Full presentation

Mr. Pierre Frühling has been professionally involved with development issues, programmes and projects for more than 35 years. With an academic background in economic history and social anthropology, he first became an independent journalist and writer, initially specializing in media analysis regarding news and reporting on the Third World and later turning to analyses of rural development projects and issues related to the environment. During the last 15 years he has been specializing in contextual analyses of corruption, organized crime and citizen security - related to their implications for democracy building and poverty reduction efforts.

Through continous analysis (1978-84) of the controversial Bai Bang project (a large forestry and paper mill project in northern Vietnam) and its coverage by Swedish mass media, he gained valuable insights regarding development assistance in the field as well as a reputation for contextual and process-oriented analysis. In 1984 he pursued an extensive field study to the Nicaraguan Atlantic Coast to analyse the human rights situation and the reasons for the devastating armed conflict between indigenous groups and the Central (Sandinista) Government.

During the period 1985-90 he pursued private studies in ecology and collaborated with institutions such as SAREC and the Red Cross, concentrating on situation analyses and field reports for public use from rural development projects. 

 In February 1991 he was recruited by Sida to hold the post as Senior Programme Officer for natural resources and environmental projects at the Swedish Embassy in Nicaragua. Among his responsibilities were to supervise the implementation of the Swedish Forestry Sector Programme, to represent Sida as the lead donor agency in the process to support the elaboration of the Nicaraguan Tropical Forestry Action Plan (TFAP) and to coordinate all donors in their support for the elaboration of the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP), where Sida once more became the lead agency.  During his time at the Embassy he also designed the policy framework and basic concepts for what subsequently was to become the Swedish Democracy Support to the multi-ethnic Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Atlantic Coast.

When returning to Sweden in July 1995, he re-established himself as a private consultant and performed services related mainly to the elaboration, appraisal and evaluation of strategies and projects in natural resources management for rural development and democracy issues (also in multi-ethnic settings), as well as with the organisation and coordination of major international seminars and donor meetings. Within the latter field, he was the Swedish Government’s Coordinator for the Consultative Group Meeting in Stockholm in May 1999 on the Reconstruction and Transformation of Central America (in the aftermath of Disaster Mitch), jointly organised with the IDB.

After seven years of private consulting, he once more returned to Sida’s field organisation in July 2002, occupying the position as Latin America Coordinator for Sida’s Contract Financed Technical Cooperation, posted at the Embassy in Guatemala. This position also included monitoring and reporting on certain Central American issues as well as the thematic responsibility for Swedish development cooperation in Guatemala concerning land issues and decentralisation.

Within the technical cooperation, he concentrated on how to improve the instrument in order to enhance its appropriateness and efficiency for institutional development. In relation to his responsibilities in Guatemala, he dedicated considerable effort to achieving donor coordination within the field of cadastral systems, as well as the start-up of co-designed and co-financed endeavours (together with the German Cooperation) within the area of local development in the country’s rural zones. Another area of professional involvement was been the design and follow-up of several applied research studies concerning homicide, violent youth gangs (maras), public security, organized crime and the performance of judicial systems.

In September 2007, Mr Frühling returned to being a private consultant, based in Stockholm but undertaking extensive assignments in Vietnam, Bolivia and Central America.

Two years later, towards the end of August 2009, he was once more recruited by Sida, to held a new post at the Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia, as Counsellor with primary responsibility for development cooperation within the fields of natural resources and climate change. This post implied bearing main responsibility for making operational the Swedish special climate contribution to Bolivia; a task including the elaboration of strategic criteria for climate related interventions as well as planning and preparation of major new contributions within this area. During his period at the Embassy in La Paz, Mr. Fruhling has concentrated on facilitating co-financed programs with a sectoral approach, featuring a design which integrates poverty reduction and natural resources management with adaptation to climate change.

In October 2011, Mr. Fruhling returned to being a private consultant but already in November 2013 he was once more recruited by Sida, to hold the post as Counsellor at the Section for Regional (Sub-Saharan) Development Cooperation, posted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  After almost five years, Mr. Fruhling returned from Addis Ababa in May 2018 and is currently back again as an independent consultant, based in Stockholm, Sweden. (For major ongoing assignments, see below under the section "Professional experience".)

Having enrolled in the Masters Programme in Political Science in 2013 at the University of Granada (Spain) he received his degree in 2015.   

Special skills.

• Situation and problems analyses; strategies and policy frameworks; design of studies.
  
• Project identification and design; project appraisal; monitoring and evaluation.
  
• Teamleadership; coordination of project planning and implementation.
  
• Design and coaching of applied studies and research.
  
• Design and organisation of seminars and workshops.
  
• Elaboration, editing and publishing of reports, brochures and books.
  

