I studied Spatial Planning at the University of Dortmund. At the faculty of Spatial Planning the integrated approaches to urban (and regional) planning and development were essential elements of the theoretical and practical education. In my professional career I was involved in numerous projects on integrated urban development. Firstly in Berlin and Brandenburg (Germany) where the focus after unification of Germany (after 1990) lay on integrated urban (and later also regional) development and transport concepts. Moreover, integrated approaches - in the sense of cross-sector and multi-level planning - were the guiding line of my work in the context of sustainable urban development conceptions, particularly after Rio 1992, when the environmental aspects of development issues gained relevance. I am familiar with the concept of integrated urban planning as it is followed by international organizations, e.g. the EU in the regulations of the Cohesion Policy (in particular the European Regional Development Fund - ERDF). Among others I recently participated as a consultant in the design and implementation of a dialogue process “Sustainable Urban Development” in the State of Brandenburg defining the key themes of the ERDF with respect to the sustainable and integrated development of the towns in the Federal State of Brandenburg.

In general it is to be stated that capacity development – basically for local (and regional, sometimes national) authorities and other stakeholders – in the field of urban and regional development is one key theme of my professional work. I successfully completed the Capacity WORKS – training which qualifies me to integrate the German International Cooperation’s (GIZ) management model for sustainable development into the professional consultancy services, in particular capacity development in developing and transition countries. According to the Capacity WORKS approach “learning and innovation” is of the five success factors of cooperation projects. Since 1997 I am involved in Cross-Border Cooperation programmes and projects in different functions: first as a Phare Programme Manager at the Delegation of the European Commission to Lithuania where I was responsible for the Baltic Sea CBC-Programme as well as the bi-lateral CBC-programmes in Lithuania. Later I was working in the field of transnational and as an urban and regional planner supporting local and regional stakeholders in identifying and developing project ideas, elaborating applications and implementing the projects. Exchange of knowledge and learning activities were (are) constitutional part of all these projects. I am used to design and implement appropriate capacity development measures for local stakeholders at transnational level, e.g. workshops, courses at Academies for Public Administrations.