Halla Erfan Shafey

PERSONAL

Nationality: Egyptian.

Languages: Arabic and English (Fluent)

EDUCATION

Masters of Arts Degree (M.A.) in Economics - The American University in Cairo, June 1992. The M.A. Thesis entitled "External Disequilibrium and Adjustment in Egypt, 1960-1990".

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Economics with Highest Honors - The American University in Cairo, February 1987.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Summary of Experience: As an economist and international development consultant, I have over twenty-five years of experience in a number of developmental fields including socio-economic and human development, child rights, urban poverty and slum upgrading, girl’s education and gender. As an independent senior consultant, I have advised various national government entities in Egypt, donors and international development organizations on strategic planning issues, needs assessments for capacity building, results-based management, programme formulation, resource mobilization, as well as conducting a number of national and international evaluations and documentations. Major strengths are in the areas of visioning, strategic planning, policy formulation, institutional capacity building, programme design and evaluation as well as research and documentation. Previous experience as a as a Senior Programme Officer with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has given extensive grass-roots exposure and programme management in the areas of education, poverty and human development programmes. .

December 2016-October 2018: Member of the Advisory Board of the Abdel

Wahab Abdel Mohsen Foundation for Culture, Arts and Development

In 2017, mobilized several sizeable funds from Tatweer, a private Egyptian corporation through UNICEF for the Borollos International Symposium for Painting on Walls and Boats and for a nation-wide capacity building/skills training programme in the area of Early Childhood Development. In 2018, mobilized resources from the United Nations Population Fund to fund the symposium and related workshops and awareness campaigns.

October-November 2012: Senior Consultant to the Social Contract Center,

Cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center, and the United Nations

Development Programme, Cairo Egypt

Responsible for conducting and producing the Final Evaluation Report of the Social Contract Center.

November 2010-January 2011: Member of the Task Force of Experts

Responsible for the Situation Analysis for the Cairo Agenda for Action (CAA)

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Together with other experts from different fields, drafted a comprehensive multi-stakeholder Situation Analysis pinpointing key developmental priorities for Egypt to be incorporated within the ministry of International Cooperation and Development Partners mutual strategy for development cooperation.

July 2010: Senior Consultant to the Arab Council for Childhood and

Development, Cairo, Egypt.

This assignment involved preparing a detailed document for a regional programme whose principle outputs will be the production of regional guidelines for integrated policy formulation to help Arab countries operationalize the articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The guidelines are intended for policy makers and practitioners. The task will then involve the production of the guidelines in consultation with Arab governments and NGOs with the participation of other experts.

April-June 2010: Consultant to the Cabinet's Information and Decision Support

Center (IDSC) and the United Nations Development Programme, Cairo, Egypt.

Task involved conducting a mid-term evaluation for IDSC's Social Contract Center (SCC) funded jointly by UNDP and Italian Cooperation. A mid-term evaluation report was produced that analyzes and assesses the performance, deliverables and impact of the SCC and recommends future action, particularly with regards its strategic orientation.

August-September 2009: Consultant to the United Nations Development

Programme, Cairo, Egypt

As one of the contributors to the 2010 Egypt Human Development Report on the theme of youth published jointly by UNDP and the Institute of National Planning, task involved authoring a background research paper entitled "Youth Solutions: Learning from International Experience". Emphasis was on poor and disadvantaged youth.

April-June 2009: Senior Consultant to the European Union (EU), GTZ, Cairo

and the Ministry of Family and Population.

Task involved the documentation and evaluation of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood National Programme entitled "Children at Risk: A Story of Empowerment and Social Change". The documentation covered the entire 20 million Euro programme implemented nationwide and employed a rights-based perspective. It analyzed and drew lessons from interventions in four sectors; street children, girls' education initiative, working children, and children with disability. The documentation was published by the Ministry of Family and Population and the EU in English and Arabic in 2009.

March 2008 – 2009: Senior Development Consultant, The Italian Cooperation

and the United Nations Development Programme.

Task involves co-authoring a book (not published) by Italian Cooperation and The United Nations Development Programme on informal settlement upgrading in Egypt,

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with emphasis on lessons learnt from national and international experience. The publication will analyze the institutional, legal, physical, managerial, financial, social and capacity building challenges facing decision makers and practitioners in Egypt today. The publication is intended for use by policy makers and practitioners, exploring the issue within the broader framework of poverty, urban management, human rights, governance, and institutional reform in Egypt. The book has been translated to Arabic and is currently in the layout phase.

