Kishor
Pala
Validated Lead Expert
Generic Skills
B.1. Understanding of integrated and sustainable urban development:
I have excellent understanding of Sustainable Urban Development, using an integrated & inclusive approach with relevant stakeholder groups, obtaining “buy in” & commitment from all parties concerned. Urban development should be guided by a sustainable planning & management vision, promoting interconnected green space, multi-modal transportation system & mixed-use development based on a sustainable economy. Diverse public & private partnerships should be used to create sustainable & liveable communities protecting historic, cultural & environmental resources, using construction techniques to reduce pollution & create balance between built & natural systems.
Specifically, I have worked with many Local Authorities through local, regional & EU networks; Worked with many stakeholder groups (UK & EU), in liaison with Local Authorities; Focused on developing sustainable urban development, bringing together stakeholder groups to develop the economy, community & business; As part of a strategic team, developed & delivered Urban Development through Single Regeneration Budget programmes & projects for Birmingham City Council & Coventry City Council; As a key player in the Accelerate ERDF Action Plan focused on Automotive supply chains in the West Midlands; Designed & delivered transnational projects, e.g. Industrial Change Network (ICN), Network of European Automotive Competence (NEAC), Improving Energy Competence of Small and Medium Enterprises (IEC SME).
B.2. Understanding of exchange and learning processes at transnational level:
As project lead of many transnational projects, I have good understanding of exchange & learning processes. Key elements include effective delivery plan & strong leadership, lack of which can lead to lack of focus, direction & partners losing interest & not participating fully in project delivery – i.e. project failure. This approach enables building effective formal & informal partnerships (based on strong working relationships) to collaborate for mutual benefit. In my experience, transnational project partners achieve better results when there are frequent, face-to-face project meetings with planned programme of activity, through developing & implementing an action plan for delivering project aims, objectives, targets, outputs & outcomes. Integral to this is exchange of ideas & best practice solutions, facilitated through formal project meetings, topic-specific workshops, seminars, site visits, conferences, developing tools (e.g. manuals, on-line interactive tools), etc. In many cases, sharing of ideas is based on examples of achieved success, however, there is much to be learnt from experiences where partners have overcome challenges – so enabling sharing of ideas based on “bad” experiences will bring additional benefits. In my experience, sharing of expertise & best practice underpinned by discussions on transferability, adapting & implementing to new situations, with a mentoring approach by experienced partners provide better & sustainable benefits.
B.3. Proficiency in English:
I am an excellent communicator in both spoken & written English. I avoid jargon, technical language & localised humour. I maintain eye contact with & engage very effectively with small & large audiences. I have many years’ experience of designing & submitting applications for funding at local, regional & EU level. I have produced many progress reports complying with contractual obligations, for content, accuracy & quality, e.g. NEAC project interim & final reports. I have chaired numerous meetings at local, regional, national & EU level, preparing the agenda, guiding the discussions & producing minutes all partners can understand, which is crucial to the success of the meetings.
I have facilitated many transnational project development workshops & created many partnerships, by setting the scene & agreeing the purpose, objectives & defining the process to achieve planned outcomes. I ensure that participants feel included & enable them to make valuable contributions, etc. I have delivered numerous presentations across the EU at small & large events, including EU level conferences, e.g. at the ERTRAC AGM in 2011 on topics ranging from Innovation, International Collaboration, Strategy, Policy & Implementation. I have also delivered many specialist lectures at Birmingham City University to post graduate International students on Policy & effective Implementation.
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:
I have 12 years’ experience working on transnational projects (as partner, coordinator & designer). Peer learning has been at the heart of my approach & is based on shared understanding of challenges, identifying potential solutions & testing them.
Through a number of key projects I have become adept at ensuring that all partners fully participate, regardless of their starting points.
I have effectively chaired numerous transnational meetings which included attendees from many countries & with many different starting points.
Daniel Goleman described “emotional intelligence” as “an array of skills & characteristics that drive leadership performance”. I am skilled at drawing out common interests from all partners, even where there are significant differences in culture, language & local nuances, e.g. in one of my projects a key output was the creation of an interactive map. The map was a key tool used to engage local stakeholders in the development of strategic responses to identified threats.
