Marina
Jarque
Ad-Hoc Expert
Generic Skills
B.1. Understanding of integrated and sustainable urban development:
Sustanaible urban development must be integrated and, when it it is not, it should not be refered to as urban development. Cities hold a key role in responding to the challenges faced by European society: unemployment of long duration, poverty, environmental degradation and pollution, to name a few. These challenges are mainly concentrated and generated in cities, and it is from these cities that they have to solve these issues in collaboration with all relevant agents of the territory. Mobility, housing, sustainable energy or social inclusion are questions that, when approached from a global vision, can generate new opportunities of economic growth and sustainable development. For that purpose, cities must work to co-create with civil society, looking beyond its own field of action in order to identify the common origin of the problems and possible common solutions.
I have spent more than 10 years dedicating my work towards life in cities. My thematic expertise lies in city branding, territorial marketing, strategic marketing directed towards the City and the conceptualisation of advertising campaigns of products and utilities.
Having worked for 4 years for a city inhabited by 1.6 million people (Barcelona) and for 5 years for a city inhabited by 65,000 (Viladecans, Barcelona), I am used to adapting to different working environments. In both councils, I was (and still remain) part of the Mayor's office and have been linked to the Strategic Development organization.
B.2. Understanding of exchange and learning processes at transnational level:
Thirteen years ago, when I was 24 years old, I was involved in my first experience of transnational exchange. I worked at the National Youth Council of Catalonia (which includes all the youth organizations of the region). In the space of two years, we designed, introduced and won the bid to hold the third edition of the World Youth Festival in Barcelona with the participation of 8,000 young people from 125 countries. The Festival was held in August 2004 at the Forum of Cultures-Barcelona 2004. Below is the link of the closing clip of the World Youth Festival Barcelona 2004: https://youtu.be/BTGn96OqtfQ
My principal role in the campaign led me to be selected as part of the team which organized the Universal Forum of Cultures-Barcelona and coordinated the International Solidarity Fair and the Speakers' Corner, attended by over 500 nonprofit organizations. Please refer to the following video http://youtu.be/yf4iVGUdEv0
Once the 2004 Forum had ended, I was selected by Barcelona City Hall to collaborate in a European project, led by Barcelona, which focused on the creation of ´Local Observatories for the Participatory Democracy´.
Since then, I have worked in Viladecans as the Head of International Relations October 2012, and have participated in four different transnational projects. (Please, refer to my CV for futher details).
B.3. Proficiency in English:
I received my Proficiency-level qualification (CPE) in 1996. Since then, I have continued to develop and enhance these skills and my knowledge of the language as a student at university, in the workplace and through travel (both for work and pleasure).
As the responsible party for EU Projects in my current line of work, I use English on a day-to-day basis as the vehicular language: orally, to communicate with our international city partners, and in writing, through emails, reports, tools and other management document drafts.
Whilst I already have a high level of the English language under my belt, I am always looking to improve and continue the learning process. With this in mind, I intend to go abroad to the UK this summer to do an intensive language course in order to fully immerse myself in the language and culture.
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:
Through direct experience of transnational projects, I have established skills in the use of participatory methodologies and design formats for the development of meetings and seminars. I have received training in the use of participatory techniques: I attended a seminar for two years at the Jaume Bofill Foundation (please refer to my CV), as well as both National Training seminars organized by Urbact II. I frequently attend events in order to develop new ideas and keep up to date with the latest trends. I regularly consult websites to find a range of facilitation techniques to suit the needs of each meeting.
