senior management team
ROBERT (BOB) FRANCIS, B.Sc.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Francis founded Agriteam in 1986 and is the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Francis has Bachelor of Science degrees in Agriculture and Animal Science from the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta (UAlberta) and completed Master of Science (agriculture) studies at UAlberta and took post-graduate studies in Agricultural Science at the University of Nottingham, School of Agriculture. In addition to running the day-to-day operation of Alinea, Mr. Francis owns and operates a cattle ranch in Priddis, Alberta.
GAYLE TURNER,
M.A., B.Ed.
Vice President, Gender and Social Development Specialist
With a Masters’ degree in Social Work (Community Development) from the University of Toronto, Ms. Turner has designed, managed, monitored and evaluated international development projects for more than 35 years. Ms. Turner joined Alinea in 1991 as Vice President and manages Alinea’s operations out of Gatineau, Québec. Ms. Turner is a skilled trainer and facilitator and her expertise includes capacity development, institutional strengthening, participatory development, gender equality and governance, results-based management and performance measurement. She has worked in more than 30 countries, with long-term assignments in Nigeria, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Indonesia.
CHARLES DUFF,
B.Sc (Hons), FRGS, FIC
Vice President and Managing Director
Charles Duff previously led the global international development business of Palladium International Development and the European operating companies of Coffey International Development and Enterplan. He has also been responsible for managing businesses operating in the fields of geotechnical engineering, environment, commercial advisory, and construction project management. Mr. Duff supports British Expertise as a member of the Advisory Board and is a Fellow of the UK Institute of Consulting and of the Royal Geographic Society.
Kristy Thomson, B.Journ, MPP
Communications Specialist
For more than 10 years, Kristy has been covering politics as a journalist or engaging in policy development. In Canadian news media, Kristy produced current affairs programs, daily newscasts, budget day coverage and election specials. In public affairs, she developed strategic communications, government relations and stakeholder engagement plans for private sector clients to inform policy decisions at all levels of government.
Kristy Thomson, B.Journ, MPP
Communications Specialist
For more than 10 years, Kristy has been covering politics as a journalist or engaging in policy development. In Canadian news media, Kristy produced current affairs programs, daily newscasts, budget day coverage and election specials. In public affairs, she developed strategic communications, government relations and stakeholder engagement plans for private sector clients to inform policy decisions at all levels of government.
Kristy Thomson, B.Journ, MPP
Communications Specialist
For more than 10 years, Kristy has been covering politics as a journalist or engaging in policy development. In Canadian news media, Kristy produced current affairs programs, daily newscasts, budget day coverage and election specials. In public affairs, she developed strategic communications, government relations and stakeholder engagement plans for private sector clients to inform policy decisions at all levels of government.
Kristy Thomson, B.Journ, MPP
Communications Specialist
For more than 10 years, Kristy has been covering politics as a journalist or engaging in policy development. In Canadian news media, Kristy produced current affairs programs, daily newscasts, budget day coverage and election specials. In public affairs, she developed strategic communications, government relations and stakeholder engagement plans for private sector clients to inform policy decisions at all levels of government.
department heads
JOANNE MENARD
Office Manager
Gatineau
SHELLEY PRIEBE
Office Manager
Calgary
RUŽA OBAD
Chief Financial Officer
Calgary
KENDRA TOBY
Business Development
Director
our technical experts by category
agriculture
education
environmental sustainability
gender equality & social inclusion
health
human rights & governance
indigenous relations
financial & economic evaluation
institutional
strengthening
monitoring & evaluation
natural resources
public administration & policy design
Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.
alinea offers a range of services to our clients and partners, which can be provided on a stand-alone basis or combined in different ways within a larger project or program.
project & investment feasibility studies
A core Alinea capability is providing our clients with the information they require to finalize their decisions to start or expand their business, or to determine the feasibility of an investment or projected plan of action. Our technical specialists possess extensive industry experience and can conduct physical and economic feasibility studies, social/gender assessments, site assessments, industry analysis, environmental scans; and provide contacts with local and national governments.
project design & planning
We believe that a successful project can usually be traced back to the effort, care and skill that were applied to its initial planning. Alinea has developed a methodology in planning and design that is framed by the principles of results-based management (RBM), appreciative inquiry, and capacity building, including: inclusion of local expertise; identifying and building on local successes; self-assessment practices; and participatory methodologies.
project implementation & management
At Alinea, we undertake project activities as a means to an end—results—and measure the success of our work on this basis. We do not consider project activities and inputs as sufficient in and of themselves—they have to produce developmental outcomes that respond to the stated needs of our clients and partners. We work with our partners to identify the results they want to achieve, reach consensus on the methodology for achieving them and together, we determine the roles and responsibilities each stakeholder needs to fulfill to reach goals and measure success. With desired results articulated and shared, we adjust activities and inputs so that developmental change can progress in a timely fashion.
capacity development & institutional strengthening
Alinea is strongly committed to a capacity development approach in our work. This means we design and implement our projects in a way that empowers our partners to set their own development goals, improve their ability to meet these goals, and continue to apply best practices and knowledge gained through the project long after it ends, and thus take charge of their own development path
monitoring & evaluation
Our approach to monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is characterized by participation: we work with stakeholders to look at both developmental results and success factors. We conduct an objective analysis of issues affecting performance including: achievement of results; cost effectiveness; relevance; sustainability; partnership; appropriateness of design; and resource utilization and timely action. We have developed and implemented numerous M&E frameworks for projects that we manage, and provided M&E services for other projects, programs and organizational assessments.