October-November 2007 – Consultant to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt.

As member of a team of experts, contributed to a study on setting up reform indicators for the Arab Reform Observatory, Alexandrina Library, Egypt.

May 2007- Contributor to the Egypt Human Development Report 2008, published jointly by the Institute of National Planning and the United Nations Development Programme, Egypt.

April 2007-present: Managing Editor of the independent quarterly public policy

Arabic Magazine, Ma Baad .

Published by the Association for International Civil Servants (AFICS), with a total circulation of 5,000 copies (on public sale and targeted direct mailing), this independent quarterly magazine focuses on local, regional and global developmental issues and current affairs. Responsibilities involve assisting in the selection of issue themes, managing the local team of writers/journalists, soliciting external contributors, overseeing distribution, contributing to layout, artistic execution and contributing with a regular column.

June 2006- present: Member of the Governing Board of the Association of

International Civil Servants (AFICS), Egypt.

AFICS was established as an Egyptian NGO in 2003 concerned with a multitude of developmental issues. It is currently Presided by the former Secretary General of the United Nations and managed by the former Assistant Secretary General of the UN. Responsibilities involve participating in management and decision-making pertaining to the management of the NGO, fund raising, networking, programming activities in addition to duties as Managing Editor of Ma'Baad, an Arabic public policy journal.

September 2005: Consultant to the United Nations Development Programme,

New York, USA

As member of a team of international experts involved in evaluating various national experiences in producing human development reports, task involved the evaluation and assessment of Egypt's experience in producing the Egypt National Human Development Report. The report was synthesized into a global publications by UNDP HQ in 2006.

January 2005 – May 2005: Consultant to the United Nations Children’s Fund

(UNICEF), Cairo.

This assignment involved undertaking a comprehensive situation analysis up-date of

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children in Egypt employing a rights-based approach and a gender lens. The analytical framework is based on the Convention on the rights of the Child (CRC), the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as the Egyptian constitution and legislation. The study analyzes children’s and women ’s issues of particular interest to UNICEF, highlighting the extent to which child rights have been achieved or otherwise and pinpointing priorities for intervention. It is divided into four main chapters: the national context and child rights environment in Egypt including an analysis of recent policies, legislative and institutional developments; the right to survival and good health; the right to education and development and the right to a protective environment against violence, abuse, exploitation, and deprivation of primary care. This study constituted a major input in the 2005 UN Common Country Assessment and UNICEF’s programming cycle commencing in 2006.

July 2004 - December 2004: Consultant to UN Habitat, Nairobi and the United

Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Cairo.

As UN-Habitat/UNDP team leader working with a team of experts, this assignment consisted of conducting a comprehensive situation analysis on the problems and challenges of urban and environmental planning and management (EPM) with the purpose of rallying government interest in adopting participatory EPM in Egyptian cities along the prototype model provided by the Governorate of Ismailia. Key capacity building requirements and potential areas for UN-Habitat/UNDP technical assistance were identified. The second task involved the formulation of a programme document based on the findings of the above mentioned study to provide technical assistance to the Government of Egypt in building central and local capacities for participatory urban and environmental planning and management and putting in place the required institutional arrangements, legislation, co-ordination mechanisms, etc.

October 2003-February 2004: Consultant to the Ministry of Planning (MOP) and

the United Nations Development Programme, Cairo.

Responsible for formulating a capacity building project for the establishment of a Policy

Advice Unit within MOP to assist the minister in key functions and streamline the

planning process.

June 2003: Consultant to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Cairo.

As an input into the Government of Egypt’s formulation of a National Plan of Action (NPA) for implementing the World Fit for Children (WFFC) Declaration.(the global outcome of the 2002 General Assembly Special Session on Children), this assignment involved preparing a comprehensive background paper on the education sector in Egypt. The paper explored strategic issues within the education sector and how they relate to other key sectors including health and protection where relevant. The paper focused on achievements and challenges faced by the current education sector reform thus far including setting standards on various aspects of quality learning, decentralization, the UN Girl’s Education Initiative etc. Key objectives, strategies and targets for the sector were proposed for deliberation by the principle government partners involved.

May 2003: Consultant to the National Council for Women (NCW), Cairo

The assignment involved authoring a paper entitled "Promoting Arab Women

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Entrepreneurship: Conventional Obstacles and Novel Approaches". The paper analyzes the state of women's employment in the Arab world, discusses why women entrepreneurship is imperative and how this can be accomplished via a combination of macro and micro interventions. The paper also proposes a framework for promoting Arab women entrepreneurship through the establishment of a Regional Training and Support Center for Arab Women Entrepreneurs. This paper was presented by the Secretary-General of NCW at the 2003 Global Summit of Women in Marrakech, June 2003).