I have led projects in which there have been partner changes & through effective leadership, I mediated with all relevant actors to re-define & refocus both the project & partners.
I have produced numerous reports that have captured the salient points & outcomes, which has enabled all relevant stakeholders to enhance their local strategies & policies. The reports also included specific recommendations for EU level policy makers.
Thematic expertise:
Theme / Policy:
Entrepreneurship and competitive SMEs
Summary Thematic expertise:
I was senior manager in UK Government’s “one-stop-shop” initiative called Business Link for Birmingham (reported to Birmingham Economic Development Partnership lead by BCC). In this role (3 years), with 2 of my peers, we developed a suite of business support initiatives, marketing strategy & tools to monitor the take up & impact of business support delivered. The main purpose was to encourage new business start-ups & support existing businesses to become more competitive & sustainable.
I have significant experience of producing interim & final reports, designed to enhance on-going project delivery & implement recommendations & findings to improve local policies. In one my projects, a key output was the development of a Business Plan for each partner region. To aid partner regions, I produced a Business Plan template (taking account of lessons learnt through project delivery). The template was used to support the creation of competitive SMEs that could continue delivering support & guidance on improving energy efficiency in SMEs.
The final report for Electric Vehicle (ENEVATE project) development & its impact on local economies is being used by many Local Authorities to consider how to adapt policies to mitigate the negative impact of the significant changes in vehicle architecture. This is very important since many existing automotive supply chain companies have not developed strategies, capacities & competencies to be ready for new EV supply chains.
Theme / Policy:
Local Economic Development
Summary Thematic expertise:
I have many years’ experience of local economic development, e.g. I led a team in Birmingham to establish why disadvantaged communities did not access mainstream business support/planning services & how we could overcome these obstacles. The project was recognised by Birmingham City Council as very successful and its recommendations were adopted. I now deliver specialist lectures on policy & implementation in this broad field.
I can visualise key challenges & possible solutions from a plethora of facts, reactions & events, disregarding non-salient points & focus on key challenges to be addressed, e.g. I was instrumental in developing ENEVATE project & linking into policy makers at EU level to optimise capitalisation.
I have supported projects by producing interim/final reports summarising key outputs & outcomes. These helped partners to strengthen the project, inform local decision makers to improve strategies & make recommendations to wider EU level stakeholders, e.g. in one of my projects, a key output was production of Competitiveness Reports for each partner region. The reports enabled local stakeholders to focus on recommendations enhancing their local policies.
I recently produced a concept paper on how to better manage industrial plant closures, with the aim of submitting a project (initial early partners identified), for funding to test solutions. The concept paper provides a state of art, key challenges from the past & possible future actions.
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 :
SRB 6 (see D.1 above) was developed for the Saltley, Sparkbrook & Tyseley area of Birmingham, to support regeneration & revitalisation of the area by various interventions. The project I was seconded to (for 3 years) was based at an outreach office based in the heart of the area. We created a local presence & became part of the local community. This “we are here to stay” approach enabled us to build long term trust & relationships with local community leaders & businesses. Based on this relationship & approach we designed new approaches & tools to engage the local community with mainstream service provision.
The team acted as a “one-stop-shop” for the community to access all public sector services, including Local Authority & business support. By holding open meetings with the local community in their area on various topics, at times & dates to suit, we were able to engage with the community, signpost to most appropriate service provider, facilitate (e.g. hand hold the client during) the meeting & act as honest broker.
My role as team leader was to facilitate development of tools & approaches with the team & community leaders to ensure we had inclusion & buy-in from all concerned. The project exceeded targets, within timescale & budget. The lessons were fed through to the local economic development partnership (LA, Skills & Training Agency & business support) & incorporated into local policy as an excellent example of good practice.
E.2. Knowledge on integrated approach for the design, delivering, monitoring and evaluation of urban strategies/policies:
The West Midlands is the home of Automotive industry in UK. With vehicle manufacturers leaving the area in favour of low cost economies, a partnership board was set up to design, deliver, and monitor & evaluate support to the industry to become more competitive & sustainable by innovating & diversifying their product & customer base. The board included BCC, UK Government, Local Training & Enterprise Agency, Business Support Agency & Business representatives. The initiative was delivered through Accelerate (ERDF) Action Plan (£150m 1994 to 2006). The local industrial base went through huge changes & the aim was to support the industry, manage the transition to new business models & minimise the negative impact to the local & regional economy.
