Dr Willem van Eekelen

International Development Department
Teaching Fellow

Contact details

Telephone: +44 (0)79 3189 6359
Email: w.v.eekelen@bham.ac.uk

Address: International Development Department
School of Government
Muirhead Tower
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Van Eekelen is a development economist who built his experience in a range of UN agencies and NGOs before assuming his two current roles:

IDD Teaching Fellow (10%)
Independent consultant (90%)

In his latter role, Van Eekelen focuses on:

Organisational capacity assessments and support
Strategic planning in the humanitarian and international development sectors
Evaluations of humanitarian and development portfolios with a value of £1 billion and above

The assignments Van Eekelen enjoys most are the ones that require both strategic and detailed analytical thinking; management and technical skills; and interaction with both the developmental elite and the men and women we ultimately aim to empower.

Qualifications

MSc in Development Programming, Erasmus University Rotterdam and University of Sussex
MSc, Sociological Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam
PhD, rural socio-economic development, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Biography

Until 2010 Van Eekelen held policy and programming positions, mostly within the United Nations system. Since then he has worked as an independent consultant for the international development and humanitarian sectors. In addition to Van Eekelen’s consultancy work (mostly evaluations), he holds occasional NGO trusteeship positions, lectures at the University of Birmingham and co-owns Green Visions, the Balkans’ liveliest adventure tourism company. He authored 100 ideas for dads who love their kids but find them exhausting, and the upcoming Very Official Book of Hugs, as well as a few travel guides and the occasional academic publication.

Teaching

Van Eekelen supervises MSc dissertations and contributes to three modules that may or may not be taught in the current year:

NGOs in a Changing International Context
Rural Poverty and Development
Poverty and Inequality: Interventions and Approaches

Van Eekelen won the University of Birmingham’s ‘Outstanding Teaching Award’.

Research

Research interests

NGO performance, NGO relations, evaluation techniques, organisational capacity issues, humanitarian and development standards.

Other activities

Publications

ICAI (2022, forthcoming), The UK’s approaches to peacebuilding, Independent Commission for Aid Impact, London.
Eekelen, W. van (2022), Socio-economic development in the rural Global South and the role of Official Development Assistance, Erasmus University Rotterdam
MOPAN (2021) MOPAN assessment report of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), MOPAN.
Itad (2020), Final evaluation of the Dutch Good Growth Fund, Itad, Brighton.
Eekelen, W. van (2020), Rural development in practice, Routledge
ICAI (2019), DFID’s partnerships with civil society organisations, Independent Commission for Aid Impact, London.
ICAI (2018), The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund’s aid spending, Independent Commission for Aid Impact, London.
ICAI (2017), The UK’s aid response to irregular migration in the Central Mediterranean; a rapid review, Independent Commission for Aid Impact, London.
ICAI (February 2017), The effects of DFID’s cash transfer programmes on poverty and vulnerability, an impact review, Independent Commission for Aid Impact, London.