Professional experience:

May 2018 >

Independent consultant 

MAIN FOCUS:
Analysis, evaluations & design of programs within international development cooperation. Contextual analysis and advisory services for efforts related to human rights and democracy; organized crime and anti-corruption (mainly in Latin America & Africa).

November 2013 - May 2018

Counsellor and Deputy Head of Section (Regional Development Cooperation) at the Swedish Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Focal point for contributions related to democracy, human rights, gender equality and antii-corruption.

October 2011– November 2013

Private consultant.

August 2009 – September 2011

Counsellor posted at the Swedish Embassy, Section for Development Cooperation, in La Paz, Bolivia, with special responsibility for Sweden’s contributions within the fields of natural resources and climate change.

September 2007 – July 2009:
Private consultant, based in Stockholm.

July 2002 – August 2007:
Counsellor posted at the Swedish Embassy in Guatemala, with three main responsibilities:

1. Latin America Coordinator for Swedish Technical Cooperation, coaching eligible ideas and initiatives to becoming projects (in all Latin American countries open for this cooperation modality) and undertaking follow-up missions;
   
2. Monitoring and reporting on selected development issues and institutions in Central America;
   
3. Programme Officer for Swedish development cooperation in Guatemala, mainly concerning land issues and decentralisation/local development.
   

April 1991 – August 1995:
Senior Programme Officer at the Swedish Embassy in Nicaragua, with full responsibility for the Forestry Sector Programme (including the Swedish support for the TFAP process); donor coordination for the National Environmental Action Plan; environmental projects; preparation, design and start-up of the Democracy Programme for the local authorities in the multi-ethnic Autonomous Regions on the Atlantic Coast.

1985 - 1991:
Independent writer but also consultant (to SIDA, SAREC, the Red Cross, etc), with the following main areas: energy and environment; political bias in news and reporting; Third World and development issues; development assistance projects (rural development). Field reports, investigative journalism, media analysis.

1975 - 1985:
Independent journalist and writer within the same special areas as above.Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)

Consultancies for:

• Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). 
  
• International and Swedish Red Cross
  
• The Ministry for Planning and Investments, MPI (Vietnam)
  
• Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries (SAREC).
  
• The Nordic UN Project
  
• Swedish Agency for International Technical and Economic Co-operation (BITS).
  
• Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs Comisión Centroamericana de Ambiente y Desarrollo (CCAD). 
  
• Regional Governments of the Nicaraguan Atlantic Coast (RAAN and RAAS). 
  
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 
  
• German Technical Cooperation (GTZ). 
  
• Southern African Development Community, Environmental & Land Management Sector (SADC-ELMS). 
  
• The European Commission (EC). 
  
• The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). 
  
• Swedish Parliament
  

• Evaluation of WCOs project GAPIN, addressing wildlife trafficking originated in Africa (Sida)
  
• Latin America Coordinator for a global external evaluation of reforms of agricultural and rural extension systems (Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services, GFRAS)
  
• Elaboration of main texts for a broad publication on experiences from PROAGRO and its approach for reducing vulnerability and improving returns for small-scale farmers, with validated and replicable models for applied adaptation to climate change. (GIZ-Bolivia)
  
• Advisory progress review concerning the application and integration of the Climate Change Adaptation approach in the program PROAGRO, working with small producers in arid and semi-arid zones of Bolivia. (GIZ-Bolivia)
  

• Analyze experience and results generated during 15 years by the urban development program in Nicaragua named PRODEL and the application of its core concepts under substantially different conditions, also outside Nicaragua, with emphasis on to what extent its methods and approaches have developed into a replicable model. (Sida-Stockholm)
  
• Perform an appraisal of the “Community-Corporate Partnership Project in the Forestry and Wood Sector of Bolivia”, a project elaborated with funding from IFC/the Netherlands and proposed to be co-financed by the Dutch and Swedish International Development Cooperation (Embassy of Sweden in La Paz)
  
• Analyze current conditions, existing plans and ongoing projects in Bolivia within the fields of (i) sustainable use of natural resources, (ii) the environment and (iii) climate change and propose selection criteria for the composition of a portfolio for Swedish development cooperation with Bolivia for the period 2009-2013 (Embassy of Sweden in La Paz)
  
• Coordinator for an external consultancy team elaborating a proposal for a second phase of the rural development and poverty reduction program Chia Se in Vietnam. (Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam; assignment still ongoing)
  
• Team leader for a desk study aiming at proposing criteria for climate-related future Swedish international forestry undertakings. (The Swedish Forestry Association)
  
• Team leader for an External Assessment of the Local Development Program PROMUDEL in Guatemala. (German Technical Cooperation, GTZ)
  
• Team leader for an External Analysis of the performance of Forum Syd’s (a Swedish NGO) ongoing Central America Program (a program emphasizing a rights perspective, citizen participation and global development issues). (Sida-RELA)
  