November 2001 -December 2002: Consultant to the National Council for Childhood

and Motherhood (NCCM) and the United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF),

Cairo.

This was a multi-task assignment that involved the following: Coordinating the newly established NCCM Technical Secretariat for Girl's

Education within the context of a global UN initiative to promote gender equity and parity in basic education and later acting as a member in the team of experts assisting NCCM in launching the National Plan of Action for Girl's Education. Under the overall guidance of the Secretary General of NCCM and supervising a team of NCCM professionals, this assignment involved assisting in organizing seven workshops in seven governorates, conceptualizing the frameworks for the participatory governorate plans, helping in formulating monitoring and evaluation systems, as well as participating in drafting and revision of plans.

Drafting the position paper presented by NCCM to the Consultative Group

Meeting held in February 2002 entitled "NCCM Strategic Orientation 2002-2007". Presented by the Secretary-General, the paper outlined NCCM's strategic areas of focus and technical and financial assistance needs required from the international community. This document defined NCCM's medium –term objectives, outlined expected outputs and outcomes and was instrumental in mobilizing resources for NCCM's programmes and initiatives thereafter.

September 2001-October 2001: Consultant to the National Council for Women

(NCW), Cairo.

Assignment involved formulating a strategic five year plan for NCW. This culminated in preparing a document entitled "The National Council for Women: A Strategic Results Framework for 2002-07" which was approved by the NCW Board of Directors and endorsed by the NCW annual conference. The document provides a detailed plan and strategic results framework (SRF) for NCW activities, outlining strategic areas of concern, outputs and indicators etc. for the period 2002-07. The SRF has been NCW’s major instrument for resource mobilization.

October 2000 -January 2001: UNFPA Consultant to the National Council for

Women (NCW), Cairo.

This multiple assignment involved membership in a team of experts assigned to draft the National Plan for the Advancement of Egyptian Women approved in March 2001. The assignment also involved assisting in formulating a project document regarding the creation of an ombudsman unit within NCW later approved for funding by the European Union.

September -October 2000: Consultant to the UNESCO Cairo Office, Cairo

Assignment involved co-authoring a technical paper on "The Determinants of Girl's

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Education in Egypt" presented at a UN/NCCM joint conference on Girl's Education in Egypt, the conference which spearheaded the UN Girl’s Education Initiative. The assignment also involved facilitation of a working group on the determinants of girl's education at the conference.

June -July 2000: Consultant to the Royal Netherlands Embassy, Cairo, Egypt.

Task involved drafting a proposal for the operationalization and institutionalization of a

Gender Strategy for the Governorate of Fayoum with special emphasis on poverty and

female-headed households.

May-June 2000: Consultant to the United Nations Development Programme

(UNDP), Cairo, Egypt.

Task involved designing a capacity and institutional building project for joint UNDP/UNIFEM support to the newly established National Council for Women (NCW). The project was designed to undertake three major objectives. First the establishment of an effective Technical Secretariat; second, the preparation of a National Plan for the Advancement of Women and third; the establishment of a Small Grants Programme to support pilot projects initiated by NGOs and CBOs for the economic and political empowerment of women. December 1999- February 2000: Consultant to the Donor Assistance Group's Gender and Development (GAD) Sub-Group in Egypt.

Task involved authoring a multiple-module Gender Information Kit for Egypt. The kit was commissioned by the Gender and Development (GAD) sub-group in Egypt that included members from 35 UN, multi-lateral and bi-lateral development organizations and international NGOs operating in Egypt. This group was responsible for development assistance co-ordination in the area of gender and women. The kit comprises twelve modules including information papers on the institutional framework for women and gender in Egypt, statistics on gender gaps in various areas in addition to the status of Egypt's implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action and CEDAW. Eight checklists for incorporating gender in project design were also developed for a number of areas including education, health, environment, micro-enterprises, agriculture, institution building etc. The checklists have been designed to take into account the socio-economic and cultural variables that have a bearing on development projects in Egypt. The kit was published in June 2000.

June-July 1999: Consultant to the United Nations Center for Human Settlements

(UNCHS/Habitat), Nairobi, Kenya and the Danish International Development

Agency (Danida), Copenhagen, Denmark.

