Sara
Telahoun
Ad-Hoc Expert
Generic Skills
B.1. Understanding of integrated and sustainable urban development:
For the past 6 years, I have been working with local governments and city authorities on integrated and sustainable urban development. Specifically, my work at CDP supported city governments around the world to develop an understanding of the need to consider sustainability in a holistic manner. The annual climate reporting questionnaire that I developed while at CDP was based on the foundation that all aspects of sustainable development such as energy, waste, water, vulnerability and transport all need to be considered for their dependencies, impacts and inter linkages. The scoring methodology that I also developed to asses responses to the questionnaire defined leading cities as those considering, measuring and acting to manage these aspects holistically. Therefore I have a strong background in understanding the leading qualities of urban areas and how they can adapt and mitigate climate change through policy, action and strategy.
B.2. Understanding of exchange and learning processes at transnational level:
I understand the importance of shared learning between countries, through my work at CDP where I developed training materials, webinars and workshops to support learning of city and local authorities around the world on the topic of climate change measurement and reporting.
B.3. Proficiency in English:
I am fluent in English and it is my first language. Provided here is an example of my writing: https://www.anthesisgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Luton-Climate-Action-Plan-Support_FINAL_v2.pdf
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 am experienced in delivering several online and in-person learning exchanges and activities, to local authority and city officials across the world. My approach is to design interactive activities that promote learning and shared knowledge, which are engaging and relevant for all levels of participant.
Thematic expertise:
Theme / Policy:
Environmental Issues
Summary Thematic expertise:
Deep knowledge of GHG measurement and reporting methodologies for city and local authorities. Strong background in engaging with city officials in the UK and internationally on climate adaptation and mitigation issues, storytelling the climate and environmental science, including exploring carbon budgets and translating complex technical information into easy to understand reports. Holistic background across all key themes within city and local authority climate planning such as energy, transport, waste and the natural environment.
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 :
During a climate change workshop with over 80 attendees, we needed a way to allow attendees to participate and feedback. I prepared and used a participatory model based on a voting app which could be accessed online via their smartphones. The attendees had varying backgrounds, from policy makers through to businesses. Using this method, I was able to collect quantitative responses for the level of ambition against particular policy areas and perceived perception from the attendees on pushing climate action further.
E.2. Knowledge on integrated approach for the design, delivering, monitoring and evaluation of urban strategies/policies:
Recently, I have been managing a project for Hull City Council which is focussed on the measurement and analysis of consumption emissions at the council and across the city. My role was to propose a methodology by which both the council's operations and the city-wide activities could be calculated as a consumption based inventory to better understand the main drivers for consumption emissions and help support future policies on management and reduction of consumption in the city and council. As this area of measurement is fairly difficult to measure and quantify, I proposed to use 2 different methods for estimation - population based and GVA - to define the consumption emissions of the city, and comparing the results. This approach required integrated considerations for all sectors across the city through the process of calculation, two models were developed. These were explained through the report in a visual manner so that the council staff could understand the methods used and replicate the assessment annual, to support monitoring and reporting in a standardized manner.
E.3. Awareness of the main policy and funding schemes for sustainable urban development at EU and national level:
I have engaged with several funders of sustainable urban development through my experience such as philanthropic funders, foundations, global development banks and institutional investors. At CDP, I supported the delivery a program of work called Matchmaker which had the objective of collecting information from cities on sustainable urban development projects they were seeking financing for, in order to connect those city governments with potential funding streams for the projects. One of the main difficulties was in refining the project offerings to be high investment grade, and a lack of knowledge within cities to develop bankable projects. There is certainly an increased appetite for private sector investment into sustainable cities projects, and a great opportunity for this to be capitalized to support cities sustainability projects. Public finance also has a role to play in sustainable urban development financing, through public-private partnerships and green bonds.
E.4. Ability to understand specific local situations and adapt tools and content to different local realities:
At CDP, I was responsible for developing targeted engagement materials for city officials in different regions. It is important to consider the local context and areas of focus to ensure the information is relevant and communicated in a method that appeals to the relevant audience. I therefore developed materials for different regions that were tailored to the local context and areas of focus. For example, cities in Africa had more of a focus on adaptation and reducing vulnerability, and therefore workshop content and materials were developed in line with those focus areas. By comparison, cities in Europe had a focus on mitigation and emissions reduction, therefore I developed materials which focused on GHG reporting methodologies and understanding these to support emissions reduction and target tracking.
Informations
Residence location:
United Kingdom
Languages:
English - Mother tongue
Email:
sara.telahoun@anthesisgroup.com