Ray Purcell

Principal Consultant and Director

Ray Purcell is an experienced development economist. He originally worked in Tanzania and Botswana as a civil servant and has worked for over 30 years as a consultant. His strengths are in national and sector strategic planning; climate change adaptation relating to sectoral policy and budgeting planning and management; and programme and project design, reviews and evaluations, especially in the rural development and livelihoods areas. Ray has extensive experience of supporting the preparation processes of national and sector strategic plans, including two recent Rwanda national development plans, as well as preparation for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Vulnerability Assessment Strategic Plan in 2016. During 2013/18, his work focused on the integration of climate change into government planning and budgeting processes in South East Asia (Cambodia, Thailand and Lao PDR). In 2018/19, Ray worked with UNEP and GEF on preparing for Building the Capacity of the Lao PDR Government to Advance the National Adaptation Planning Process. And in 2021/22, he continued to work with UNEP on a GCF climate change readiness proposal for Angola and on strengthening the mainstreaming of Ecosystems Based Adaptation (EbA) in The Gambia. Ray has been a skilled team leader and communicator, working with international and local consultants on complex assignments.

MA, Agricultural Economics, University of Leeds (1975)
Postgraduate Diploma, International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, European Centre of the Schools of Advanced International Studies, Bologna, Italy (1971)