ch

Intercooperation (IC) is mandated by SDC to provide back-stopping services – a task which the Swiss organization has been doing in consortium with the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) up to the end of 2009. Both organizations combine expertise in international development research and policy development with expertise in the planning and implementation of rural development programs.

Jane Carter has been a member of Intercooperation's staff since 1997, and recently returned to Head Office from the position of Senior Adviser to the IC Delegation, India. In her current position of Knowledge Coordinator, she supports knowledge management throughout the organisation, with a particular interest in addressing poverty reduction, sustainable livelihoods and gender. Having a background in participatory natural resource management, particularly community forestry, her main geographical focus lies in Asia (notably Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan), although she has also worked in Africa. Jane has a first class bachelors degree in agricultural and forest sciences from Oxford University, UK, and a doctorate in rural development forestry from the same university. Contact: jane.carter@intercooperation.ch

Annet Witteveen began work with Intercooperation in 1997 as an Advisor in an NRM programme in Orissa, India. Leaving this post in 2000, she re-joined IC in 2005 as part-time IC representative in Tanzania. She is currently Team Leader of the Agriculture team in the Head Office. Annet Witteveen has a wide field-based experience in NRM and livestock development, having worked for different international organisations (SNV, DGIS, FAO, IC) in North-Yemen, Burkino Faso, Cape Verde, Tanzania, India and Pakistan. Her interests lie in sustainable livelihoods, local capacity building and organisational development. She holds an MSc in Tropical Animal Husbandry from the Agricultural University in Wageningen for which she did a one year research and field work in Zimbabwe. Contact: annet.witteveen@intercooperation.ch

Patrick Sieber joined Intercooperation in 2006, working in Central Asia as a project advisor for the Kyrgyz-Swiss Forestry Support Program. Since joining the IC head office in 2008, he has been working on governance aspects of participatory natural resource management - in particular related to forestry projects. He has a particular interest in rural development in peripheral/ mountain regions and governance aspects of sustainable natural resource management. Patrick has working experience in Peru, Viet Nam and Central Asia. A geographer by training, he holds a MAS in Development and Cooperation from the ETH in Zurich. Contact: patrick.sieber@intercooperation.ch

Kate Bird is a micro-economist with a particular interest in poverty and chronic poverty, rural livelihoods, coping strategies and diversification. Kate has considerable experience in evaluating the household and intra-household impacts of pro-poor projects, programs and policies. She is currently leading interdisciplinary and multi-country research within the Chronic Poverty Research Centre into chronic poverty in remote rural areas. She has particular experience in sub-Saharan Africa and India, but has worked elsewhere in Asia and in transitional economies. Contact: k.bird@odi.org.uk

Cecilia Luttrell ’ s research interest focus on access rights to natural resources, issues of livelihood vulnerability, poverty and adaptation, common property situations and the impacts of policy change on natural resource management and equity. In recent years she has been involved in the development of management and planning systems for land and forest use in Vietnam and Ghana. Cecilia has also worked for DFID in the Forestry Planning Department in Ghana, Wetlands International in Indonesia and for various conservation and participatory community development projects in Ghana, Indonesia, the Cook Islands and Tanzania. She is a holder of BA Geography, MSc in Forestry and its Relation to Land Use, and a doctorate in Environmental Sciences. Contact: c.luttrell@odi.org.uk

Eva Ludi is a geographer by training. She focuses specially on the socio-economic dimensions of sustainable rural development and sustainable natural resource management. She has done extensive research on sustainable soil and land management in the Ethiopian highlands, and has done field research in other East African countries and Central Asia. A recent focus of her research has been on environmental conflicts and on reconciling nature protection and rural development in protected areas. Current research interests center around poverty and environment linkages, value-chains for agro-commodities, and impacts of climate change on rural livelihoods. Contact: e.ludi@odi.org.uk

Harry Jones graduated from Oxford University with a Masters in Maths and Philosophy. He has worked in the RAPID group in ODI since September 2006, and his work has included a study into the interface between science and development policy, exploring the implications of complexity theory for international development, the Outcome Mapping methodology and the use of impact evaluations. Current research interests include applying thinking from political philosophy in development policy and practice, and further work on complexity, exploring the drivers behind ‘linear’ and ‘complex’ modes of development interventions. Contact: h.jones@odi.org.uk