Thematic expertise:
Theme / Policy:
Local Governance
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 :
Once I finished my degree in Political Science, the Institute of Government and Public Policy offered me a scholarship for applied research while studying for my doctorate: http://igop.uab.cat/en/about/. In the three years I was there as a researcher, I contributed to numerous experiences of citizen participation. In particular, I contributed to the start of two experiences of Citizen Juries in two municipalities: Montornès del Vallès and Cardedeu, Barcelona.The Citizen Juries function as a mechanism to encourage citizen participation in the process of public decision-making, and aim to answer some of the basic dilemmas and challenges of the city. Participants, chosen at random, form a committee that works towards respecting the principles of equality and political representation in the city. In the case of the Montornès del Vallès methodology, Citizen Juries were used at the initiative of the Local Government to define a public square and an urban park, yet, in the case of Cardedeu, the initiative came from a non-institutional organization - L'associació Cardedeu Vital – which promoted a vital energy planning process around the city. This mechanism of citizen participation was developed in three phases:Phase 1: Random selection from the census Phase 2: Meeting of Citizen Councils.Phase 3: Citizen Feedback. We prepared a report based on the feedback and responses from the questionnaire. I was part of the organizing team.
E.2. Knowledge on integrated approach for the design, delivering, monitoring and evaluation of urban strategies/policies:
The project, “Management by Objectives”, from Barcelona City Council consisted of the following stages:
1. Transpose the political programme of the Municipal Government in 20 strategic maps of the city
2. Establish KPI monitoring and additional Transformation Projects for each of the 20 goal maps
3. Set a budget for each of the 20 goal maps, which, when added, gave the total budget for the council
4. Implement a system of monitoring and analysis in order to obtain: a Balance Score Card, progress of the state of achievement of each goal, objective and expenditure incurred for each of the activities and progress made on each of the associated KPI's
5. The above data was then used to create a system of virtual road-lights on the map, which were green when everything was functioning correctly, and red when it was not
To run this project, the Barcelona City Council built a Task Force to monitor the project monthly and annually. I was responsible for engaging the general public, by breaking down the complex, technical wording into something more bite-sized, understandable and appealing.
E.3. Awareness of the main policy and funding schemes for sustainable urban development at EU and national level:
Information and Communication Technologies are cheap and allow you to be up to date about sustainable urban development. It is key to find reliable sources of information, which nowadays can be formal (institutional) or informal (experts, networks, colleagues, etc.).
From an institutional perspective, at EU level I would like to mention the Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS) and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) as basic sources. Furthermore, I follow official conferences and presentations on sustainable urban development through Infodays and InfoRegion.
At national level, the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) is an important source of information. Besides, I would like to mention the interesting work done by the Province of Barcelona, which has an interesting monthly newsletter and a very comprehensive database on financing tools for local governments (Guia d’Ajuts de la Unió Europea).
Finally, informal networks, colleagues and expert via LinkedIn and Twitter might be also reliable sources of information. Networks such as the Urban Development Network (@EU_REGIONAL #UDNCities) on Twitter or theEuropean Center for Research and Sustainable Development and Urban Expert - Integrated urban development and planning processes on LinkeIn are interesting forums of discussion and exchange. Likewise, experts such as R. Burdett from LSE Cities and colleagues that take part in international networks provide a great deal of information on these matters.
E.4. Ability to understand specific local situations and adapt tools and content to different local realities:
The advance of globalization and European integration has fuelled the dissemination of objectives worldwide. The slogan "think globally, act locally" represents the current need to address issues of concern in various communities within the current framework. It is, therefore, crucial to understand the specific local conditions in each case. The experience I have gained from working on the USEAct network (Urbact II) has enabled me to understand, apply and reflect on local and common problems in a range of areas. For example, I have developed an understanding of the most appropriate tools and methodologies needed to enhance and foster collaborative and participatory local work, as well as how to effectively transfer good practises with other partners. The training and work in the local support group demonstrated a cultural change in the approach to the collective problems of the city. I have also worked successfully with tools of “dynamization” (stakeholder analysis, problem tree, importance/influence matrix, problems/solutions tables) as well as with monitoring and tracking techniques (spider diagrams, self-assessment tables).
Informations
Residence location:
Spain
Languages:
Spanish - Mother tongue
Foreign Languages level:
Foreign languages:
Foreign Languages level:
Foreign languages:
Email:
mjarquef@gmail.com