Severijnen

Piet

Severijnen

Validated Lead Expert

Generic Skills

B.1. Understanding of integrated and sustainable urban development:

I graduated from the Catholic University (now the Radboud University) of Nijmegen with a Drs. (equivalent of a Master) degree in Urban Geography in 1980. Until 2002 I worked for the City of Oosterhout and the City of Delft in the Netherlands as a social policy researcher. As such I carried out policy research into environmental issues local authorities have to deal with (e.g. separate collection of household waste). The city of Delft was one of the for runners regarding new organizational models focusing on the external / citizens orientation of the organization. We were one of the first to carry out citizens satisfaction surveys focusing on the sustainable urban development of the city. As a head of the department of Research&Statistics I was responsible of the collection of research questions and of the supervision of the research project.

B.2. Understanding of exchange and learning processes at transnational level:

For the city of Delft I regularly gave presentation for visitors from third world countries about local government organizations and service delivery in the Netherlands (best practice example Delft). I represented the City of Delft in the internal Bertelsmann Network “Cities of tomorrow”. This network consisted of 10 local authorities from all over the world (Delft and Tilburg – the Netherlands-; Duisburg –Germany-; Farum – Denmark-; Braintree District Council - UK-; Christchurch – New Zealand - ; Québec – Canada- ; Hameenlinna – Finland - ; Phoenix - Arizona USA - ; Neuchâtel – Switzerland-) .The purpose of the network was to research and exchange good practice examples of local government organizational models, policy development and implementation and service delivery. I was active in carrying out the research, publishing report, delivering presentation and facilitating exchange. From October 1998 – September 2000 I worked for the KGSt (a German Association for Local Authorities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland). One of my tasks was the introduction through presentations and courses of Dutch local government organizational models. From 2010 – 2015 I had a teaching assignment for the University of Kassel in a Master of Public Management Program. My topic was developments in local government in the Netherlands. Projects for local authorities in Vietnam (Vietnam Private Sector Support Program) and in Kyrgyzstan, the exchange of good practices was important.

B.3. Proficiency in English:

1. The language used in the above mentioned network was English. 2. I published various articles and contributions to books in English. 3. English is the language used in most of my projects (executive coach for the United Nations; change management processes for international companies like Sennheiser Electronics and Capgemini; projects for the European Commission; projects in Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan; ec.). Below is an example of part of an article I wrote: “For some time now the functioning of local government bodies has been subject to much internal and external pressure. Developments in the internal, as well as in the external environment, have brought about the need for change. The following examples of such developments can be mentioned: 1. Local authorities tend to adopt more business-like and consumer-oriented attitudes for many of their activities. 2. The marketing of products and services of local authorities has become a major issue.2 3. Citizens have become more critical of the functioning of local government and require elected politicians to account for their actions. Local authorities are faced with emancipated citizens.3 4. The model of representative democracy does not seem to function the way it theoretically should." 5. Many local authorities have gone through or are in the process of major reorganisation.

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:

• Executive coach for medium and high level managers of the United Nation Secretariat / Department of Peace Keeping Operations (DPKO) / United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Control (UNFCCC) / United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ENECE) / International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). • University Lecturer for the University of Kassel (Germany). • Management and leadership trainer. • International Short Term Expert (in central and South East Asia) • Consultant for complex change management processes in multinational companies / organizations. • Organizational, policy and market research. • Organizational development and internal reengineering. • Development of intercultural teams. • Moderation of workshops and large group events.

Thematic expertise:

Theme / Policy:

Urban Strategic Planning

Summary Thematic expertise:

• Urban policy research and citizen’s satisfaction surveys. • Internal organizational efficiency and effectiveness audits for local and regional authorities. • System diagnoses of public and private sector organizations. • Coach for business startups in developing countries. • Author of learning material / articles and contributions for books. • Developer of (academic) courses. • Experienced in collecting, analyzing and publishing of statistical data. • Facilitation of working groups for developing policy measures. • Supporting politicians and political decision makers by supplying them with and discussing policy information with them. • Presentation and discussing of research findings to political decision makers.

Theme / Policy:

Local Governance

Summary Thematic expertise:

Theme / Policy:

Research, Innovation and Knowledge Economy

Summary Thematic expertise:

Theme / Policy:

Entrepreneurship and competitive SMEs

Summary Thematic expertise:

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 :

For the city of Delft in the Netherlands I successfully created and contributed to the interactive development of policy by organizing meetings / discussions with stakeholders, creating dialogues between politicians, inhabitants, shop owners etc. One concrete issue was the renovation of an old market square (called de Beestenmarkt) which incorporated decisions about lay out, traffic flows, street furniture etc.

E.2. Knowledge on integrated approach for the design, delivering, monitoring and evaluation of urban strategies/policies:

In my role of policy researcher and head of the department of Research and Statistics for the cities of Oosterhout and Delft in the Netherlands, I provided baseline and monitoring information for policy development on various issues (housing, schooling, separate waste collection, social benefit, town and country planning, city development etc.)

E.3. Awareness of the main policy and funding schemes for sustainable urban development at EU and national level:

I have a broad network of local government practitioners through my work for the Dutch Local Government Training Institute. I train local authority and provincial officers in techniques to audit the effectiveness and efficiency of local government organizations and policies. In their training the participant have to carry out an audit on a part of the organization or a policy area. During the 10 years I have been active as such I have been able to keep up to date on policy and the funding possibilities for local government. As member of the European Economic Interest Group (EUSOEC: European Economic Consultants, based in Eschweiler / Germany) I am aware of funding schemes like Horizon 2020, Erasmus+ etc.

E.4. Ability to understand specific local situations and adapt tools and content to different local realities:

Project: Cultural Change of the Directorate for City Development, Duisburg (Germany) Date: 2007 – 2009 Role: Consultant in a change management project Description: Activities consisted of: • Project design and project leader. • SWOT-analyze, • Organizational diagnosis • Support for internal change projects through training and coaching of managers and local government officers. • Moderation of large scale meeting (up to 450 participants)

Summary Expertise:

• Urban policy research and citizen’s satisfaction surveys. • Internal organizational efficiency and effectiveness audits for local and regional authorities. • System diagnoses of public and private sector organizations. • Consultant for complex change management processes in multinational companies / local and regional government organizations. • Organizational, policy and market research. • Local authorities organizational development and internal reengineering. • Development of intercultural teams. • Moderation of workshops and large group events. • Networker in national and international local government situations. • Developer and teacher of language course in German specific local government language.