Marlene is a Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E) expert with a PhD in Social Psychology. She is specialised in research, project management, and PM&E in the development and agri-food sector, especially in Southern and Eastern Africa. She lived and worked for over 15 years in South Africa, where she co-founded the South African Evaluation Association. Currently, she is affiliated to two South African social enterprises, Social Dimensions and Future Focused Leadership, and works at Wageningen University and Research in The Netherlands.
Marlene aims to support responsible and well-informed food system transformation and is passionate about co-creating actionable knowledge. Currently, she is developing an approach for designing and using theories of change or transformation that use behavioural insights in collaboration and collective action. Another key interest is engaging youth in local development through involvement in action research, a kind of citizen science. Wherever possible, she tries to contribute to PM&E capacity development and critical thinking through participatory approaches.