Ross Bull will complete his three year assignment as Executive Director of CNVP on 30 June 2019. Since he started in 2016, CNVP has:

1. focused on different aspects of the circular bio-economy and green economy/growth/employment, covering natural resource management, forestry, agri-rural development, eco-tourism, value chain development, renewable energy, waste management, environment, climate change, community development, women’s economic empowerment, rural youth and governance;
2. developed a mixed portfolio of small, medium and large projects that are being implemented on an in-country and regional basis;
3. diversified revenue streams by winning project funding from the EU and other multilateral partners, as well as bilateral partners such as NORAD;
4. cut the organisation’s wage and non-wage operating costs significantly;
5. registered CNVP Albania as a local legal entity, with similar structures being considered for Kosovo and Macedonia;
6. improved significantly the organisation’s external communication capacity through better use of social media and website facilities, attendance at important regional and international networking events, and membership of international organisations;
7. strengthened the organisation’s network of potential project partners, helping it to become recognised by key stakeholders and networks regionally and in Europe as a reliable and experienced partner in the Balkans;
8. increased the organisation’s capacity to be an effective civil society operator, building capacity at country and regional levels; and
9. transferred management responsibility for the organisation to its three country directors in Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia, thereby strengthening CNVP’s local decision-making capacity in the Balkans at a financially challenging time.

In leaving CNVP, Ross would like to wish its staff, the new board of trustees and the supervisory board success, both personally and professionally. He is optimistic that the choices they make for CNVP’s future will build on the positive platform that Team CNVP has created over the last three years. Ross would also like to wish the various stakeholders, partners and individuals with which CNVP works - in the public, private, NGO/CSO, donor, university and media sectors - success in building a greener economic environment for the benefit of all within (and outside) the Balkans.

Ross will continue to support international development through his consultancy (Rural Space & Infrastructure, www.widereurope.eu/RSI), and his NGO (European Initiative, www.widereurope.eu/EUI). He plans to focus on:

1. designing/implementing/monitoring short, medium and long term donor-funded projects;
2. turning round failing projects and organisations;
3. supporting environmental and climate change resilience;
4. encouraging the transition to a more circular bio-economy, (where the value of products, materials and resources is maintained for as long as possible, the use of renewable energy is maximised, and the generation of waste is minimised), in order to develop value chains that promote sustainable, low carbon, resource efficient and competitive green growth/employment;
5. helping governments to invest in improving the municipal management of natural resources, district heating, solid waste and drinking/waste water;
6. developing the use of evidence-based green economics, budget support for the environment sector, and green/blue bonds;
7. investing in renewable energy opportunities (in forestry, solar, wind, tidal and energy storage); and
8. promoting the start-up/scale-up of private sector companies based on the spin-out and commercialisation of university research e.g. retina defence against sunlight, retinal vascular disease and vision loss, breast cancer screening, probes for atomic force microscopy and cantilever-based sensor devices, wireless and battery free sensing, vertical farming, and anti-microbial susceptibility testing.

Operating from London (close to Brussels), Montpellier (next to the Mediterranean pond), and Belgrade (the hub for the Balkans), Ross can be contacted via rossbull@widereurope.eu and ross@coexistence.co.uk