Jaap Pels

Senior Programme Officer in the Director's Office. MSc in Molecular Sciences, physical chemical orientation (Agricultural University Wageningen, The Netherlands 1982); graduate of De Baak management courses and self-taught in Information Sciences and Knowledge Management. Worked for 20 years for the Netherlands Consumer Association (Consumentenbond) as project leader, product and services researcher, senior finance researcher (coaching research professionals on financial services) and information manager. Special interest in organisational and institutional development, empowerment, complexity, emancipating processes, 'organisational memory' and learning (especially from external relations), network society, user-driven search technology and ICT use, with the emphasis on the 'C'. Languages: Dutch, English, and German. Employed by IRC in 2002; mostly working in Africa with local organisations and networks on information management / flow and knowledge (co)-creation / sharing.