• Elaborate a text (for public discussion) on “Violence, impunity and fragile democracies: Reflections on the current situation in Central America” ( Sida-Stockholm; first to be published in Swedish)
  
• Coach and coordinate the final phases of two applied studies within the area of citizen security and performance of the justice system (on homicides in Guatemala and violent youth gangs in Central America, respectively), and oversee the elaboration of an accessible publication from each of these studies. (Embassy of Sweden in Guatemala/Sida-Stockholm)
  
• Resource person and moderator for an international conference on “Towards a New Global Forest Agenda” in Stockholm, October 2007 (Organized by the Stockholm School of Economics and Sida)
  

• Member of Sida's Annual Review Team of the Forestry Programme in Nicaragua
  
• Elaborate a report on trends and scenarios for future development in Central America (Imaginable Futures of Central America; Sida)
  
• Elaborate a report/booklet on the growing water crisis in Southern Africa: background, problems and possible solutions (A Liquid More Valuable Than Gold; Sida)
  
• Member of Sida's Natural Resources Management and Environment (NRME) Mission to India and draft the Main Report with proposals for a new strategy for future Indo-Swedish cooperation in these fields
  
• Elaborate a report on the natural resources and environmental situation in Central America and its linkages to sustainable democratic development, with a strategy proposal for Swedish development cooperation in these fields.
  
• Design and elaborate a strategic three-year plan for the Democracy Programme on the multi-ethnic Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua; team leader (Regional Councils of the Nicaraguan Atlantic Coast/Sida)
  
• Assist the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD) in their preparation of a three-year proposal for Nordic bilateral cooperation.
  
• Design the framework and main concepts for a high-level international seminar for researchers and politicians from North and South on "International Solidarity and Globalisation: In Search of New Strategies", coordinate all the preparations and bear full responsibility for the execution and follow-up of this event. (Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement)
  
• Assist the UNDP Office in Honduras in the elaboration of a Programme Outline for the period 1998-2000 within the fields of natural resources management and the environment, linking all activities to the other main goals of poverty reduction and good governance
  
• Assist the SADC-ELMS Coordination Unit in Lesotho in the reformulation of two major Sida-funded programmes within the area of land management and measures combatting desertification.
  
• Analyse the compatibility and coherence of recent Government policy documents for international cooperation dealing with environmental and gender issues, poverty reduction, the promotion of human rights and democracy and suggest a strategy regarding how to advance towards an integration of these approaches. (The Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs).
  
• Team Leader for an Identification Mission on behalf of the European Union to El Salvador, with the task of analysing the current situation and future scenarios in order to suggest strategic EU-financed activities for the strengthening of environmental management (the European Commission)
  
• Team Leader for Sida’s External Monitoring and Advisory Team for the Democracy Programme on the multi-ethnic Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, in support of regional and local authorities, within the framework of regional autonomy (Sida; terminated in July, 2000; covered the period 1998 – 2000).
  
• Elaborate a proposal for how to integrate Swedish developments cooperation policies concerning four main areas: poverty reduction, environmental concern, gender, democracy and human rights (Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs).
  
• Elaborate a proposal for a common Swedish manual (shared by Sida and the Foreign Ministry) on the steps and methods in the elaboration of country strategies (Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs).
  
• Swedish Coordinator for preparations, planning and carrying through of the Consultative Group Meeting in Stockholm in May 1999 on the Reconstruction and Transformation of Central America (Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, January-June, 1999)
  
• Elaborate an analytical Closing Report on the Swedish support for Forestry Sector Development in Nicaragua (1982-1998), concentrating on goals, results achieved and lessons to be learnt (Sida).
  
• Team Leader for Sida’s External Monitoring and Support Team related to the Swedish support to PAHO’s regional programme ”Health and Reform in Central America” (Sida; ongoing; covering the period 1999 – 2001).
  
• Elaborate a conceptual framework and strategy for reinforced information activities on Swedish international development cooperation (Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs).
  
• Responsible for the carrying through of a Mid-Term Review concerning the Swedish assistance package related to the Mitch disaster in Central America (Sida).
  
• Institutional consultant for the planning phase of FondeAgro in central-northern Nicaragua; a programme promoting agriculture-lead development among small producers (Sida and MagFor/Nicaragua, 2001).
  
• Coordinator for preparations, planning and carrying through of a high-level conference on “Making Globalization Work for the Poor – the European Contribution” (Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs; February-July, 2001).
  
• Consultant to the Parliamentary Commission on Swedish Policy for Global Development (2001).
  
• Consultant for the elaboration of a new strategy for enhancing poverty reduction as the focus and overarching goal for Sida’s development activities (Sida’s Policy Unit, 2001-2002).