The consulting agency Austroprojekt Ltd. started in 1995, taking over all running projects from the development department of Austrovieh, an Austrian company specialised in pure breed livestock exportation.
At the beginning, from the late sixties to the early eighties, its focus was on projects of livestock breeding and animal husbandry. Since 1986, we have progressively extended our activities to all aspects of rural development, covering the introduction of sustainable agriculture, decentralisation and local government, the promotion of small and medium artisan enterprises, environmental protection and the preservation of natural resources, public health services, and water management.
Our environmental work in the fields of the protection of natural resources and the promotion of sustainable agriculture engaged us frequently into conflict resolution. We have always tried to deal sensitively with those conflicts and have therefore employed different methods of conflict management. Later, we have made out of conflict management a topical focal point in starting to implement projects dealing with the prevention of crises and conflicts as a main emphasis. We cooperate in this field with local NGOs, CBOs, and African Regional Organisations (RECs, like ECOWAS).
Since 1986, we have implemented more than 150 projects with an overall volume of more than 70 million Euros, mostly making use of the framework provided by the Austrian Development Cooperation (OEZA).
Our services comprise:
Consultancies
- Identification of new projects & Implementation of feasibility studies
- Appraisals, project proposals and requests for project funding
- Facilitation of participatory project planning workshops
- Mid-term and end of project evaluations
- Market surveys and socio-economic studies
- Technical assistance and advisory services
- Workshops, Vocational training and technology transfer
- Recruitment of international short term consultants
Project Management
- Project identification with the concerned population
- Planning and organisation of the project cycle
- Project progress analysis (every six months in long term projects)
- Recruiting of leading project staff and local consultants
- Participation in steering committee meetings
- Provision of infrastructure and procurement services
- Development of financial planning schemes
- Periodical progress and financial reports to the donors
- Organisation of internal and external project evaluations
- Support and monitoring of long-term projects
- Project documentation and audio-visual presentations
The partners of Austroprojekt, at a later stage, have created also a non-profit NGO of the same name in order to implement projects under special circumstances, like relief work after natural or political disasters.
Recently, we are suffering from a change in the paradigm of Austrian Development Cooperation. With the foundation of the “Austrian Development Agency” the support to projects we implemented for many years was discontinued. That means that our heydays are gone.
As a consequence, we have reduced our permanent staff to the absolute minimum. We are still maintaining our good relations to many people we have worked with and who have become friends during many years of cooperation.
Our main focus nowadays lies one project design and evaluation, where we can offer good services based on thorough experience and good contacts to competent people in many countries.
In order to disseminate his large practical experience, the founder of Austroprojekt has started to teach part-time at the Department of International Development at the University of Vienna.