Keith SARGENT

Keith Sargent is an independent consultant specialising in the areas of economic development planning and institutional modernisation and capacity building in the public sector. In the course of his career he has advised at prime-ministerial and ministerial levels of Government, and sat on major government committees. His career is underpinned by substantive senior management experience in major UK consultancy practices - including the Crown Agents’ Institutional Development Group, Economics and Finance Directorate - and university teaching experience.

His professional experience covers some 34 years, during which time he has undertaken assignments in SE Europe, SE Asia, Southern Africa, the Middle East, the Pacific Basin, the Caribbean and the UK, including for World Bank (IBRD), United Nations Agencies (inc. UN DESA, UNDP/DTCD, UNMIK, UNFPA), European Commission, Inter American Development Bank, the UK Government’s DFID/ODA/Know How Fund and Treasury, Development Cooperation Ireland and Southern Africa Development Community.

He commenced his career specialising in socio-economic planning and demographic analysis. Over time an increasing proportion of his work has been in a technical assistance capacity to governments and donor agencies, advising in national development planning and budgeting processes, assisting develop local skills and guiding institutional strengthening. With increasingly senior posts, the nature and scope of his assignments have enlarged to embrace both the wider concerns of public sector reform and good governance, and broader sectoral and technical concerns.

His economic development / strategic planning experience includes substantive periods in post conflict regions assisting reconstruction and economic reform. In 1996, he was direct Advisor to the State Prime Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina funded by the Overseas Development Administration. He subsequently made frequent returns to Bosnia during the period 1997-1999 to direct a regional planning study for Tuzla Canton. In 2004, he was assigned to the Coalition Provisional Authority, in southern Iraq, where he assisted the re-establishment of government ministries responsible for municipal planning and housing. He was awarded a Service Citation for “distinguished and devoted service” by the CPA for his assignment and the Iraq Reconstruction Service Medal by the British Government. Earlier assignments included advising on a major new town development plan, (350,000 population) for the New Territories, Government of Hong Kong, 1981 and various urban studies for the Middle East.

Institutional development and capacity building experience covers three primary sectors: economic development, health and justice. In the area of economic development he has most recently been a member of two person UN DESA (Department of Economic and Social Affairs) Scoping Mission to North Korea to appraise economic management training needs of senior government and academic personnel, and formulate a medium term capacity building plan, 2006; and, has been a consultant to a Financial Management Reform Programme being undertaken on behalf of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh - a major multi-million pound Technical Assistance being funded by DFID - advising on planning matters relating to the implementation of a Medium Term Economic Framework (MTEF). In the area of health his various assignments have included a contract with the Malaria Consortium East and Southern Africa in 2005, in which he was Team Leader, and advisor on institutional and human resource development on a project to assist the rolling back of Malaria and other vector born disease in Ethiopia, (DFID / DCI funded). In the justice sector, he has undertaken work in the UK, Jamaica and Uganda. For the latter, he was Project Director on a World Bank funded ‘Institutional Capacity Building Project’ in support of a broadly defined ‘legal and administration of justice’ sector for the Government of Uganda, between 1998 and 2000.

Experience in a range of project and programme appraisals includes: as a member of a Joint Review Team for Kenya’s ‘First Health Sector Annual Joint Review Mission and Review Summit’, DFID funded, 2006; for: the Annual Review of DFID Support to the National Reproductive Health Programme”, Malawi, 2002; review of UNFPA policies and procedures for contracting, Cambodia, 2001; and, appraisal of arrangements for the administration of payments to public sector workers by the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo, (DFID, CHAD funded 1999).

His academic experience includes 4 years lecturing at the Development Planning Unit (DPU), University College London (UCL), during which time he taught primarily in the areas of project planning and urban management. He also spent a year managing the Warwick Development Group, Warwick University.

Return to top