Nicholas
Karachalis
Validated Lead Expert
Generic Skills
B.1. Understanding of integrated and sustainable urban development:
As lecturer at the Department of Planning and Regional Development of the University of Thessaly and the Open University I teach modules and publish work related to the notion of integrated urban development and cultural planning. I hold a PhD in Economic and Regional Development, a MΑ in European Urban Cultures and a BA in Urban and Regional Development. I focus on culture-led urban development and I have completed a post-doctoral research project on tourism impact measurement of urban festivals. I have worked as an advisor for public bodies in Greece (Municipalities, Regions, etc.) on place marketing, urban strategies, cultural development etc. and I have participated in transnational EU projects (ESPON, Interreg, URBACT, expertise studies etc) mostly regarding issues of urban and regional development. Most of my work and publications are related to cities; I try to explore new ways of dealing with stakeholders either on neighbourhood level or city level (e.g. for a city branding strategy or for a local cultural policy plan). I also act as trainer and seminar facilitator in various occasions (e.g. URBACT LSGs, ESPONTrain on line training, National Public Administration School in Greece, etc.) where I explain to students and practitioners (civil servants, city strategists, members of local communities or grass root groups, etc) what the particular elements of sustainable urban development tools are, especially regarding the issues dealt in urban regeneration programmes.
B.2. Understanding of exchange and learning processes at transnational level:
Alongside with my research/teaching activities, I have got involved in several transnational research projects (ESPON, URBACT, Interreg, ERASMUS, Innovative Actions programmes, etc), transnational expertise studies (e.g. ex post evaluations) and the organisation of international events and conferences (summer universities, conferences). As a member of transnational groups I have a strong experience in exchanging knowledge and working on common goals, e.g. within ESPON Territorial Diversity as a member of the transnational group (Nordregio, CEFIDEC, the University of Geneva, Malta Islands Consulting Services, Regional Development Institute of Athens) I had to work closely with a group of people from different countries in tasks such as data collections, interviews, scenarios, etc. The study was monitored by an extended group of stakeholders. At the ESPONTrain project acting as a lead partner has been challenging as leadership competencies were needed. Through my collaboration with URBACT and the Greek National URBACT Contact Point I got involved in the organization, material production and facilitation of different events, participated in publications, etc. In many other occasions (summer universities, conferences, bids, etc) I have worked with an international group of experts, university colleagues, etc. and I am familiar with the use of ICT solutions (wiggio, huddle, dropbox, social media) that can support the management and exchange procedures within such collaborations.
B.3. Proficiency in English:
English is my main working language alongside with greek and dutch throughout my studies and my career. I am holding a Cambridge Proficiency Certificate proving C1 level and a great part of my studies were abroad (UK, Netherlands, Finland, Belgium) which meant that all my work (exams, thesis) was in English. Most of my academic work is in English as well: peer-reviewed articles, research proposals, lectures for summer universities, etc. Apart from my academic publications I have also been writing reports, scientific articles, newsletter articles, etc. for transnational networks: reports, newsletter articles and chapters for URBACT, reports, learning material and handbooks for ESPON, Charter and reports for Interreg Charts, reports for CSIL study as national expert, etc. As part of my collaboration with international teams I often had to present results in conferences and workshops (e.g. URBACT festival in Riga) and participate in on-line lectures (e.g. webinars for ESPONTrain in English). I also edit publications in English which refer to specific fields e.g. editing the special issue of Pharos entitled “Athens, Historic City, Modern Metropolis” (forthcoming) which emphasizes on cultural heritage and the city. Through this link http://uth.academia.edu/NicholasKarachalis (selected articles) and my CV (full list) you can find my publications in English and Greek.
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:
As ad. lecturer at the Department of Planning and Regional Development of the University of Thessaly and the Open University in Greece I teach modules and do research related to integrated urban development and cultural planning. My involvement in EU-funded projects started with the Erasmus– Socrates and the Regional Innovative Actions programmes in 2001 and I have been working in several transnational projects since then: ESPON projects (EUROISLANDS, TEDI, ESPONTRAIN), URBACT, INTERREG, ex-post evaluation studies for DG Regio, etc. I follow current discussions on the EU Urban Agenda and I have a strong experience working with transnational teams. I am familiar with tools that allow on-line interaction for project management or teaching (moodle, blackboard, wiggio, etc). As trainer for the URBACT Local Support Group NTS I had the opportunity to discuss tools and methods with members of LSGs in order to effectively work with each other (Stakeholder Analysis, Field Force Analysis, etc). I also have acted as trainer and seminar facilitator in other occasions (ESPONTrain on line webinars, Public Administration School in Greece, Lifelong Training programmes) where I introduced sustainable urban development tools and concepts to students, city practitioners and members of local communities. I have worked as an advisor for public bodies in Greece on city marketing, urban strategies, cultural and tourism development etc. and contributed to reports, newsletters, books and blogs.
