Our fields of Expertise

CEU Consulting GmbH offers consulting and project management of official development assistance contracts nationally and internationally in Elections, Environment, Governance & Social Development, Health, Promotion and Communication, Regional Development and Rural Development.

 

CEU provides Support to Election Observation for the EU throughout the world. This support covers research, electoral, political, legal, media, logistics and security for election observation. In 2016-2017, CEU sent teams to Myanmar, Somalia, Benin, Venezuela, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Paraguay and Morocco (Guinea was postponed and Palestine was unfortunately cancelled). Assistance is provided most often in the following formats:

Exploratory Missions (ExMs) - In Exploratory Missions, CEU collects information to assess whether an EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) would be useful, advisable and feasible or whether an EEM. The objective of the ExM is to provide pertinent information and recommendations to the High Representative/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) ahead of the final decision on the deployment of a possible EU EOM / EEM.

Election Experts Missions (EEMs) - CEU carries out EEMs on behalf of the EU. These are composed of a small number of experts only who assess the electoral process and are not endowed with any visibility. EEMs can be deployed to assess different phases of the electoral cycle, including specific early stages of the electoral process, such as voter registration or parties' primaries.

Election Follow-up Experts Missions (EFMs) - One of the outcomes of EU EOMs and EEMs is a set of recommendations on how to improve the conduct of future elections. CEU conducts EFMs for this purpose. EFMs are led preferably by the former Chief Observer for the sake of coherence and deployed with a small number of EU staff and experts in order to assess the level of implementation of recommendations made by previous EOMs or EEMs.

Research, Monitoring & Evaluation of Election Support and Other Issues - CEU conducts commissioned research, monitoring and evaluation of EU election support as part of the overall aim of improving EU election support. See list of references for examples of studies carried out by CEU.

 

CEU Consulting GmbH comprises a network of Environmental Law and Policy Experts, with experience in Environmental harmonization projects and environmental capacity building. EU offers specialist knowledge and skills on Public Environmental Policy issues. The organisation has particular experience in institutional strengthening, legal analysis, economic analysis and training. In previous projects CEU gained strong experiences in drafting environmental legislation together with local stakeholders, raising awareness and securing local commitment to such legislation.

CEU has gained an international reputation for its experience and understanding of environmental policy and legislation, and its innovative approach to problem solving. CEU has unrivalled experience in institutional strengthening and capacity building and has wide experience in many countries and national and regional levels. Apart from its expertise, CEU offers project management according to ISO 9001 standards and long project management experience of consulting projects in various sectors and across the globe.

 

CEU offers the complete range of development assistance to the public sector in the area of Governance. Following the World Bank, we understand Governance in relation to the public sector as the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised. This entails the process by which:
    governments are selected, monitored and replaced;
    capacity of the government to effectively formulate and implement sound policies and
      the respect of citizens, and;
    the capacity of state institutions that govern economic and social interactions

Hence, CEU focuses strictly on support to the public sector (or private services contracted by government) towards the efficient and effective implementation of public ends. The areas covered include:
    democratisation and Human Rights;
    support to rule of law;
    legislative development and policy analysis and reform;
    public sector and civil service reform;
    support to civil society and local authorities;
    gender equality;

For example, CEU has been implementing (April 2015 – April 2017) a human rights support programme in Laos. The objective is to improve access by the Lao citizens to rights and administrative services deriving from the new constitutional legal and institutional framework. Among others, concrete support has been provided by CEU cover workshops, seminars, trainings, study visits with inclusion of key speakers when relevant to those events, as well as the development of analysis and studies. Activities are embedded in wider legal and institutional reform programmes agreed between the Government, the EU and UNDP and supported by several development partners: support project to the Legal Sector Master Plan (LSMP) and the support to the Governance and Administrative Reform Programme (GPAR), and includes awareness raising events and publications in Laos and abroad.

