Eileen
Crowley
Validated Lead Expert
Generic Skills
B.1. Understanding of integrated and sustainable urban development:
I have an MA awarded with merit from the University of the West of England in Bristol & a BA (Hons) in European Development Studies & Spanish from University College Cork. I am a member of the Irish Planning Institute. I worked as regional planning officer with the South West Regional Authority in Ireland for five years and as part of the technical team on the development of the South West Regional Planning Guidelines 2010-2022. I have spent a further 10 years working in local and regional government in the field of regional and urban planning & development and implementing this via cross disciplinary and cross sectoral teams through European funded projects, accessing programmes such as ESPON, Interreg, H2020, FP7, ESA & CIFP.
B.2. Understanding of exchange and learning processes at transnational level:
I have been involved in the design, coordination, implementation and/or management of over 20 successfully funded European projects pertaining to sustainable development across subject areas, each one including significant elements of transnational exchange and learning activities. My involvement in these activities ranged from participant, facilitator, reporter and designer of these activities. Projects included Interreg Atlantic Area projects on the topics of sustainable tourism development (PORT ATLANT, SALAR & MMIAH: role of supporting the project manager & project design respectively) Supporting cluster development, innovation & SME internationalisation (AT Clusters, NAVAL 4.0 & Consortex, Atlantic Food Export & Atlantic Digital Startup Academy: role of PM and project design respectively) Social Innovation (Atlantic Social Lab: role of project design) Interreg Europe projects such as Innovafoster on the topic of developing regional innovation ecosystems as drivers of sustainable regional development (project design), & DESUR on the topic of promoting greater CSR amongst SMEs and greater recognition of it's value to sustainable development (project manager).
B.3. Proficiency in English:
English is my mother tongue, I speak fluently with excellent communication skills.
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:
Eileen is a highly experienced development professional having worked for local and regional government in Ireland for over 15 years specialising in the fields of regional and urban planning & economic development. Eileen is an expert on EU funding programmes having participated in the design, implementation and/or management of over 20 successful funding proposals within programmes such as Interreg, ESPON, FP7, H2020, ESA, EIT/KIC & CIFP implementing various regional development actions. Eileen is an experienced facilitator, working in transnational environments, she has worked with over 120 partners across 22 countries from across sectors and disciplines in working towards shared development goals. She has designed, facilitated and reported on multiple exchange and learning activities within these programmes and advocated for policy change on behalf of her region at a European level.
Thematic expertise:
Theme / Policy:
Entrepreneurship and competitive SMEs
Summary Thematic expertise:
I have designed, mentored project managers on the delivery of and managed multiple projects relating to entrepreneurship & SME competitiveness across programmes such as FP7, Interreg Europe, Interreg Atlantic Area, KIC & ESA. My funding successes are thanks to my deep understanding of the subjects informed through my BA in European Development Studies, my dissertation An Evaluation of R&D Expenditure in Andalucia and its impact on the competitiveness of the region and of course my continual growth in knowledge & experience gained through involvement in each project. I've engaged with businesses to improve their competitiveness & promote entrepreneurship across sectors including tourism, cultural & creative, digital, agri-food, maritime & ICT (non exhaustive). Project aims included delivering broadband in remote areas promoting entrepreneurship & competitveness, using best practice examples in entrepreneurship & business development to influence policy, business mentoring & support for internationalisation, incorporating CSR into the business model, cluster support, place branding. Thanks to my experience in all parts of the project life cycle & having worked with more than 70 partners across 14 countries promoting competitiveness, business development & entrepreneurship specifically I worked to develop the capacity of staff in councils in order to access EU funding in this area & to implement projects in an inclusive, effective, sustainable and participative manner.
Theme / Policy:
Local Economic Development
Summary Thematic expertise:
Studying the historic economic and industrial development of Europe in my primary degree gave me an excellent foundation in the principles of economic development from which to launch my career. My MA in Town & Country planning helped to inform my understanding of integrating economic development into sustainable urban & regional planning. I've spent over 15 years working in local and regional government in the field of sustainable economic development within regions and cities. I've accessed €3.75million in EU funding for economic development projects for my city & region alone during my career working with over 140 partners across 22 countries. Topics range from ensuring the provision of infrastructure soft & hard to promote economic development, supporting the development growth & innovation of indigenous SMEs across sectors, the importance of place making , place branding, culture & creativity as drivers of economic growth, destination marketing, inclusivity, cluster support & development. Thanks to this depth of experience and learning and having been involved in multiple projects throughout the lifecycle I now work in mentoring others to access EU funding in this area & to implement projects in an inclusive, effective, sustainable and participative manner.
