Richard Clacey has 30 years of development and management experience in the public, NGO and consultancy sector in land reform, rural development and local economic development. He has extensive experience in strategy, fund raising, programme management, partnership development and capacity building. He has a specific interest in the connection between economic development, sustainable development and job creation. He has held leadership positions as the Director of the Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA) and as KZN Provincial Director for the Department of Land Affairs (1996 – 2001).
Since 2001, he has been specializing in Local Economic Development (LED) as a consultant and Director of his own consultancy, with specific experience of facilitating strategic planning and LED implementation interventions at district and local government level in KwaZulu-Natal and beyond, mostly in association with the KZN Department of Economic Development, and international agencies including the European Union, the United Nations Development Programme and Belgian Technical Co-operation (BTC).

He has a Bachelor of Journalism and Media Studies from Rhodes University (1985), a Post Graduate Management Diploma from UKZN (2008) and a Certificate in Economics and Public Finance from UNISA (NQF 6).

Since 2006 he has lead and managed a voluntary community based initiative to revitalize the Dorpspruit River in the Prestbury suburb of Pietermaritzburg which is still active a decade later. He is also a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Canoe Union (KNCU) Executive responsible for the Canoe Development portfolio. He also served on the Association for Rural Advancement Board from 2001 until 2015. Richard is married to Sally Howes and has twin teenage boys, William and Joseph.