Carl Michiels, a Belgian national, is director of the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM). He has over three decades of experience in the field of international relations and development.
Prior to joining ECDPM, he worked in the NGO community, the academic world and government. As former chairperson of the management committee of the Belgian Development Agency, Carl Michiels played a key role in leading the successful transformation of this large organisation operating in more than 20 countries, mainly in Africa.
Among other roles, Carl Michiels was the advisor to the Minister of Development and Foreign Affairs in the 1990s. This experience has given him a broad knowledge of the policy-making process from an insider’s perspective.
He also has a deep understanding of the European development cooperation landscape thanks, among others, to his past role as president of the Steering Committee of the Practitioners’ Network, the consortium of European implementation agencies.
Last but not least, he has years of experience in academia as director of the secretariat for university development co-operation of the Flemish Interuniversity Council.