Daniele
GUIDI
Validated Lead Expert
Generic Skills
B.1. Understanding of integrated and sustainable urban development:
Following a BA in Economics at University of Rome La Sapienza, with a thesis on environmental impact assessment, I have acquired a Master Degree in Urban & Environmental Policy (Tufts Un.) during which I was exposed to various urban policy themes. Later I have consulted for regional and local authorities and national agencies on sustainability of transport systems (ENEA), sustainable land use planning (Regione Calabria), rehabilitation of contaminated industrial sites (APAT); as well I have designed, fundraised, launched and managed two local Agenda 21 projects, focused on the participatory and strategic planning of sustainable development territorial initiatives. As an environmental economist I have developed deep analytical skills of integrated sustainable development issues, using tools such as cost-benefit analysis and multi-criteria analysis. Finally, I have worked for one year assisting a US private foundation (Blue Moon Fund) in developing strategic alliances in Europe: this foundation was invested mainly in sustainable energy initiatives and in sustainable urban development projects.
B.2. Understanding of exchange and learning processes at transnational level:
As founder of a consulting firm that works mostly on international projects, the exchange and mutual learning is embedded in our daily activities and interaction with clients and partners since the year 2000. Some examples of projects in which I have been engaged and exchange/learning processes were an important component, include: SARD Initiative of UN FAO: assisted FAO in the design and negotiation of a multi-stakeholder collaborative international platform on sustainable agriculture and rural development; Local Agenda 21 Chianti Senese: Local Agenda 21 of Mountain Community of Mugello (Florence); MOSAICO network: participated to the creation of an international network of foundations, NGOs, practitioners dedicated to sustainable development initiatives in India, China, Brazil; OILECO value chains: a European project in which six country teams worked with urban areas to improve collection of used cooking oils; CTI PFAN Initiative: an international clean tech and climate adaptation investments promotion initiative, with peer learning events, and intensive business coaching. Finally, as a Research Fellow I was recently for one year at Harvard’s University Kennedy School of Government, in a program of Sustainability Science structured to amplify the cross-fertilization of ideas, peer-to-peer learning and exchange among Fellows coming from different backgrounds and countries.
B.3. Proficiency in English:
I have been consulting on a variety of sustainable development topics for over 20 years and mainly in international contexts. The evidence of my capacity to communicate fluently in English (oral and written) can thus be easily obtained from both my academic and professional curriculum, international consulting and the listed publications (see CV).
Expertise for the design and delivery of transnational exchange and learning activities:
Summary Expertise for the design and delivery of transnational exchange and learning activities:
As an environmental and energy consultant over the years I have developed and participated to many practices of peer exchange and learning, from more traditional seminars to more experimental tele-conferences. Typically the best occasions of deep exchange have been those of co-learning and participatory processes, in which I took part in the context of development cooperation work (UN FAO, UN IFAD, CTI-PFAN, REEEP and foundations), European projects (OILECO) and also during Local Agenda 21 forums. In many cases, I took leadership in mobilizing stakeholders, motivating peers to move from a community of knowledge to a community of practice and, at times, had to manage cultural differences and mediate for convergence to productive conclusions. As a consultant in Europe and abroad, I am called to continually intermediate the interests and agendas of participants and identify common grounds. Learning tools of universal language are videos and I have used them in several occasions, as well as templates, collection of best practices, writing of case studies, informal co-learning workshops and their summaries, etc. As for my ability to write concise reports that incorporate policy messages and best practices, I’d like to highlight my widely cited FAO publication (2000) and my Harvard University Working Paper (2011).