Thematic expertise:
Theme / Policy:
Arts and Culture
Summary Thematic expertise:
The relation between arts, culture and the city within an interdisciplinary perspective (drawing on cultural economics, city marketing, urban tourism, cultural planning, urban heritage) is at the centre of my academic interests. I teach modules such as Leisure Activities and Sustainable Tourism Development, Event management and Local Development, Cultural Economy, etc. at a University level and I am following the current debates and policy developments. My PhD topic was related to entrepreneurship, employment and clustering in the creative industries in European cities with an emphasis on urban cultural quarters and I completed a post-doctoral research in tourism impact measurement of urban festivals. A large part of my publications in academic journals/conference proceedings and in the context of transnational projects and studies (URBACT, Interreg, Innovative Actions, ex-post evaluation studies, etc.) are related to arts and culture. The last 15 years I have also worked as an advisor for public bodies (cities, regions, local tourism departments) in Greece on matters of related to the sectors of culture and tourism. I am a member of the list of experts in Culture of the EACEA and of the European Expert Network on Culture. I have published articles in peer-reviewed journals/books on matters of culture-led urban regeneration and urban tourism and have contributed to reports (e.g. http://urbact.eu/sites/default/files/02_jobgen-web.pdf), surveys, thematic workshops, events, etc.
Theme / Policy:
Local Economic Development
Summary Thematic expertise:
Integrated urban strategies, the re-use of empty buildings, entrepreneurship, city innovation, city marketing, and coordinating public and private efforts are at the center of my teaching/research activities; I follow current trends and debates in the field of urban economy through my participation in AESOP, ERSA, EURA, etc. In many transnational projects (ESPON TeDi, ESPONtrain, Student Housing in Europe,etc) I was responsible for research, reporting, teaching material production, etc. I am particularly interested in participatory methods and the challenges which occur in their implementation. I follow the discussions on EU urban policy and as URBACT LSG trainer for Greece and Cyprus I organized training seminars which included a briefing on new developments on urban economic development and funding. I have experience in working for public bodies in Greece on action planning for cities and regions through my involvement in studies such as city marketing plans, regional innovation strategies and city development strategies (e.g. Integrated Urban Interventions Plan for Athens). I have strong experience and publications in city marketing through my participation at international networks/events and on a national level by participating in the studies for Kozani and Larisa. I have co-organized the 1st Conference on Place Marketing/Branding http://www.ideatopos.org/2012 and co-edited the only book on the subject in Greece www.papasotiriou.gr/product/marketing-ke-branding-topou.
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 :
Participatory methods and stakeholder management in the context of urban strategies are at the center of my work. As a national trainer for the URBACT Local Support Groups in Greece and Cyprus I was trained in new approaches and tools (Field Force Analysis, Stakeholder analysis, peer review, etc) according to the LSG Toolkit which I then presented to the members of the LSGs. Afterwards I was invited to assist in transnational meetings, e.g. of the Sustainable Food in Athens and the MyGeneration at Work in Thessaloniki and I had the opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of these tools but also implement them on other occasions (e.g. during stakeholder meetings for city branding strategies in Larisa and Kozani). I have been working on stakeholder management and participation tools both in the academic sector (especially regarding cities or urban neighbourhoods e.g. for my PhD research) and other projects and follow the discussion on new policy tools (e.g. Community Led Local Development). Using tools such as surveys, data collection, interviews, thematic meetings, etc is an important part of my work in the context of local developments plans (e.g. Southern Aegean region, Kalymnos, Southern Peloponnese, etc), city marketing plans (Larisa, Kozani) and transnational projects (ESPON TeDi, etc). For the Kozani city marketing plan a new method of participatory branding was tested successfully and the outcomes were presented in a unique way using brandbooks.
