Louis Dorval

"Organization learning capacity and accountability structures for development NGOs in rural Africa" - Executive Summary - Final Report

Bio

Louis has been working with Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Canada for the past seven years, first as a volunteer and now as Director of Overseas Programs. As a full-time student, he co-chaired the first national conference and co-founded and co-led the Scala Program, a livelihood training program for Filipino youth. Since graduation, he has been working in six African countries leading the EWB’s overseas program and a team of up to 70 volunteers and staff.

Louis also co-founded and co-led CommEx Mission, a start-up that offered trade consultancy and trade mission services to Canadian Small and Medium size enterprises. He has spoken as a Canadian representative at a number of international conferences, namely at a Conference on Universal Primary Education Rights in La Havana (’00), on Sustainable Development in Hong Kong (’01), and at the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva (’03).

Louis also co-founded and co-led CommEx Mission, a start-up that offered trade consultancy and trade mission services to Canadian Small and Medium size enterprises. He has spoken as a Canadian representative at a number of international conferences, namely at a Conference on Universal Primary Education Rights in La Havana ('00), on Sustainable Development in Hong Kong ('01), and at the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva ('03).

Louis graduated in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University and is currently studying psychology at the Télé-Université du Québec on a part-time basis. He won a number of awards for his personal and team accomplishments namely McGill University Chancellor Gretta Chambers Leadership Award Winner ('04), Global Junior Challenge Laureate Digital Youth Consortium ('04), Global Knowledge Partnership Winner Youth Education Category ('03).

Issue of Investigation

As a recipient of the 2007 Gordon Global Fellowship, Louis tapped into his network of over 50 partner agencies in Africa to investigate the relationships between international development implementation agencies and their funders, and the effects of those relationships and dynamics on development outcomes and accountability to the beneficiaries.