Simon Blower Email & Phone Number

London, England, United Kingdom

- Monitoring, evaluation and VfM lead for the WWHGE programme- FCDO representative to the Global Coalition for Foundational Learning (Gates Foundation, GPE, FCDO, UNICEF, UNESCO, World Bank)

London, United Kingdom

Zanzibar, Tanzania

- Monitoring & Evaluation Capacity Assessment of Zanzibar Education Sector - Sida - Monitoring & Evaluation Technical Advice / Support to Zanzibar Education Sector - Sida

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

The DFID-funded EQUIP-T programme is a six-year, GBP 90 million programme supporting better learning outcomes at basic education level, especially for girls. It targets nearly 3 million enrolled primary students in over 5,500 schools, across over 60 Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in nine regions.- Development of a new mobile-based system for government officers to collect monthly school-level data- Development of dashboards for government to track key indicators across the education sector

Dar Es Salaam

Programme Manager on the DFID funded "Strengthening Tanzania's Risk Assurance".

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Lead on a range of business development opportunities, including in the areas of:- Monitoring and evaluation (M&E)- Education- Organisational assessment / development- Public financial management (PFM)- Agriculture value chains- Anti-corruption

Dodoma, Tanzania

- Supported development of the BSAAT theory of change and results framework- M&E training to 9 BSAAT government beneficiary institutions- Co-facilitator to the Ministry of Constitutional and Legal Affairs' (MOCLA) 'Criminal Justice Transformation Programme' Co-Creation exercise- Drafted the Government of Tanzania's 'Criminal Justice Transformation Action Plan' (CJTAP)

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

London, United Kingdom

Programme Management Coordinator in CARE's Africa Programme Management Team.Somali Girls Education Promotion Programme-Transition (SOMGEP-T) Somalia -- DFID, Girls Education Challenge (GEC), GBP 13m

London, United Kingdom

Improving Girls' Access through Transforming Education (IGATE-T)Zimbabwe -- DFID, Girls Education Challenge (GEC), GBP 3.5m

London, United Kingdom

Monitoring and Reporting Manager in the Programme Management Support Team for DFID's Forest Governance Markets and Climate (FGMC) programme, worth GBP 250m and working in more than 30 countries. FGMC aims to bring about governance and market reforms that reduce the illegal use of forest resources and benefit poor people who depend on forests for their livelihoods. As part of global efforts to improve forest management and tackle deforestation, the UK FGMC programme supports the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan, in particular by tackling illegal logging in timber-producing developing countries and the trade in illegally-produced timber products. It also seeks to apply lessons from the timber trade to trade in other commodities that impact forests and people who depend on forests for their livelihoods.Independent Commission on Aid Impact (ICAI)Project Officer

Washington, Dc

Provided key contributions to ‘Country Portfolio Evaluations’ (CPEs) of GEF-funded activities – carried out by the ‘Global Environment Facility Independent Evaluation Office’ (GEF-IEO). • Leveraged strategic aims/objectives through the use of analytical, research and writing skills, with a strong focus on the influence/relevance of GEF support to national policy, legal and institutional frameworks and international conventions.• Conducted an evaluative study on experiences with systematic triangulation in CPEs, with the results published in a leading Journal, ‘Evaluation and Program Planning’, in early 2016.• Provided substantial contributions to a number of CPE reports, including: Russia, Eritrea, Morocco, Sierra Leone and Tanzania.• Improved the quality, coherence and relevance of future CPE reports by initiating the development of new guidelines/manual.Country Portfolio Evaluations (CPEs) analyse the totality of GEF support across GEF Agencies, projects and programs in a given country with the purpose of assessing the performance and results of GEF support, and how this support is linked to national environmental and sustainable development agenda, as well as to the GEF mandate of generating global environmental benefits within its focal areas. CPEs provide feedback and knowledge sharing to the GEF Council in its decision making process to allocate resources and to develop policies and strategies, as well as to the country and the different national agencies and organisations involved in GEF projects and activities.

Banjul, The Gambia

Planned and conducted a research project on the new Value-Added Tax (VAT) in The Gambia for the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) at IDS. The project explored the issues faced during design and implementation, as well as the effects that the tax has had on government responsiveness, capacity and accountability.

Brighton, United Kingdom

Worked alongside senior social scientists to deliver global consultancy services on dynamic infrastructure and policy projects. Key clients included DFID, the World Bank, ADB, AfDB, and EBRD. Developed consultancy experience in contributing to environmental and social impact assessments (ESIA), stakeholder consultation and participatory planning, resettlement planning, livelihoods development and management planning.

Banjul, The Gambia

Worked with the GFD, disabled people's organisations, and other key stakeholders to research and draft the bill for the Gambian 'Persons with Disabilities Act 2012'. The Bill is currently undergoing review with the National Assembly. The drafting of the bill was seen by the stakeholder concerned as pivotal in The Gambia's signing of the 'UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities' (UNCRPD).

Banjul, The Gambia

Planned and conducted training sessions on free website creation and management for around 30 NGO and national press-workers in partnership with the GPU. The training was aimed at improving the communication tools available for organisations to share information on their activities and increase visibility towards potential funders.

Banjul, The Gambia

Managed the planning, coordination, funding and implementation of NGO Week 2012; the first national NGO event in The Gambia, aimed at improving coordination and information-sharing between NGOs and celebrating non state actors' contributions to development. - Created and controlled budgets, managed specifications, price quotations, service contracts and payments, publicity and visibility activities- Managed the design and printing of publications, visibility materials, and national newspaper adverts - Wrote EU Newsletter, Event brochure and 3 articles published in 4 newspapers- Coordinated the launch meeting for the "Climate, Agriculture & Environment" Thematic Working Group- Coordinated four NGO Week theme sessions and planning meetings- Designed and built the Programme's website and established online NGO resource centre with thematic research, policy documents and NGO best practice guidesJuly - Dec 2011: Focal Point for Pro-PAG, an NGO working to institutionalise participatory budgeting and public expenditure tracking. Designed and built Pro-PAG's first website. Conducted a membership survey to inform the new five-year Strategic Plan as part of the NSASP’s network strengthening activities. Trained partners in website creation. Presented survey results and unveiled the website at the 2012 Annual General Meeting.

Banjul, The Gambia

Lead the research into a new school farm concept in The Gambia, with the goal of increasing agricultural productivity and food security in rural areas. Worked closely with implementing partners, the Ministry of Education, and pursued funding opportunities. Conducted a two-week nationwide field research (Rapid Rural Appraisal), assessing agricultural practises, constraints and appropriate solutions. Initiated the establishment of a national database on school agricultural resources for integration into the Ministry of Education's national educational information management system (EMIS) in coordination with donor partners (WFP, UNICEF, FAO).

United Kingdom

London, United Kingdom

As a Technical Supervisor I directed and supervised up to 5 construction teams at a time, including over 20 operatives, 6 excavators, and sub-contractors. Acted as first point of contact for project, design, and client managers, and as a key link between site and office management teams. - Contributed to officially the first project of the London 2012 Olympic Games.- Contributed to planning, progress, health & safety, client and sub-contractor meetings- Responsible for overseeing sub-contractors and resolving relevant problems and issues- Maintained contract documents, site records and measurements of executed works- Calculated and monitored materials quantities for ordering and achieving planned work progression- Monitored progress of works against construction programme and advised on updates and revisions

Master Of Arts (Ma)

Bachelor Of Engineering (Beng)

The Challenge Of The Balance

Gce A-Levels