Theme / Policy:
Urban Strategic Planning
Summary Thematic expertise:
Eileen gained her appreciation of Urban Strategic Planning from her MA in Town & Country Planning & built on this foundation through her work in both regional & local government in Ireland. She acted as planning officer for the South West Regional Authority, developing the regional submission to the capital plan of 2007-2013. She provided policy responses on strategic planning issues & development proposals. She was part of the technical team creating the Regional Planning Guidelines 2010-2022 (RPGs) & on the Atlantic Gateways Initiative. She identified & managed EU funded projects to implement policies set out in the strategic planning documents. While working in the city municipality in Cork she advocated across Europe at multiple events on behalf of small port cities for greater European support in helping them to meet the challenges of regeneration recognising their potential as beacons of sustainable urbanisation across Europe & as engines of growth & competitiveness. She wrote the successful ESPON TA proposal ENSURE – European Sustainable Urbanisation through Port City Regeneration with Cork as lead partner & secured Cork a place on the Urban Agenda Partnership on Sustainable Land Use & Nature Based Solutions growing the city's policy shaping voice for strategic change. She advised management on the array of funding & financing mechanisms available for strategic urban development & mentored staff on EU project development & implementation. Member of the IPI.
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 :
As project manager for the South West Regional Authority on the FP7 BEWISER project I designed a round table gathering of over 50 stakeholders from across the triple helix relating to the ICT sector in Cork (including business support organisations, 3rd level institutes & university, local authority representatives, MNCs and SMEs operating in the sector). The aim was to define the main strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats in the region in terms of growing and developing the ICT cluster. The methodology was replicated across partner regions and the results were collated into individual local action plans and a combined transnational joint action plan. The results were shared with associated partners including government departments with a policy remit. I facilitated roundtable discussions during the public workshops as part of the public consultation on the review of the Tivoli & City Docks Local Area Plans in Cork - this required the use of my experience in conflict resolution, harnessing the energy and different view points around the table to focus on drawing out the key strategic development issues in these areas and balancing the interests and needs of individuals for the best outcome for the entire community. My communications skills were essential in this regard.
E.2. Knowledge on integrated approach for the design, delivering, monitoring and evaluation of urban strategies/policies:
As part of the technical team on the South West Regional Planning Guidelines 2010-2022 I participated in the creation of this strategic planning document from beginning to end including a review and evaluation of the 2004 Regional Planning Guidelines, the drafting of the issues paper, communication during public consultation periods, collecting and summarizing submissions received, reporting to council, drafting of the final document. Once adopted the I was responsible for monitoring the implementation of the guidelines, through quarterly meetings with senior planners in each of the local authorities within the region and stakeholders from regional development agencies and central government. Later this became more formalised when legislation required the production of core strategies outlining that CORE strategies should be produced by local authorities outlining their alignment with regional policy.
E.3. Awareness of the main policy and funding schemes for sustainable urban development at EU and national level:
Having spent 15 years accessing EU funding for regional and urban sustainable development projects I have developed a deep understanding and knowledge of the various funding programmes and financing mechanisms and instruments available to support the sustainable development of cities and regions. I've channelled €8.75million (€3.75 competitive) in funding to South West Ireland alone throughout my career in collaboration with more than 110 transnational partners across 22 countries. I have a keen personal interest in city financing and investment and this keeps me interested in continually researching and keeping up to date with funding calls, programmes and opportunities. I am particularly interested in synergising different opportunities and collaborations for increased impact. I have accessed funding under FP7, H2020, Interreg Europe, Interreg Atlantic Area, CIP, ClimateKIC, ESA & ESPON.
E.4. Ability to understand specific local situations and adapt tools and content to different local realities:
During the BEWISER project the methodology I designed for the regional roundtables including questions needed to be adapted according to the conditions present at local level e.g. participation rates varied from region to region from very high to very low, in one instance a single roundtable sufficed as opposed to multiple breakout tables. The methodology was altered accordingly. Furthermore the questions were adapted according to context sensitive the fact cluster policy was more or less developed from region to region, some regions already having a formal cluster supported by policy others being more organic and ad hoc. This flexibility & adaptability is essential in any EU project in which I have been involved since different realities exist from region to region and this has to be considered in the design of the methodology.
Summary Expertise:
Eileen has designed, implemented & managed over 20 EU funded projects relating to sustainable urban and regional development in her career. She also worked as a planner at regional government level and in the creation of integrated & participatory regional planning strategies and local area plans. She has found that multi disciplinary and multi sector participation from across the public, private sectors, civil society & academia was crucial in the development and implementation of these projects and plans. She has developed highly effective communication, mediation & conflict management skills as a result of this experience allowing her to ensure the collaborative efforts remain focused on the strategic aims & objectives of the project and that a coherent vision is created while taking into account the diverse viewpoints of those involved. She is a natural people person, which allows her to effectively engage with and understand others across cultures and backgrounds and she thoroughly enjoys sharing her skills with others and seeing others grow as a result.
Informations
Residence location:
Ireland
Languages:
English - Mother tongue
Foreign Languages level:
Foreign languages:
Foreign Languages level:
Foreign languages:
Email:
crowleyeileen@hotmail.com