Bureau van Dorp

Bureau Van Dorp is a boutique consultancy firm specialized in sustainable economic development and responsible business in fragile and conflict-affected settings. It provides innovative research, advice and training in the field of sustainable economic development and responsible business in emerging markets, with a focus on fragile and conflict-affected situations. The company was founded in 2018 by Mark van Dorp. Since then, assignments have been carried out for over 30 different clients around the globe.

MISSION & VISION

The mission of Bureau Van Dorp is to ensure that private sector actors operate in a way that supports sustainable development, peace and security, wherever they operate, especially in situations of fragility and conflict. To enable this, we apply the concepts of sustainability, conflict-sensitivity, do-no-harm, positive peace and human security.

The company’s vision is a world in which businesses take into account the local context in which they operate, with special attention for the conflict context, power dynamics and the political economy, so that everyone affected by the business, including employees, suppliers, communities and other local actors also benefit from the company’s presence. Ultimately, we strive for a world in which fragility and conflict are fully integrated in existing corporate responsibility standards, including those measuring companies’ SDG contributions and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) impacts.

SERVICES

Bureau Van Dorp offers its expertise in the following areas:

• Support to companies on how to operate in fragile settings and high-risk contexts, including policy development, conflict-sensitivity analysis, enhanced human rights due diligence and training programs on security and human rights;

• Support to UN institutions, development finance institutions, investors, governments and NGOs on how to better engage with the private sector in fragile settings and high-risk settings;

• Policy and program evaluations in the field of sustainable economic development, private sector development and responsible business;

• Value Chain Analysis and Economic Opportunity mappings for small business development and job creation.

More specifically, Bureau Van Dorp provides a range of services at different levels of intervention, as shown in the following matrix.

SECTORS AND GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE

Bureau Van Dorp has extensive experience in the following sectors: agriculture and agribusiness (coffee, cocoa, palm oil, horticulture, food crops, livestock), forestry, extractives (mining, oil and gas), renewable energy (solar, wind power, biofuels), manufacturing (FMCG, electronics), telecommunications and the financial sector.

Our geographical scope is Africa, Middle East and Latin America. Bureau Van Dorp’s experts are available for short-term missions, also in fragile and conflict-affected areas, where we have a large network of local consultants. Bureau Van Dorp works in close partnership with a number of international and local consultancy firms and networks, including Baastel Group (Canada/Belgium), FCS Impact (The Netherlands), ODI (UK), TrustWorks Global (Switzerland), and Tsunagu Network (The Netherlands).

CLIENTS

Bureau Van Dorp offers its services to a range of clients, including private sector actors, UN institutions, development finance institutions, investors, governments, NGOs and academic institutes.

Clients include:

Various multinational companies

ActionAid

Folke Bernadotte Academy (Sweden)

Hollings Center for International Dialogue

IDH (Sustainable Trade Initiative)

World Bank Group/IFC (International Finance Cooperation)

International Alert

IOM (International Organization for Migration)

ITC (international Trade Centre)

KfW (German Development Bank)

London School of Economics and Political Science

MercyCorps

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (The Netherlands)/Various Embassies

Oxfam Novib

Radboud University Nijmegen

SOMO (Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations)

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

ABOUT

Mark van Dorp, the founder and director of Bureau Van Dorp, is an economist with over 25 years of professional experience in the field of Private Sector Development, Value Chain Analysis, responsible business, ESG (environmental, social and governance) issues, SME support, conflict-sensitive and peace-positive business, and security & human rights, with a focus on fragile and conflict-affected settings. He has worked worldwide in many fragile settings, including Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Colombia, Iraq, Lebanon and Pakistan.

“For business leaders, it is no longer possible to mind their own business. It is time to invest in a better understanding of the conflict context in which the company operates. It is time for companies to contribute to security and peace.”

Over the last 15 years, Mark has focused on action-oriented research and consultancy work on how to strengthen investors’ and companies’ strategies and operational capacity to work in a responsible way in fragile settings, as well as to improve value chains and support SMEs, with the ultimate goal to contribute to equitable development and peace building. He has worked in various capacities in projects financed by multinational companies, universities, NGOs, multilateral institutions (including World Bank Group/IFC, UNDP, UNHCR, IOM, ITC), national governments and the European Union. He has authored many reports and peer-reviewed academic articles on these topics and is often invited as a keynote speaker.

In 2018, Mark founded Bureau Van Dorp, a consultancy firm specializing in responsible business and private sector development in emerging markets and fragile and conflict-affected settings, working in partnership with a network of international and local consultants. Since 2022, Mark is a Research Associate at LSE IDEAS, the foreign think tank of the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is also an Associate Consultant with Baastel Group (Canada/Belgium), TrustWorks Global (Switzerland) and ODI (UK).