 

We offer knowledge, skills, research and training on Social & Community Development (particularly on issues related to promotion of Ethnic Minorities, Equal Rights, Education and Cultural Promotion) and technical assistance aimed at increasing general understanding of the EU, its policies and programmes among the citizens of non-EU countries as well increase of knowledge of the country's accession process / relations with EU and its implications among the different target groups. The main focus is on the public sector actors (Ministries of Social Affairs, Education and Culture, other Government and EU Agencies), which have programmes targeting these issues and the development of the non-profit sector, but also on NGO development per se. Areas covered include:

Research and Survey – conducting surveys of NGO sector and interviews (development of survey questionnaires, management of collection, interpretation of results), elaboration of monitoring indicators, development & maintenance of database, monitoring of NGO sector at regional and local level

Programming – elaboration of programming documents (overall strategy, priorities, measures) based on sector analyses, elaboration of selection criteria and procedures for implementation

Grant management – development of documents for each stage & management of the implementation cycle (texts for calls, application forms, evaluation grids, selection criteria; awarding grants)

Survey consulting – Our survey consulting services staff ensures that a survey program returns actionable information that clearly identifies areas of strength and opportunities of the studied field. Services include: Needs Analysis, Questionnaire Review, Interview, Instrument Pre-Test, Written Interpretive Reports, Presentation of Survey Results, Action Planning

Training – training in NGO development, NGO management, lobbying and Advocacy techniques, conducting of surveys, Trainer of Trainers' programmes.

Evaluation – elaboration of methodology for assessing impact of grant programmes & specialized criteria for individual project assessments

Monitoring – definition of monitoring report contents, development of indicators, elaboration of software for programme monitoring

 

We offer knowledge, skills, and experiences within the Health Policy, Health Sector Development and Health Education areas of expertise. The focus is on improvement of a complex range of health services provided by individual components of a health care system, including clinical, preventive, and promotive health services. The activities are based on an approach where components of research, education (training), and implementation are well balanced with health policy of the recipient. The areas covered include:

Health Systems Development - our Consultants have prior experience as advisors to district/provincial level health managers, hospital managers or as managers of health institutions themselves. This hands-on experience has equipped them with skills to advise on suitable (national) support systems that suit the requirements of district health managers and the needs of local populations. Such support systems may relate to the routine planning and budgeting cycle, financing mechanisms and resource management. We facilitate participatory stakeholder analyses, elaborate modalities for public/private collaboration and partnerships and propose mechanisms for capacity building in support of health systems that are responsive to local needs.

Health Resources Management - Human resources, pharmaceutical commodities are essential to the provision of health services. The availability of essential drugs, universal access and rational drug use are among the main challenges of any country that adheres to the principles of equitable and high quality health care. Our Consultants have gained hands-on experience in setting up and managing drug revolving funds at health facility and district level, and in strengthening procurement, storage and distribution systems at national and regional/provincial levels. We cooperate with other firms and individual who have specific expertise in management of the supply chain and logistics.

Health Facilities and Services - our organisation is providing technical assistance in development of feasibility studies and needs assessment, strategic facility and service development planning, infrastructure and equipment procurement and physical asset management, management of health facilities and services, quality management including development and implementation of standards, guidelines, clinical pathways, and performance monitoring systems, evaluation of health services, training programmes for clinical, technical and managerial Staff.

Technical Assistance including consulting services (legal advice, risk assessments, surveys & legal compliance audits of companies, curricula development, training) for Ministries of Health, subordinate agencies, hospitals and all health care suppliers at primary, secondary and tertiary level around the globe.

 

CEU offers public sector bodies all the knowledge, skills, research, PR & communication and training needed to effectively manage public brands and carry out publicity campaigns. Public bodies recruit organisations like CEU most often to undertake part of an existing plan / implement an ad hoc or short-term PR campaign. However, regardless of the scope of the assignment, CEU always develops – minimally – a broad outline of a master strategy based primarily on mandate analysis, review of current practice & structured interviews with key players and – where possible or allowed – interviews with representatives of target audiences, as part of our initial due diligence in carrying out any promotion activities for the public sector. This is usually not required by clients but provided by us in line with our holistic approach and commitment to quality. The areas covered include:

Promotion & awareness raising – development of PR strategies, campaigns, development of communication materials & publications, monitoring of the PR activities, development of communication tools, media monitoring, events management etc.