As member of an international team of experts, this task involved: Conducting an evaluation of a UNDP/Habitat funded programme entitled Sustainable

Growth and Development in Ismailia. Drafting a comprehensive evaluation report entitled "Evaluating Ismailia's experience

in Participatory urban and Environmental Planning and Management: A Synthesis Report" based on extensive consultations with government and non-government officials as well as a series of field visits and interviews. This was one of six reports commissioned world wide to evaluate similar projects funded by Habitat and Danida. It was later rated as the best country evaluation by Habitat and Danida.

Assisting an international team of experts in preparing a wrap-up report for inclusion in a final six-country evaluation report.

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January-June 1988: Consultant to the Population Council, Regional Office for West

Asia and North Africa, Cairo, Egypt.

As part of a nation wide research program on Adolescence and Social Change in Egypt, this assignment involved authoring a book on Adolescence and State Policy in Egypt. The study investigates how adolescence is defined by the State in Egypt. It discusses state legislation, policies and programs addressing adolescents ages 10-19 in five critical areas. These are education, health, marriage and reproductive health, labor and employment and leisure time. The study explores gender disparities and makes policy relevant recommendations regarding future areas of focus. The study was published in September 1988 by the Population Council.

June 1997: Consultant to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Regional

Office for the Near East, Cairo, Egypt.

Task involved designing and drafting a project document entitled " Gender Based Village Anchored Network for Agriculture and Food Security". This project was designed to create a participatory mechanism at the village level for the involvement of women and men in planning, managing and monitoring interventions in the area of agriculture and food security.

April 1997: Consultant to the Institute of National Planning, Cairo, Egypt.

Task involved technical assistance in the revision and editing of a number of chapters in the Egypt Human Development Report, 1998.

March 1997: Consultant to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization (UNESCO), Regional Office for Science and Technology, Cairo,

Egypt.

Task involved drafting a project document for institutional and capacity building of the Egyptian Geological Survey Authority.

September 1992- February 1997: Senior Programme Officer, United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP), Cairo, Egypt.

Responsibilities involved a variety of policy support and programming issues in the area of human development, including gender issues, basic education, health, poverty alleviation and rural development, support to local participatory development planning and governance. Tasks involved:

Providing advice to UNDP management on catalytic entry points in various sectors and proposing new programming initiatives in collaboration with government and non-governmental partners.

Conducting policy dialogue at the national level and negotiating with government and non-governmental partners in areas requiring technical assistance and providing strategic policy/programme advice to counterparts on a regular basis.

Assisting counterparts (government and NGOs) in identifying, formulating, appraising, monitoring and evaluating projects. Tasks involved supporting national counterparts in elaborating project ideas and proposals; drafting project documents; budgeting and work planning; organizing of training and identifying experts and consultants; reviewing project progress reports; organizing project

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review meetings and managing evaluation exercises.

Mobilizing resources in the form of cost sharing or parallel funding for projects from national and international agencies through networking with potential donors. Drafting project/programme briefs, funding proposals and concept papers.

Participating in UNDP Country Office’s formulation and drafting of strategic reports such as UNDP's Country Programme, the Annual Report of the Administrator, the Joint Issues Paper for the Mid Term Review, the Common Country Assessment, the annual work plan, and membership in the UNDP Project Appraisal Committee.

Participating in donor coordination via membership of a number of Donor Sub-Groups including Gender, Education, Health and HIV/AIDS which met monthly to coordinate activities and share information. Duties also involved establishing links with NGOs, universities, research and training institutions.

June- September 1990: Consultant to the World Bank, Washington D.C., (Europe, Middle East and North Africa Country Department III).

Conducted a comparative research study on the challenges and constraints facing public enterprise reform and private sector promotion in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

1988-1991: Project Officer, Project Finance and Promotion Sector, The Export

Development Bank of Egypt, Cairo.

Responsible for the formulation, development, appraisal and promotion of export-oriented projects in a number of sectors with the purpose of assessing the feasibility of bank involvement through medium term finance and or equity participation. Functions included conducting detailed market studies, analysis of managerial and legal track records, promoting the project among prospective investors, contacting and negotiating with foreign technical know-how suppliers/management companies, financial analysis, and preparation of the final feasibility study for consideration by the board.

1988: Assistant Economist, Research and Planning Department, the Export Development Bank of Egypt, Cairo.

Participated in the creation of a data-base through the collection and statistical analysis of data on Egypt's major economic indicators. Prepared reports on Egypt's economy and world economic trends and assisted in the preparation, supervision, and editing of the bank's Annual Report.

1987-1988: Teaching Assistant, Department of Economics, The American University

in Cairo.