My role was in 2 parts, 1) provide technical guidance & support on strategic fit with all relevant policies for stage 3 of Accelerate funding application (including support during contract negotiations) & 2) act as the “honest broker” between the EC, UK Government, Accelerate managers & External Auditors, to ensure that Accelerate was delivered in line with contractual obligations, supported automotive companies as planned to become world class, sustainable companies. These changes in industrial make-up of the area had a huge impact on the planned urban development of Birmingham & my role was to work with BCC during Accelerate delivery to “fine tune” approaches leading to positive outcomes.
E.3. Awareness of the main policy and funding schemes for sustainable urban development at EU and national level:
I have developed extensive networks in Brussels & across the EU, to ensure that I am informed on developments. My networks include experts in different areas, since all policy areas are interdependent. I liaise with local experts (with in-depth local knowledge) on a regular basis, access information on the URBACT website, the European Urban Knowledge Network website, DG Regio & the Greater Birmingham & West Midlands Office in Brussels, which is primarily funded by Birmingham City Council. I also attend conferences such as the West Midlands Economic Forum in June 2014.
I am aware that EIP-SCC brings together cities, industry & citizens to improve urban life through more sustainable integrated solutions. At the recent Invitation for Commitments, which closed on 15 June, 370 eligible commitments were submitted by over 3000 partners. Details of this are published on the online marketplace http://eu-smartcities.eu/
In addition, Urban Innovative Actions has been created to test new approaches to challenges faced by cities (through pilot projects), aiming to generate knowledge of what works & what does not, & why, what should be done differently, etc. The total budget is €371m between 2015-2020. Projects will be selected through calls for proposals with an ERDF contribution not exceeding €5m per project, a unique co-financing rate of maximum 80% & duration of 3 years maximum. The topics of the calls will be defined annually by the Commission.
E.4. Ability to understand specific local situations and adapt tools and content to different local realities:
Accelerate (E.2 above) was identified by the EC as very effective & a leading example of a 1st class Action Plan in the EU. The Accelerate model was then used as a template to develop similar initiatives in other parts of the UK. Through my involvement in Accelerate & during its successful delivery we identified excellent good practice solutions.
As project coordinator of NEAC (C.1 above), I included the Accelerate model into NEAC challenges. My role was to provide guidance & facilitate the effective delivery of the project, including the methodology, approach & details of Accelerate. Through this approach, there was significant learning & sharing of good practice solutions in both directions, i.e. fed Accelerate good practice through into NEAC & when NEAC competiveness models & results were achieved, fed them through to Accelerate. Through Accelerate, we were able to pass on the results of NEAC to the Accelerate partnership board, which in turn was able to pass on the results & good practice solutions to the organisations & associations involved, including Birmingham City Council.
I am conscious that in feeding best practice examples of Accelerate into NEAC that “one size” does not fit all situations & the different partners took different learning & lessons to meet the needs of their local circumstances.
Summary Expertise:
I have expertise in supporting Local Authorities & stakeholders to improve their reach into disadvantaged communities, e.g. in a local regeneration initiative in Birmingham, I developed a “one-stop-shop” for the community to access all public sector services, including Local Authority & business support. My role as team leader was to facilitate the development of tools & approaches with the team & community leaders to ensure inclusion & buy-in from all concerned. The project exceeded targets, within timescale & budget. The lessons were fed through to the local economic development partnership & incorporated into local policy as an excellent example of good practice. This was achieved by 1) holding open meetings with the local community & stakeholders, 2) signposting to most appropriate services.
I have experience of adapting learning at transnational level, for implementation at local level, e.g. in one my projects dealing with implications of huge changes in the automotive industry & its impact on local economy, I facilitated the expertise of one region’s good practice into a transnational project. This learning was further enhanced by the project partners & a transferable model of excellence was developed. This model was then used to support decision making by Local Authorities & stakeholders.
I am aware of the main EU policies & funding mechanisms affecting cities & towns. In particular I am aware of the developing EU urban agenda.