Thematic expertise:
Theme / Policy:
Environmental Issues
Summary Thematic expertise:
I am a well rounded environmental policy professional with over 20 year of competence acquired on Environmental Issues (which I consider here for simplicity the overarching thematic area), but engaging deeply also on the related following aspects and thematic policy areas of UrbAct: I developed significant knowledge of local governance processes for local sustainable development planning (Local Agenda 21),municipal waste management planning and sustainable energy planning; expertise in local economic development planning, particularly in land use planning, transport sector and brownfields clean-up and re-development; green economy SMEs support competence developed through multiple engagements (in Italy and abroad), particularly with energy, waste, sustainable agribusiness, and paper manufacturing sectors; in these SMEs support assignments I often favored the inclusion of target groups and the building of networks and of public-private partnerships. As for my abilities in producing thematic inputs for learning processes at transnational level, I would highlight the MOSAICO Retreat sharing of Italian models for cooperative agribusiness with peers from Brazil, India China and USA, and the execution of an Official Side Event at the WIREC 2008 Conference disseminating the Tuscany’s region opportunities for investments in renewable energy. A key example of learning material targeted to local policy makers is the Manual on Brownfields re-development for the National Agency of Environmental Protection (today ISPRA) 2004. As for the capacity to disseminate policy relevant results and capitalize lessons a recent reference is the design and organization at the ECOMONDO 2013 (Rimini) the final conference of the European project OILECO Value chains (8 speakers, one video realized by ENEA, over 60 participants).
Expertise support to local authorities and other stakeholders in designing & delivering integrated and participatory policies
E.1. Knowledge on participatory methods and tools for co-production and implementation of local polices :
1. OILECO Value Chains project: in this project that I designed, participatory approaches were fundamental to obtain local public and private stakeholders engagement and negotiate with them MoUs of cooperation and eventually public-private partnership Agreements. We used various proactive outreach including bi-lateral and collegial meetings, mediation services, drafting of agreements, participation to local events, we invited the local administrators to our events, ensured media coverage, invited them to an international study tour in Austria. 2. Invest in Tuscany Initiative (Toscana Promozione, Regional Agency for Investment Promotion) - Renewable Energy and energy Efficiency. In this project, I was leading a team of experts engaging both local urban authorities and local SMEs in defining and co-producing options for foreign investment attraction. While the formal communication of these opportunities rested in the hands of the Regione Toscana, we also proactively diffused the results through the delivery of an Official Side Event at the most important conference on the sector (WIREC 2008) in USA.
E.2. Knowledge on integrated approach for the design, delivering, monitoring and evaluation of urban strategies/policies:
In the European project OILECO value Chains, I was responsible to keep up with the municipalities and associations of municipalities engaged in formulating public-private partnerships for waste cooking oil collection, cleaning and re-use. This work entailed continuous monitoring and also stimulus of local administrations to keep up with their commitments. Tools used over the project implementation period included, periodic calls and meetings with Majors and other administrators, formal presentations, invitations of municipal government members as speakers at events organized by our project, TV interviews. This was very much needed to keep monitoring their engagement and to keep the commitments high in the local policy development agenda.
E.3. Awareness of the main policy and funding schemes for sustainable urban development at EU and national level:
As the principal of a small consulting firm, I continually monitor the EC funding programs, and also grant-making programs of some private banking foundations.
E.4. Ability to understand specific local situations and adapt tools and content to different local realities:
1. In the OILECO project context, we designed a set of homogenous tools to be used in 6 European member states with local stakeholders. For instance, we prepared for the Consortium templates and annotated indexes fro pre-feasibility analyses, for business plans and formats for MoUs of public-private partnerships. However, for each local stakeholder we have adapted such tools to the context and needs. In addition, we provided “technical assistance fiches” as tailored documents containing instructions on how to deliver certain results to a number of Municipal authorities. For instance, one was focused on instructions on how to issue a formal Municipal Decree on improvement of the waste cooking oil management. This brought several Municipalities to discuss and adopt such Decree. 2. Local A21 Chianti Pluss (association of four Municipalities in Chianti Senese) and MUSA (Mountain community of 9 Municipalities) – adoption of several tools and strategies for co-planning and disseminating of local sustainable development policies (i.e action plans publication, A21 forum meetings, public events, local TV interviews and media).
Summary Expertise:
Over the last two decades I have had the opportunity to interact with several local authorities and territorial stakeholders for the design, and in some cases delivery of integrated and participatory policies, policy measures, and interventions. For instance, in the context of European co-funded project OILECO Value Chains, I assisted Municipalities in signing Public Private Partnership Agreements (6 agreements) and local Decrees to collect, clean and recover used vegetable oil flows. Within the Local A21 initiatives (in total engaging 13 Municipalities), I have been very engaged in stimulating local stakeholder co-planning of local sustainable development policies.
Informations
Residence location:
Italy
Languages:
Italian - Mother tongue
Foreign Languages level:
Foreign languages:
Email:
daniele@ecosolutions.it