Our ‘60 Seconds with…’ blogs are designed to provide a quick run down of what our staff do here at Itad. Here is what Dane had to say…
What’s your job at Itad
Non-Executive Director (a role I share with Julian Barr)
What does that involve?
Providing strategic guidance and support to our Senior Management Team; strengthening our governance arrangements to ensure they are fit for purpose in a fast growing company; and providing coaching and mentoring support across the company to contribute to the ongoing process of internal capacity development.
How did you get into the field?
I took an international development option in the final year of my Agricultural Economics BSc, which led to me taking an MSc at the (then) School of Development Studies, UEA. My first professional step was to become a VSO in Malawi, heading up the planning, monitoring and evaluation department on one of their large agricultural development programmes. As I said on my blog a while ago, as a bearded Agricultural Economist with experience in Malawi, there was only one place to go after that…
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Being an instrumental part of Itad’s continuing growth and development, alongside a group of really interesting and motivated staff. I’ve been here for an awfully long time (more than 20 years) and yet I’m still excited by what lies ahead.
What new innovations have you noticed in your sector?
In the last 5 years our sector of specialisation, Monitoring & Evaluation, has changed almost beyond recognition. Where we work, how we work and who we work with are all quite different from 5 years ago. This has challenged us to evolve our business model in exciting new ways.
Recent highlight?
As part of our adjustment to changes in our sector, we set up the Centre for Development Impact jointly with IDS; UEA joined shortly after. This has really helped us to be more robust, innovative and reflective in our thinking and practice on evaluation design and methods. And perhaps most excitingly, it offers us more freedom to think outside the normal contractual relationship that frames most of our work.
Favourite place you have visited as part of your job?
Sadly I travel very little these days as I have stepped back from a frontline consultancy role. But over the past few years my favourite places have been Nigeria and Vietnam. And I’m always ready to get on a plane to Dar es Salaam if the opportunity were to arise…
Dane Rogers, April 2015
