Raj Kumar VERMA

Biography

Raj Kumar VERMA has been a member of the civil service in the Government of Nagaland since 1983. During his first 10 years of service, he was posted in rural areas in Nagaland where, in addition to his administrative responsibilities, he assisted in the implementation of programs at the local level through Village Development Boards. He is presently posted in New Delhi working with eternally aided projects, notably the NEPED project funded by CIDA. He is also interested in sustainable development in tribal areas and improved methods in agro-forestry, especially pertaining to areas where shifting cultivation (Swidden) is practiced. He is trained by in facilitation and moderation skills which he uses in project management. He has also a practioner of Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation of projects, participatory approaches in development and has served with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK government as a LEAD intern in the Environment Policy Department.

In 2001 he has been made a member of the American Evaluation Association (AEA) and presented a paper on use of Outcome Mapping at the AEA conference at St. Louis, Mo. (USA). He has also been invited on the board of the Moderation Group, a core team in India dedicated to the spread of moderation/ facilitation in decision making, development and other spheres for participatory and sustainable development.

He has done several consultancies for international donors like ICIMOD, IFAD, IDRC, World Bank, CIDA, Governments of Bhutan and Bangladesh etc. and is associated with The Missing Link, an Environment Education and Communications NGO. He is presently on secondment with the LEAD India Secretariat as Director Programs. As Director Programs of LEAD India, besides overseeing the LEAD training, he writes project proposals, networks with LEAD Fellows, seeks partnerships and funding opportunities for LEAD India. He has attended training on Resource Mobilisation in May 2005, conducted by IDRC, Canada and Venture for Fund Raising, Asia.

He is also a member of LEAD's Capacity Development Team and has attended Training of Trainers in Cross Cultural Communications, Ethical Decision Making and Negotiating for Sustainable Development.

This biography was last updated on August 30, 2007