New Frontier Services Team

Associate Consultants

Sean J. Burke, Managing Director

Seán Burke has more than 15 years consulting, business management and evaluation experience, acquired within both big-4 consulting environments and within small consulting companies and in small business management. His consulting and evaluation experience, and has undertaken evaluation work across a wide spectrum of EU policy and development co-operation areas.

He played a key role in the development of the European Tech Investment Forum programme (EIF/ETIF) into one of the most successful investment forum programmes for ICT companies in Europe and provided a commercialisation platform for RTD projects from the EU Information Society Technologies (IST) Programme. Mr Burke has also reviewed key European research and innovation initiatives such as PROTON, the IRC Network and IPR Helpdesk. For the Eureka! Research Programme, he co-authored a guide on raising finance, as part of the latter's training and development programme, and is currently providing communication and content development services to the UNDP.

He has experience across a wider number of policy areas, including research and innovation, high-growth entrepreneurship, venture capital, business management and leadership, private sector development and general economic development, clustering, regional policy, information society development and civil society and human rights and democracy, e-health, education, and e-government. Geographic experience includes most of the EU-25 and Accession States, Eastern Europe and Russia, USA, as well as numerous countries in Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific.

Dr. Bernardita Cardenas, Associate

Dr Bernardita Cárdenas has more than 15 years of experience in evaluation consulting, technology, research and business development. Bernardita has experience across a wider number of policy areas, including research and innovation, information society, RTD commercialisation, civil society and NGOs, education, human rights and democracy, and general economic development.

Bernardita is currently a member of the core team undertaking the European Instrument for Democarcy and Human Rights, as well as she is involved in the development of a evaluation tool for ILO-IPEC.

Bernardita was a member of the core team undertaking the mid-term evaluation of the Trans-Eurasia Information Network (TEIN2), one of the EU's most strategic initiatives in the Asian region, and was involved in undertaking a series of monitoring reviews for NGOs across Europe. She has particular experience in working with RTD projects on their commercialisation approach, and in organising focussed investment and partnering match-making between venture capital investors and high-tech companies as part of pan-European investment programmes.

Recent experience also includes development of a sales database for a mid-size European professional services firm and working as an expert evaluation for the EU on evaluation NGO proposals in the area of civil society. Dr. Cárdenas has undertaken baseline analysis and expenditure review as part of monitoring review of the FP6 Research and Innovation Work Programme of the FP6 Programme.

Dr. Neil Dillon, Consultant

Dr. Neil Dillon has 18 months experience in Brussels within the civil society sector. He holds a PhD in Philosophy and a 1st Class Joint Honours BSc from King's College London. During his time at NFS, Neil has focused on forward looking studies of energy security, investment and development in Africa, and a review of EC funded human rights and democracy initiatives across the world.

Prior to joining NFS, Neil gained experience within the civil society sector, with a focus on security, conflict and development issues. He worked in close partnership with the Council of the European Union, European Commission, African Union, and numerous NGOs and academic institutions from across Europe and Africa. He also has private sector experience as a researcher for European consultancies in both the healthcare and space technology sectors. Neil has edited and written several published articles and books on development, security, and EU current affairs.

Associate Consultants

Erik Knol

Erik Knol is an Associate Consultant of NFS, as well as managing his own research and consulting firm QEAM. Erik has significant experience in working in the area of regional innovation in the Netherlands and in evaluation work regarding European innovation. For the European Commission Erik has undertaken mid-term review activities of the IRC Network programme (SMEs and innovation), and has undertaken FP6 proposal evaluations (DG RTD, DG Enterprise & Industry) in a variety of areas, including nanotechnology and innovation policy programmes and actions). Regarding regional innovation, Erik has undertaken advisory work for the Amsterdam region on implications regarding regional and technological developments, in particular regarding laboratory activities; nanotechnologies; health-medical-technology. For Leiden City Council he was engaged to advise on the structure of a regional cluster in the field of precision engineering. In his current consulting activity Erik supports organisations with multidisciplinary aspects related to business, innovation and technological developments, including a specific focus on educational and regional aspects (including networks and clusters). Thematic areas covered include IT, internet, health & life sciences, engineering, energy and high-tech (nanotechnologies and micro-technologies).

Olaf Kooijmans

Olaf Kooijmans is an independent evaluation and development professional with particular experience in research and consultancy in economic aspects of education and social development areas in international development cooperation. This work has included in particular a focus on education sector development and sector programming (basic education, VET, school management, equipment and materials, education finance and costing, MIS). Formerly a consultant with ECORYS Research & Consulting, Olaf's wider experience also encompasses a number of other areas, including monitoring & evaluation, project appraisal and grant management and proposal assessment. Olaf was part of an ECORYS engagement team that undertook the final Evaluation of Projects financed under the Dutch Grants Programme for Cooperation in Emerging Markets (PSOM), a programme aimed at stimulating pilot investments and trade relations in the private sector as a basis for sustainable development in developing countries by promoting employment creation and strengthening private sector innovation and knowledge transfer. Other recent evaluation-related assignments include the evaluation of an innovation related platform focussed on stimulating and connecting supply and demand of technical-scientific development and knowledge between the Netherlands and foreign countries (in areas such as innovative entrepreneurship, innovation, R&D, and technological break-through applications).

Olaf has also built up significant experience in the management of short-term technical expertise contracts, having managed more than 50 small-scale consultancy and technical assistance projects across more than 40 different countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Carmen Nuñez-Borja

An Associate Consultant of NFS, Carmen Nuñez-Borja is an experienced lawyer with significant consulting and government experience. Carmen was part of an NFS engagement team that undertook a series of 16 ROM-based monitoring reviews of development education projects during 2007, in association with ECORYS Research & Consulting. She holds a Master's degree in Culture and Development Studies from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL), and a Master's degree in Public International Law (LLM) from the University of London for which she received a Chevening Scholarship.

Carmen has senior level experience within national government and international public relations. She served as Chef de Cabinet for the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic of Peru, where her responsibilities included co-ordinating and managing the domestic and international public agenda of the President of the Republic, speech-writing and press relations. She also served as legal and administrative attaché in the Peruvian embassy in Brussels, assisted a leading Peruvian criminal judge, and worked for the Judiciary Control Commission in Peru where she supported the resident Judge in supervising the compliance of judicial branch members. Her wide experience in private legal practice includes work as a senior legal adviser on intellectual property issues, counterfeiting, unfair competition and consumer protection, as well as family law and human rights law.

Gordon Purvis

Gordon Purvis has more than 13 years of background in consulting and project management with over 11 years working in Brussels and with EC funded activities. His experience covers assignments within small and large consulting firms, the European Commission and includes a posting in the Western Balkans within the EU's field mission for the region; the European Agency for Reconstruction. He has contributed to several annual assistance programmes, a series of papers and various reports for the EU in Southern and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. His background comprises of strategic management of assistance, hands on project management, financial and administrative follow up and coordination and analysis. He had in addition three years of experience in the private sector context of the Cap Gemini group.

Gordon's experience covers a range of programmes and policy areas, but chiefly focuses on the wider issues around institutional capacity building, assistance to civil society, visibility issues, and specific aspects of economic development particularly (but not exclusively) in countries in social and economic transition.