Monica
NAGORE SANTANDREU
Validated Lead Expert
Generic Skills
B.1. Understanding of integrated and sustainable urban development:
My specialised education (see CV) complemented four years of experience in positions of responsibility in strategic public sector departments such as Housing, Employment, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This was crucial to gain an integrated understanding of the economic and social dimensions of urban life and sustainable urban development. Therefore, I achieved a national perspective due to the national/regional competence of some of the matters, which involved partnerships in order to implement and adapt them to the local contexts and realities. Recently, with the City of York, lead partner in an Urbact project, I gained the transnational perspective.
In sum, in the performance of my responsibilities and duties I worked:
Managing an Urbact project, transferring an open, participatory model to three other European cities.
Designing and developing a regional housing strategy which combines access to affordable and decent housing policies and sustainable territorial development.
Refining and implementing an integrated plan to tackle unemployment during the most critical years of the crisis in Spain, introducing changes to include new groups at social risk and new economic context.
Conducting and executing a cross-cutting change project related to the implementation of electronic administration.
My experience in the private sector is also a valuable asset in broadening my perspective of sustainable urban development gaining an understanding of businesses view.
B.2. Understanding of exchange and learning processes at transnational level:
During my professional experience in Spain I gained a valuable understanding of exchange and learning processes at national and local level. In AELIB, working as representatives of social economy companies; in CIME, leading projects in cooperation with other local authorities such as the implementation of Electronic Administration and the services of Vocational Guidance, Support for Entrepreneurs and Businesses and Occupational Training.
Effective working relationships were crucial in order to ensure de successful delivery of the services, coordinating resources from all the partners but also activities that facilitated peer learning between them.
In the last year and a half, working as a manager of Genius: Open Urbact project, I strengthen these skills in a transnational cooperation context. Performing a closer observation and more intensive communication allowed us to understand each context and culture and to be flexible and reactive to each city specific needs.
B.3. Proficiency in English:
I studied English at the Spanish Official School of Languages, passing last level exam, C1, in September 2014. I can also provide evidence of my proficiency in English through IELTS score of 7 obtained in August 2014.
In November 2014 I moved to York where I’ve been working as the Innovation Project Manager at the City of York Council. One of my main responsibilities is delivery support and management to URBACT project “GeniUS: Open”. This means the use of English as the vehicular language: oral, in the day to day communication with my colleagues and city partners from other countries, and written, through emails, reports, tools, and other management documents drafts.
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:
In Spain, working for Minorca Council as a director in different departments, and for the Balearic Social Economy Association, gaining in-depth knowledge and experience of using tools&methods that facilitated effective working relationship between authorities and also peer learning between local and national professionals. The projects I worded on included Electronic Administration implementation, Housing Policies and Active Policies for Employment.
Working for the York Council as a PM I gained the transnational perspective and developed new skills, and a deeper understanding and further experience of the application of the tools&methods:
- Leader partner in Urbact Genius:Open, project aimed at transferring the participatory process GeniUS! to three European cities: Tallinn, Siracusa and San Sebastian
- Participation in exchange and learning activities with finalist cities of the Mayors Challenge Competition, run by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Knowledge and practice of tools and methods applied to exchange and learning processes in transnational cooperation and interregional contexts such as engaging and participatory meetings and workshops, conferences, design thinking, feedback and monitoring tools, open communication and follow up methods, etc. Knowledge and practice of bespoke learning and exchange tools. Design of tools for comparison and peer-to-peer review.
Professional experience in leadership and emotional intelligence complemented by education in coachin
Thematic expertise:
Theme / Policy:
Local Governance
Summary Thematic expertise:
In Spain working for Minorca Council as a director in different departments, and for the Balearic Social Economy Association and recently for the City of York Council as a project manager, where I gained the transnational perspective. Knowledge and practice of Local Governance including participatory processes and communities engagement (city of York GeniUS! model, Mayors Challenge Transantional Learning Network), sustainable mobility and social innovation (HIRIKO Driving Mobility project), housing policies (Minorca Housing Action Plan), electronic administration (“Citizen Folder” (Carpeta Ciutadana) ) and active employment policies (Balearic Annual Employment Plans for 2010 and 2011, which included a Vocational Guidance Service, an Occupational Training Programme for unemployed and vulnerable groups and a Support Service for Entrepreneurs and Businesses).
Experience in drafting of projects, definition of objectives, actions, indicators and monitoring tools. Design and drafting of guides, position papers, progress reports and tools for collaborative work and collection, sharing and reflection, as well as concise reports and conclusions in order to maximize the results and impact of the lessons learned throughout the projects. Participation in the design of communication strategies, including dissemination and awareness raising actions.
Theme / Policy:
Research, Innovation and Knowledge Economy
Summary Thematic expertise:
In Spain working for Minorca Council as a director in different departments, and for the Balearic Social Economy Association and recently for the City of York Council as a project manager, where I gained the transnational perspective. Knowledge and practice of innovation and knowledge economy, including participatory processes and communities engagement (city of York GeniUS! model, Mayors Challenge Transantional Learning Network), sustainable mobility and social innovation (HIRIKO Driving Mobility project) and electronic administration (“Citizen Folder” (Carpeta Ciutadana) ).
Experience in drafting of projects, definition of objectives, actions, indicators and monitoring tools. Design and drafting of guides, position papers, progress reports and tools for collaborative work and collection, sharing and reflection, as well as concise reports and conclusions in order to maximize the results and impact of the lessons learned throughout the projects. Participation in the design of communication strategies, including dissemination and awareness raising actions.