E.2. Knowledge on integrated approach for the design, delivering, monitoring and evaluation of urban strategies/policies:
Both my teaching and consulting experience in the field of urban policy is extensive, especially regarding issues dealt with within the URBACT programme (urban strategies, neighbourhood regeneration, city branding, etc). The last seven years I am a lecturer at the Department of Planning and Regional Development of the University of Thessaly and the Hellenic Open University. Before that I worked for more than nine years and the Regional Development Institute of the Panteion University as a researcher and local policy advisor. As instructor at the National Centre for Public Administration and Local Government in Greece the last two years I have been organizing seminars on funding issues of urban regeneration (including URBACT, JESSICA, etc). These methods have also been used in the studies for local governments and regions which I participated in in Greece; I have actively paeriticpated in a large number of studies where specific strategy or development plan had to be delivered and a monitoring and evaluation method had to be proposed. Recently, in the context of the Integrated Urban Plan for the City of Athens where my role was to work on the preparation and the consultation process of the actions related to tourism and cultural planning I got the opportunity to implement and deliver a full set of actions that will change the city center (including actions for empty buildings, tourism management, shopping districts, cultural events, city branding, etc) in times of crisis.
E.3. Awareness of the main policy and funding schemes for sustainable urban development at EU and national level:
I have been following closely the discussions and trends both on an academic level (AESOP, ERSA, etc) but also on a European and National policy level. The past years I have been working with the European Commission staff in various issues (e.g. Innovative Actions) and followed the activities of DG Regio (Open Days, conferences, UDG etc.) and URBACT and at the same time I have worked closely with national authorities (e.g. the Ministry staff responsible for URBACT and ESPON), regional and local authorities, mostly in Greece and Cyprus (ESPON dissemination, Infodays for URBACT III, etc). Within these partnerships I have gained important experience in sustainable urban development tools and their implementation. In Greece and Cyprus I have presented the latest developments in the EU Urban Agenda (ITI, CCLD, funding opportunities) during URBACT events (NTS training, URBACT III Infodays in Greece and Cyprus). In June 2014, during the Greek Presidency, during the URBACT event I was responsible as a co-organiser in Thessaloniki regarding the new CLLD – ITI. The participants were representing cities and managing authorities from Greece and got familiarized with these new tools. I am trainer for the National School of Public Administration and I have been working on different plans (e.g Integrated Urban Plan of Athens) and city branding strategies (Larisa, Kozani) related to this issue. I also teach modules that include EU developments regarding spatial and urban issues.
E.4. Ability to understand specific local situations and adapt tools and content to different local realities:
In transnational projects I have worked for local situations have been taken into account in terms of design and delivery. For example in the case of the URBACT NTS the material had to be adapted to the reality of the local government specific conditions in Greece and Cyprus. In the case of the ESPON TeDi the delivery of policy recommendations had to be discussed with the local stakeholders taking into account the spatial, social and economic status of the selected areas; in Cyprus which I worked on these consisted of a very small population and there was no capacity in participatory procedures - therefore actions were taken in order to motivate participation. A similar situation was dealt with within the Interreg Charts programme where different stakeholders dealing with heritage and access had to work with each other for a plan. In Greek cities and regions which I have worked for, the adaption of tools is a necessary procedure as each case presents different characteristics and challenges (e.g. scale, cities with strong civil society organization or grassroots movements, etc). Integrated urban strategies and the research/consultation that has to be done for its formation is part of the I teach at a post-graduate level. Many of the classes I teach are attended by civil servants or professionals; these groups call for a different approach and as a trainer you need to develop a different method and communication efficiency in class.
Summary Expertise:
The notions of integrated and sustainable urban development are directly related to my teaching and working practices as lecturer and freelance consultant since I graduated from the university. Alongside with my teaching/research activities, I had the opportunity to get involved in several transnational research projects, expertise studies, seminars, event facilitations etc. regarding urban and local development strategies. As an instructor at the National Centre for Public Administration and Local Government in Greece the last years I have been organizing seminars for city administrators on funding issues (including tools such as JESSICA) and participatory methods related to urban regeneration. I have followed the activities of DG Regional Policy (Open Days, conferences, UDG etc.) and URBACT and I have worked closely with national, regional and local authorities in Greece and Cyprus. As a national trainer for the URBACT Local Support Groups for Greece and Cyprus I was trained in approaches and tools regarding participatory planning (Field Force Analysis, Stakeholder analysis, etc) according to the LSG Toolkit which I presented to the members of the LSGs. I have been involved in many projects related to participatory policies and local development challenges as collaborator at LARETOUR www.prd.uth.gr; http://laretouruth.wix.com/tourism#!homepage/cam (2009-), at the Panteion's Regional Development Institute http://ipapanteion.ath.cx/en (2001-2010) and as a freelance advisor.
Informations
Residence location:
Greece
Languages:
Greek - Mother tongue
Foreign Languages level:
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Email:
karachalis@gmail.com