Assisted faculty members in research projects, data collection, literature surveys, occasional lecturing, and organizing public lectures sponsored by the department.

TRAINING PROGRAMMES AND CONTINUING EDUCATION

Workshop on the Human-Rights Approach conducted jointly by UNDP, UNICEF and UNIFEM. Cairo, March, 2005.

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Regional Workshop on Sustainable Urbanization. Organized by ESCWA, UN-Habitat, the Arab League, Cairo, December 2003.

Global Meeting on Environmentally Sustainable Urbanization: Developing Environmental Planning and Management Capacities for Poverty Reduction. Organized by UN-Habitat and UNEP, October 2003.

Expert at Workshop on Monitoring and Evaluation for Egypt's Girl's Education Initiative. Organized by NCCM and UNICEF, May 2002.

Regional Workshop on Girl's Education organized by UNICEF & UNESCO. Cairo, April, 2002.

Expert and Facilitator at the Girl's Education Workshop organized by the Government of Egypt in partnership with the UN Organizations in Egypt, Cairo, October 2000.

Quality Management Workshop. Administered by UNDP Headquarters, Cairo, 1996.

Effective Negotiation Workshop. Administered by the Operational Unit for Development Assistance in conjunction with Harvard University, 1996.

Workshop on Management of Change and Team Work Workshop. Administered by International Management of Development for UNDP, Cairo, 1995.

Training on CAPBUILD for Institutions, a software programme for designing institution-building projects. Administered by UNDP, Cairo, 1995.

Workshop on Progress, Problems and Potentials in the Egyptian Water Supply and Sanitation Sector. Administered by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council and the American University in Cairo, 1995.

Workshop on the Operationalization of Sustainable Human Development. Organized jointly by the Institute of National Planning, Egypt and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in Cairo, 1995.

UNDP Environmental Management Guidelines Workshop. Administered by UNDP

Headquarters, Cairo, 1993.

Workshop on Privatization and Economic Reform in Egypt. Administered by the American University in Cairo, 1992.

Banking Credit Management III: Cash Flow Analysis. Administered by the Institute of Banking Finance, The American University in Cairo, 1990.

Banking Credit Management II: Asset Protection Lending. Administered by the Institute of Banking and Finance, the American University in Cairo, 1989.

Financial Accounting for Bankers. Administered by the Institute of Banking and Finance,

The American University in Cairo, 1989. Management Auditing and Performance Evaluation for Industrial Enterprises. Administered by the Arab Center for Management Development, Cairo, 1988.

PUBLICATIONS AND WORKING PAPERS

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(Unpublished) Upgrading Informal Settlements in Egypt: Learning from National and International Experience. A UNDP/Italian Cooperation Publication.

(2010). "Youth Solutions: Learning from International Experience”. Background paper for the Egypt Human Development Report, 2010.

(2009). Children at Risk and their Communities in Egypt: A story of Empowerment and Social Change . A publication by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood and the European Union. Original publication in English and translated to Arabic.

(2006).Contributor. Evaluation of the National Human Development Report System. Evaluation Office. United Nations Development Programme. New York, NY

(2001).The Determinants of Girls' Education in Egypt (co-author). Published by NCCM/UNDP/UNICEF with other papers prepared for the National Conference on Girls' Education held in Cairo, October 2000

(2003).Promoting Arab Women Entrepreneurship: Conventional Obstacles and Novel Approaches. Paper presented at National Women Conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, 2003.

(2000). Gender and Development: An Information Kit for Egypt. Published by the Gender and Development Donor Sub-Group. Cairo, Egypt.

(1999). Evaluating Ismailia's Experience in Participatory Urban and Environmental

Planning and Management: A Synthesis Report. Danish International Development

Agency, Copenhagen, Denmark and UNCHS (Habitat), Nairobi.

(1988) Adolescence and State Policy in Egypt. International Population Council, Cairo,

Egypt.

AFFILIATIONS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES

Founding member and member of the Board of Directors of the Association of International Civil Servants (AFICS), Egypt. This NGO is engaged in a number of developmental activities including the provision of technical assistance to the Government of Egypt on various developmental issues, advocacy, networking and publications.

Managing Editor of ‘Ma Baad’, a quarterly independent public policy magazine published by AFICS on developmental, political, economic and social issues. Advisory Board Member, Egypt National Child Rights Observatory, a joint Ministry of Family and Population and UNICEF initiative. Founding member of the Egyptian Network for Integrated Development (ENID).