Training – trainings specialy tailored for Public sector bodies and NGOs and their special needs in this sector including Training of Trainers' programmes.

Monitoring & Survey consulting – our survey consulting services staff ensures that a survey program returns actionable information that clearly identifies areas of strength and opportunities of the studied field. Services include: Needs Analysis, Questionnaire Review, Interview, Instrument Pre-Test, Written Interpretive Reports, Presentation of Survey Results, Action Planning.

Evaluation – elaboration of methodology for assessing impacts of campaigns / programmes & specialized criteria for individual assessments.

 

We offer a diverse range of services and advice in the complex sectors of regional and SME development. We have built up an excelent good reputation and a network of high-profile experts in these fields. These experts are being supported by project managers very familiar with the sectors - guaranteeing a high quality of services for regional and SME development projects. The areas covered include:

Regional Development Planning – development of regional development plans and programmes, implementation of programmes, policy advice on regional development tools, elaboration of strategic papers on regional and socioeconomic development, drafting of legislation.

National Development Planning – development of national development plans and operational programmes, communication and publicity strategy for National Development Plans.

Partnership building – Implementation and application of the partnership principle, building of partnership structures (i.e. inter-governmental cooperation structures, public-private partnership structures), development of legal basis, lead consultation and partnership building process.

SME Development – Development of SME Policy in line with European requirements and standards, drafting of new legislation, direct support and training for SMEs in diverse areas, assistance to and building up of Business Service Providers and SME support institutions (institutional capacity building), assistance to start-ups, development of financial and non-financial support mechanisms for SMEs, etc.

Institution Building and Human Resources Development – Organization and delivery of conferences, theoretical and practical training, workshops, seminars, study tours, measures for sustainability of training activities.

Grant management – elaboration of eligibility criteria, application forms, procedure manuals, organisational structures, HR strategies, Performance Measurement of centralised and decentralised functions, et cetera.

Monitoring – definition of monitoring report contents, development of indicators, elaboration of software for programme monitoring

Evaluation – Evaluation of Impact of Regional Development Policies and Programmes. Economic analyses of impact of regional development programme, information systems to enhance regional development policy analysis capability.

 

Agricultural Policy and Rural Development form our oldest fields of activity and we can thus look back on an extensive track record of projects implemented in these sectors. Our technical assistance and capacity building programmes cover a wide range of topics from basic questions of EU integration to highly specialized issues. Our focus in these areas has been on Central and Eastern-European Countries (CEECs) and we have been active with regard to agriculture and rural development projects in Slovakia, Poland, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Croatia. More recently we have as well become active in Turkey, being responsible for the large agricultural component of a regional development project. Over the longer term, we aim to provide our services more broadly, covering african, carribbean and pacific (ACP) countries as well. The areas covered include:

Programming Cycle - Training & Technical assistance in each step in the programming cycle with regard to agriculture and rural development for Implementing Agencies tasked with the responsibility of elaboration of programmes, identification of projects, undertaking feasibility and other quality control checks on the programme, defining the financing of the programmes, implementation, monitoring (including databases, reporting, on-the-spot inspections), and evaluation experience.

CAP Common Agricultural Policy - Consultation and training on EU agricultural policy, development of concepts for CEECs to meet the demands of CAP, elaboration of feasibility studies on the economic impacts of accession to the EU and approximation of laws, advice and training on

Common Market Organisations (including pricing policy, tendering procedures, reporting requirements, legal and trade policy requirements).

Capacity building and institution strengthening - Training & Technical Assistance in the fields of agricultural sector analyses, statistics and market economics CAP and project management methods to public institutions/employees, as well as direct training of farmers, field workers for e.g. income diversification.

Rural Development - Training & Technical Assistance in rural development policy and programmes. Economic analyses of impact of rural development programme (e.g. IPARD), information systems to enhance rural policy analysis capability, etc.