John
Watt
Ad-Hoc Expert
Generic Skills
B.1. Understanding of integrated and sustainable urban development:
John has over seven years experience in sustainable urban development at local level in the UK and at European project level. His work has focused particularly on social, economic and environmental impacts through sustainable and innovation procurement focused projects including SPP Regions, BuyZET and CEPPI. John uses his experience and expertise in Green and Sustainable Public Procurement (GPP/SPP) to co-author publications, such as the Buying Green! Handbook (3rd ed.) and Procura+ Manual (3rd Ed.), and to provide support and advice to public procurement practitioners through training sessions and two different GPP Helpdesk services operated by European Institutions.
John also has extensive experience in communication and event management work, such as organising numerous large and small-scale international events (conferences, multi-stakeholder meetings) and as part of the team publishing the GPP News Alert. He is responsible for communications and activities of the Global Lead Cities Network on Sustainable Procurement, and the Procura+ European Sustainable Procurement Network. John has a PhD in sustainable public procurement, which involved research into local social and economic development resulting from Scottish Government Public Procurement policy. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Entrepreneurship, and worked on a variety of public sector sustainable procurement projects in Scotland.
B.2. Understanding of exchange and learning processes at transnational level:
John has experience in directly supporting public authorities, including cities and towns, in developing and implementing sustainable procurement practices, policies and strategies through delivering training and presentations, providing focused guidance and developing and sharing good practice case studies. He is also experienced at facilitating collaboration at European project level, through programmes such as SPP Regions, BuyZET and CEPPI, as well as taking a central role in the coordination of the Procura+ European Sustainable Procurement Network.
John has also delivered master classes for URBACT networks, including sessions on social and green public procurement for the Procure Network. He has also worked with national and local authorities globally on sustainable economy and procurement, including the Global Lead City Network on Sustainable Procurement, the 10YFP on SPP, and the Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE) and the Egyptian Ministry of the Environment.
B.3. Proficiency in English:
John is a native English native speaker with easy to understand pronunciation and clear syntax. Extensive experience in presenting to international audiences at conferences, transnational project meetings and webinars. John has authored guides, handbooks and articles written in an easy approachable style (see CV) including the European Commission Buying Green! Handbook and The Procura+ Manual. He is able to explain concepts relating to sustainable and innovation procurement in understandable terms to a lay audience both verbally and in writing.
Thematic expertise:
Theme / Policy:
Local Economic Development
Summary Thematic expertise:
John has a PhD in sustainable public procurement, which involved research into local social and economic development resulting from Scottish Government Public Procurement policy. For the past three years John has worked at a European level, as part of ICLEI’s Sustainable Economy and Procurement Team. He uses his experience and expertise in Green and Sustainable Public Procurement (GPP/SPP) to co-author publications, such as the Buying Green! Handbook (3rd ed.) and Procura+ Manual (3rd Ed.), and to provide support and advice to public procurement practitioners through training sessions and two different GPP Helpdesk services operated by European Institutions. John also delivers training on sustainable and innovation procurement, including to the URBACT Procure Network. In addition, John is part the team coordinating the Procura+ European Sustainable Procurement Network, providing advice, support and publicity to any public authority that wants to implement sustainable and innovation procurement and championing sustainable and innovation procurement at the European level.
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 :
John was part of the Steering group for the Argyll and Bute Local Services Initiative (ABLSI) in Scotland, which aimed to: Identify key success factors for social enterprise delivery of public services; create a set of recommendations that empower social enterprises and public sector to better deliver local services in Argyll and Bute; and provide an evidence base with which to influence key policy makers and decision makers.
As well as focusing on research and learning, ABLSI also supported the following activities: support to develop impact measurement tools, draft memorandum and articles; training on a range of topics including procurement, employment transfers, finance and contracts; and use of consultants to co-produce a new funding process, run a public consultation; mediate over contract renewal.
The project resulted in a strengthening of the business relationships between the local authority and local suppliers of services, and the local authority adopting many of the recommendations into policy.
E.2. Knowledge on integrated approach for the design, delivering, monitoring and evaluation of urban strategies/policies:
John is currently working on the BuyZET project, which involves cities understanding the transportation footprint of their different procurement activities and developing innovative procurement plans for two key procurement areas that minimise the number, distance and disruptiveness of motorised vehicle trips within the city, and maximise the proportion of these trips made by zero emission vehicles (ZEVs). John has worked with cities to measure their transportation footprint and develop procurement plans to achieve zero emission urban delivery of goods and services to the public sector. Currently the project is developing a series of recommendations for both public authorities and national/European policy makers in support of zero emission delivery of goods and services. This includes activities for the establishment of cross-border networking and experience exchange between consortium partners in the planning of procurement, other European cities, and further stakeholders.
E.3. Awareness of the main policy and funding schemes for sustainable urban development at EU and national level:
As part of ICLEI’s Sustainable Economy and Procurement team, John is well placed to keep up-to-date on policy developments, trends and funding opportunities relating to procurement. For example, two of his primary projects are the publication of a monthly GPP News Alert (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/alert_en.htm) for the European Commission and being part of the coordination desk alongside UN Environment for the 10YFP on SPP (http://web.unep.org/10yfp/sustainable-public-procurement-0). These provide constant updates at an EU level of developments in the field. John also currently works on five other projects or service contracts for the European Commission.
The Procura+ Network also provides context at a national and local level, with participants in the network regularly updating on policy developments, good practice examples, and funding and collaboration opportunities.
E.4. Ability to understand specific local situations and adapt tools and content to different local realities:
The Global Lead City Network on Sustainable Procurement (www.glcn-on-sp.org) is a group of 14 cities committed to drive a transition to sustainable consumption and production by implementing sustainable and innovation procurement. All participating cities are acting as ambassadors of sustainable procurement to lead to a resource efficient, low carbon and socially responsible society.
John works with the cities to produce sustainable procurement targets, policies and monitoring strategies that are relevant to the cities in their regional and local context but also comparable for a global network. For example, John worked with the City of Budapest to develop new targets for sustainable procurement, which include: By 2020, 100% of the procurement processes will integrate sustainability and green aspects; By 2020, 70% of the newly purchased public transportation vehicles in Budapest will be clean; By 2020, at least one training program per year will be accomplished for the employees. John is currently working with Budapest to develop strategies for implementing the targets, including training, and monitoring of the progress.
Summary Expertise:
John has worked to design integrated and participatory policies at both local and European level. For example, he was part of the Steering group for the Argyll and Bute Local Services Initiative (ABLSI) in Scotland, which aimed to: Identify key success factors for social enterprise delivery of public services; create a set of recommendations that empower social enterprises and public sector to better deliver local services in Argyll and Bute; and provide an evidence base with which to influence key policy makers and decision makers.
As part of ICLEI’s Sustainable Economy and Procurement team, John is well placed to keep up-to-date on policy developments, trends and funding opportunities relating to procurement. For example he works on a number of projects or service contracts for the European Commission and is part of the coordination desk alongside UN Environment for the 10YFP on SPP. The Procura+ Network also provides context at a national and local level, with participants in the network regularly updating on policy developments, good practice examples, and funding and collaboration opportunities. Through the Global Lead City Network on Sustainable Procurement, John works with cities to produce sustainable procurement targets, policies and monitoring strategies that are relevant to the cities in their regional and local context but also comparable for a global network.
Informations
Residence location:
Germany
Languages:
English - Mother tongue
Email:
johnwatt76@gmail.com.