Consulting – Bassel Daher, Ph.D.

Consulting Experience

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) | Aug 2024 – Present

Developing a roadmap and action plan for the establishment of the research network and innovation hub on food safety in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) Region.
Designing the consultation process leading to the co-creation of the research network and innovation hub model, including defining its vision, mission, functions, and operations in collaboration with key research institutions and national stakeholders in the region.
Conducting a mapping of innovations and technologies with high potential to address food safety and readiness for scaling in the NENA region.

Penn State University | Jul 2022 – Present

External program evaluator for the National Science Foundation funded project: AccelNet-Implementation: US-Africa Sustainable Food Systems through Water-Energy- Food Nexus Networking
Leading the design, implementation, analysis, and reporting for project evaluation surveys, stakeholder interviews, focus group discussions. (VIDEO)

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN ESCWA) | May 2024 – Aug 2024

Preparing and delivering training materials and technical assistance to strengthen the capacity of member nation stakeholders to formulate project concept notes and proposals that can facilitate access to biodiversity finance.
Preparing tutorial material and online training sessions with case studies, practical examples, interactive exercises and visual tools to support participants in elaborating specific project ideas and concept notes in thematic areas including 1) nature-based solutions for climate resilience, 2) land degradation in arid agricultural ecosystems, and 3) renewable energy and biodiversity.

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) | Jul 2022 – May 2024

Leading the identification and reporting on global good practices for water-energy-food-environment governance.
Conducting interviews with cross-sectoral stakeholders in Jordan with the goal of identifying the key challenges facing the water, energy, and agricultural sectors and addressing barriers to coordinated planning and integrated governance.
Supporting the co-development of an innovative and integrative framework for Water-Energy-Food-Environment Nexus governance in Jordan with local experts, stakeholders, and project partners at IIASA and the University of Jordan.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) | Nov 2023 – Apr 2024

Developed a knowledgebase of affordable, transferrable, and climate-smart technologies across six thematic areas to enhance food security in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Palestine, and Jordan.
Co-created a framework and tool for assessing and comparing the performance of identified technologies, allowing for the identification of the most viable solutions for scaling up and adoption.
Co-led the technology assessment tool development, analysis, and reporting, in collaboration with project partners at IFAD and IsDB.

PRIMA – Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area | Feb 2024

Expert Evaluator; conducted evaluation for one of PRIMA’s Water-Energy-Foond-Environment Nexus funded programs.

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) – Regional Office for the Americas and the Carribean | Apr 2023 – Nov 2023

Conducted literature review and engaged in consultations with regional experts to inform research on the interconnections between energy, food, and human mobility in the Northern Countries of Central America.
Led the development of a white paper titled “A Systems Approach for Disaster Risk Reduction: Exploring the Nexus of Energy, Food, and Human Mobility in the Northern Countries of Central America” providing a comprehensive analysis of systemic dependencies and proposing actionable prospective strategies.
Organized a regional multi-stakeholder meeting to disseminate research findings and collaboratively identify sustainability metrics of interest for evaluating interventions in the energy-food-migration nexus in the Northern Countries of Central America.

International Water Management Institute (IWMI) | May – Sep 2023

Moderated a two-day regional dialogue in partnership with IWMI and UN ESCWA in Beirut, Lebanon, focusing on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus and its role in building resilience within fragile and conflict-affected agri-food systems, leading to the creation of a policy brief titled “Building resilience in fragile and conflict-affected agrifood systems through a water-energy-food nexus approach“.
Supported program development, prepared moderation materials, invited speakers, drafted proceedings, and led policy brief development.

Oliver Wyman | Oct 2022 – March 2023

Providing expert guidance and advice to the consulting team on the development of a water-energy-food-environment nexus decision support tool in the United Arab Emirates.

Waterlution, Lebanon and Canada | Jan 2019 – Dec 2021

Designed and delivered four Water Innovation Labs, training over 300 young professionals, through immersive leadership workshops designed to accelerate collaborative innovation and devise new innovations for improved water security under climate change. (VIDEO)

Union for the Mediterranean | Sep 2020 – Oct 2021

Conducted surveys; designed and delivered youth engagement workshops related to the future of water jobs in the Mediterranean and the skillsets needed in a post-Covid-19 marketplace.
Co-authored a report published by Union for the Mediterranean titled: Water and Youth Opportunities in the Mediterranean: Gap Analysis and Survey Results
Co-developed UfM’s Water and Youth Engagement Strategy 2023-2028

Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the American University of Beirut, Lebanon | Sep 2019 – Sep 2020

Developed a Water-Energy-Food-Health decision support tool for evaluating the trade-offs of multi-sectoral strategies toward improving food security policies in Lebanon.
Led the development of questionnaires and conducted interviews to investigate farmers’ preferences toward adopting different technology options on their farms.
Led the authorship of the peer-reviewed journal article: “Food security under compound shocks: Can Lebanon produce its own Mediterranean food basket?”, published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems.
Co-authored 2 policy briefs: 1)Addressing Food Security Challenges in Lebanon: A Water-Energy-Food-Health Nexus Approach; and 2)Evaluating farmer priorities and readiness to adopt new water, energy, and agricultural solutions in Lebanon.

International Water Resources Association (IWRA), Paris, France | Jun – Aug 2016

Authored a policy brief that included recommendations for bridging the gap between science and policy on issues of interconnected resource challenges and climate change.

International Renewable Energy Agency, UAE | Jun 2013 – Dec 2014

Co-authored the report: “Renewable Energy and Water-Energy-Food Nexus”.
Conducted an extensive literature review for the status of renewable energy globally and developed a framework for assessing national renewable energy deployment scenarios.