MALTA REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND DIALOGUE FOUNDATION
MRDDF is a registered non-governmental organisation based in Malta which is focused on sustainable regional development and the promotion of social dialogue.
The MRDDf seeks to address these issues in Malta by participating in transnational collaborative development projects, organising multi-stakeholder consultations, conducting research on issues of critical national, regional and social interests, and influencing policy making via active civic participation and dialogue. We strive to ensure that marginalised views and voices are heard and believe that facilitating discussions across geographical and cultural boundaries is vital to promoting equal opportunities to all.
The foundation is completely independent of any political party and is non-profit.
MRDDf was established by a local social enterprise called Projects in Motion Ltd.
OUR AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
Our work is guided by the cross-cutting principles of sustainable development, social dialogue and equal opportunities for all.
The objectives of MRDDf therefore are to:
- Increase the need for sustainable regional development and awareness
- Participate in collaborative projects through transnational cooperation
- Enhance skills, learning and awareness for societal issues among the local population
- Promote innovation in the region
- Encourage active civic participation, social enterprise and corporate social responsibility
- Foster urban and rural regeneration and promote the regional infrastructure
- Actively engage in policy dialogue to promote development and dialogue in the region
- Maximise the benefits arising from EU Community initiatives and Programmes.
WHO WE ARE
Brian Restall, Executive Secretary
Brian started his career at the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) and held the post of FP6 Projects Coordinator and Research Assistant to the Policy Unit. Since then Brian has been responsible for sourcing and managing the scientific / administrative tasks for numerous R&D projects running under the 5th, 6th and 7th Framework programme; and under the Leonardo, Intelligent Energy, Interreg, and Plan D programmes. Here at MRDDf, Brian is entrusted with the role of providing a coherent approach for projects which PiM is involved in, while creating a link between the individual project managers responsible for the execution of all project deliverables and management. He is also responsible for establishing standard practices and procedures to be followed across all projects, while ensuring a smooth flow of the operations. He is also responsible for the CASTWATER project, and contributes towards the GPP4Growth project. Brian read for a PhD at the Institute of Earth Systems, UoM and his research interests are mostly in the area of environmental/conservation psychology and sustainable development.
Phone: (+356) 2142 0852
Mobile: (+356) 9984 7540
Qualifications: PhD. (Environmental management and planning); MSc. Sustainable Environmental Resource Management; M.S. Integrated Science and Technology; MBA (Maastricht), B. Psychology
Email: info at mrddf.org
Stefan Schaa, Senior Project Manager
Stefan is a political scientist and senior project manager. He is also a board member of MRDDF and an expert on sustainable resource management with a particular focus on the MED area.
Stefan has been involved in numerous EU-funded projects on sustainable development, resource management, education, and R&D. He is currently the local lead for the Interreg Europe project “Green Public Procurement for Resource Efficient Regional Growth”. He has also been a country correspondent for Malta in the framework of various international studies on sustainable innovation.
Previously he worked at the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences where he assisted in conducting research in the thematic fields International Relations and Political Theory, as well as Transnational Social Spaces and Multiple Citizenship in a Globalizing World.
Phone: (+356) 2142 0852
Mobile: (+356) 7980 1038
Qualifications: Dipl. Pol. (International Political Management), M.A. in European Studies (UoM)
Email: stefan.schaa at mrddf.org
Katia Mifsud, Project Manager
Katia graduated in Electrical Engineering from the University of Malta in 1999 following which she was employed at STMicroelectronics (Malta) Ltd. During this time Katia worked in Quality Assurance providing support in quality related issues to the company’s Set-Top-Box and DVD IC customers. Following a 3 month internship at ST Grenoble, France, Katia was responsible for the setup up of Advanced Failure Analysis Lab in the Malta plant. This included defect detection equipments such as hot spot analysis, EMMI, delayering and advanced SEM analysis. For a period of 2 years, Katia was also responsible for the STMicroelectronics(Malta) Reliability Laboratory that performed lifetime testing on the semiconductor devices and detection of infant mortality problems. Standard tools used to interface with the customers include the 8D methodology and report writing, FMEA, TOPS & SPC.
Phone: (+356) 2142 0852
Qualifications: BSc. Eng (Elec.)
Email: katia.mifsud at mrddf.org