Theme / Policy:
Employment, Human Capital and Labour Mobility
Theme / Policy:
Sustainable Housing
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 :
GeniUS! is a participatory process for a strategic local policy aimed at co-defining and co-developing more creative solutions to city challenges. Based on the principles of open innovation, the model gets residents, businesses, students and public services involved in a common goal: solving their city challenges.
I’ve been directly involved during the last 15 months in the definition and delivery of the model itself, including the last revision of the model and monitoring and measurement tools. Recently, due to the URBACT pilot project, which was aimed at transferring the model to three other European cities, we were able to test the model in very different contexts, understanding better its potential and being able to co-redesign it, using the collective knowledge acquired during the transfer process.
We ran our last GeniUS! challenge “Right to solve” in July, last year, where more than 150 York residents participated actively. I was actively participating in the delivery of the articipatory tools used for the implementation of the model such as the meetings with the stakeholders in order to define the challenge question, the online discussion around the challenge question, the “Synergy Surgery” event (commented by The Young Foundation in this article) in which a set of participatory activities using varied tools (inspirational speeches, icebreaking, design thinking, prototyping, user centred, competition, etc).
E.2. Knowledge on integrated approach for the design, delivering, monitoring and evaluation of urban strategies/policies:
As a Director of the new Housing department of CIME I was directly involved in the design of the strategy for the integrated and sustainable housing policy and the definition of the housing action plan for the development of social and environmentally sustainable cities and its implementation. The main activities that we designed to describe and analyse the implementation of this policy in the region of Minorca where:
2007-2011 Regional Housing Action Plan which was aligned with the 2008 Housing Pact between the Balearic Government, all Island Councils and the economic and social players (trade unions and employers’ organisations). Both documents defined specific housing actions, objectives and indicators. Periodic assessment sessions with representatives of the Balearic Government (Housing department and IBAVI) and national housing institutions (SPA, Sociedad Pública del Alquiler).
Coordination working meetings with the Balearic Government local office in Minorca in which we shared and analysed the results of both parts’ actions in order to identify possible gaps, highlighting areas of improvement and identifying new tendencies due to the crisis context being able to provide feedback to reframe and revise policies.
Also internally, periodic meetings with Council politicians in order to assess the implementation of the housing action plan. Periodic press releases were given, reporting relevant data and information and disseminating the Housing Office Service activities.
E.3. Awareness of the main policy and funding schemes for sustainable urban development at EU and national level:
Kept updated about sustainable urban development policies, trends and funds not onlylocally but also at national (UK and Spain) level. I do so, about local and government (national) cross cutting issues, through a policy update I receive every other week from the Strategy and Policy Officer of the City Council of York. I also attend conferences organised by the University of York and Saint John University.
I attend events such as The Future Shock or FutureFest, both organised by Nesta, the GovJam in Leeds and SatoriLab innovation seminars, ESADE Alumni (I am a member) conferences and activities.
On specific social innovation issuesI follow different organisations activities and publications and specific projects in twitter or Linkedin and being subscribed to their newsletters. Some examples: Nesta, The Young Foundation, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, ESADE Public , The Behavioural Insights Team, D-CENT project, Innovation Excellence, Open Innovation EU, European Comission,URBACT and URBACT NDP España.
I also follow some organisations activity and projects directly related to new ways of democracy and social innovation in Spain such as Fundación Civio, Spanish Chamber GB, Innovem (Minorca), CityInnoCloud (Barcelona) and others, ESADE Instituto Social, ESADE Public, Francisco Longo and others.
And at European and international level I follow Mind Lab, Open Government Partnership, Stephan Lindergaard, EU Social Innovation, among others.
E.4. Ability to understand specific local situations and adapt tools and content to different local realities:
Working as a Director in Housing I had to adapt content and tools of the Balearic plans and decrees at a local level, taking into account our specific not only urban context but also the characteristics of our population. Thus, our Housing Office approach, in contrast with the Balearic one (one single office in the main city) was to add flexibility and be closer to the residents, especially for those with transport difficulties. For that purpose, I was responsible for the design of a new solution that could work in coordination with the Balearic office. The Council solution was a roaming one-stop “Housing office” (SAMHA), locating the “mobile office” in the municipalities buildings. The new office focused on being more accessible but, specially more supportive in preparing the subsidies applications forms. Being located in each municipality building made us gain residents’ interest and trust. We also surveyed our users about different aspects related to housing issues. Thanks to the surveys we were able to introduce the right amendments to Balearic policies and regulations when we were consulted. The new service attended more than 2.000 people a year over the Balearic office annual attendees.
Summary Expertise:
GeniUS! is a participatory process for a strategic local policy aimed at co-defining and co-developing more creative solutions to city challenges. Based on the principles of open innovation, the model gets residents, businesses, students and public services involved in a common goal: solving their city challenges.
I have been directly involved in the definition and delivery of the model itself, including the latest revision of the model and monitoring and measurement tools. Recently, thanks to the URBACT pilot project, which was aimed at transferring the model to three other European cities, we were able to test the model in very different contexts, understanding better its potential and being able to co-redesign it, using the collective knowledge acquired during the transfer process.
In Spain working for Minorca Council as a director in different departments, I have been directly involved in the design, delivering, monitoring and evaluation of urban strategies in projects such as 2007-2011 Regional Housing Action Plan which was aligned with the 2008 Housing Pact between the Balearic Government; the Annual Employment Plans for 2010 and 2011, aligned to the national and Balearic active employment policies; and the local adaptation and implementation of electronic administration through “Citizen Folder” project (Carpeta Ciutadana).
Informations
Residence location:
United Kingdom
Languages:
Spanish - Mother tongue
Foreign Languages level:
Foreign languages:
Email:
monica.nagore@gmail.com