Ioannis
Koliousis
Validated Lead Expert
Generic Skills
B.1. Understanding of integrated and sustainable urban development:
Ioannis is an expert in the fields of transport planning, cargo & freight logistics, public transport, urban mobility, project appraisal and renewable energy sources. He has led interdisciplinary teams and has developed mobility plans for small and medium cities as well as for small businesses. He is a SUMP trainer, having delivered training courses for municipalities, companies and individuals in Greece, Cyprus and the UK as well as a SUMP auditor and the National Contact Point for ADVANCE. He regularly gives speeches on SUMP issues and helps municipal and local authorities’ leadership capitalize on past experience and implement sustainable urban mobility actions.
Ioannis’ professional background is in the field of transportation including sustainable urban mobility designs, measures and their implementation. Main topics where innovations for urban mobility development, soft measures and behavioural based mobility demand management. His academic background in optimization and decision sciences as well as a Masters’ degree in Logistics & Transportation from an engineering systems course has helped him understand the complexity in the urban mobility issues and how each decision may affect the entire context of a system/network/city.
B.2. Understanding of exchange and learning processes at transnational level:
Ioannis has worked on international assignments, where he led teams with diverse backgrounds from all over Europe. Furthermore, Ioannis has trained numerous executives from both industry as well as from local governments / local authorities on sustainable urban mobility concepts in addition to urban mobility actions and implementation techniques. He has developed and delivered specialized courses on sustainable urban mobility, considering each time the specific learning paths of each group as well as integrating modern sustainability concepts on traditional transportation training. More precisely, in the Transport Learning project, he was part of the team delivering 64 training events throughout 8 different countries in EU, with an average participation of 25 persons per event, where all of the participants were professionals from the urban mobility domain. Additionally, in ADVANCE, he was part of a team delivering 9 training events in respective EU countries, again attracting more than 20 urban mobility professionals in each event, with all participants appraising very positively the training and the content itself.
B.3. Proficiency in English:
Ioannis has delivered numerous speeches in English, in front of diverse audience from entry level executives to top leadership and political figures. Additionally, he has used audience engaging techniques in multi-cultural context, with all of them being delivered in the English language. Additionally, he has two degrees from English speaking courses and he has been working on international assignments for the past 15 years leading international teams from all around the globe.
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:
Ioannis is an expert in transnational exchange and learning activities for more than 15 years having hands on experience from working all around Europe. He has designed, planned and implemented know-how exchange, learning activities and experience transfer actions through traditional methods (ex cathedra, physical meetings, workshops, seminars and conferences) as well as using novel approaches, including online/distance training, tele-training, tele-conferences and online collaboration. His interdisciplinary approach goes beyond traditional transport engineering training to facilitate urban constraints and aspirations, cultural complexities, diverse knowledge and experience levels as well as diverse career backgrounds.
Ioannis empowers trainees to share experiences and learn from each other, thus using a mix of theoretical, practical and interactive elements to facilitate active participation by all trainees as well as hands on problem solving.
Thematic expertise:
Theme / Policy:
Sustainable Urban Mobility
Summary Thematic expertise:
Ioannis brings a 15 year experience in transportation, logistics, sustainable urban mobility and management consulting. He has participated in and led engagements from the operational up to the strategic level and has also advised policy officials in such issues as freight management, implementation of actions for pedestrians, cyclists, public transport services, SUMPs, mobility campaigns as well as behavioural based transport demand management.
Ioannis has led research, policy development, planning, implementation, assessment and educational/ training activities on a local, regional national and transnational scale, bringing not only experience on the Sustainable Urban Mobility theme but also clear understanding on the related policy challenges, ability to produce usable thematic inputs as well as concise reports maximizing the value of the project results.
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 :
Through ADVANCE, a Local Action Plan for Sustainable Urban Mobility Actions was produced for the city of Ag. Anargyroi. During the development of the LAP, extensive participatory activities were undertaken and my team and I organized both workshops to understand the local problems as well as events to promote and get feedback city wide. During this engagement I was responsible to set up the specific awareness tools (from 1-1 meetings with influential local stakeholders to local media coverage all of them aiming to engage the citizens and the local stakeholders and convince them to provide input and “hop-on-board” our value proposition) and also support the city’s leadership into implementing these actions. The financial crisis in Greece posed further constraints on us, but this was also an opportunity to put in action the sustainability principles and select and implement these actions that mattered the most and would have the highest impact on the lives of the local citizens.
E.2. Knowledge on integrated approach for the design, delivering, monitoring and evaluation of urban strategies/policies:
One of the tools we developed for ADVANCE was an SUMP audit framework. That is, we developed a tool that can be used by the municipalities across Europe to first understand where they (currently) are compared to the SUMP Cycle (introduced by EPOMM) as well as assess their Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan. To this extent, I was part of the team developing the tool and basing our approach on principles of wider integration. In order to put in place city wide actions, it is imperative to integrate all different elements that are needed by the local users. The ADVANCE SUMP Audit Tool has two broad elements, Mision Fields, aka Policy and Prerequisites, checking the pre-conditions of having a (proper/ideal) SUMP and Action Fields, aka SUMP Actions in the city, which check the quality, quantity and content of the sump actions that are put in place for the city.
These are cross checked and discussed with local stakeholders, in order to get feedback and include this feedback in producing one Single Policy Document for Urban Mobility to be used later by the city leadership and the city officials.
E.3. Awareness of the main policy and funding schemes for sustainable urban development at EU and national level:
Being a consultant for municipalities, I regularly get updated through workshops and training activities undertaken by the respective Ministries in order to understand and update myself for the different (co)funding tools. Additionally, I myself usually introduce such updating; for example I have provided input to the new Greek Investment Support Mechanism that was put in place on 2012, where I addressed among others sustainability issues for the wider transportation sector. Additionally, through newsletters, regular visiting to the Funding Authorities’ sites and to online training events organized by the FAs, I try to be as updated as possible and be ready to find and ask the people responsible for more details.
E.4. Ability to understand specific local situations and adapt tools and content to different local realities:
All of the projects I have participated in, require local adaptation. For example, we currently run Continuous Professional Development (CPD) courses for SUMPs in the UK. Although we had developed material during Transport Learning and ADVANCE, this had to be re-focused on the UK experience. For example, when we have city officials from London, we have to parameterize the material to the MEGA –City example, introducing agglomeration based approaches. On the other hand, the UK country side cities have vastly different problems that have to be addressed too introducing respective principles.
Summary Expertise:
Ioannis has extensive experience on participatory methods and tools to engage public audience and local citizens / stakeholders to produce and to implement local polices. He has designed both for EU funded projects as well as for city led projects integrated approaches and implemented the actions as well as having designed monitoring and evaluation tools for urban strategies/policies. He is a regular speaker in conferences for SUMP issues as well as for financing and funding opportunities. He has developed a strong understanding of the specific local situations pertaining the different urban contexts and has developed and adapted urban mobility tools and content to the different local realities.
Informations
Residence location:
Greece
Languages:
Greek - Mother tongue
Foreign Languages level:
Foreign languages:
Foreign Languages level:
Foreign languages:
Email:
igk@e-koliousis.gr