
EXPERTISE
Ferenc is a passionate geographer with a broad scientific and holistic perspective. He has been dealing with integrated & sustainable urban development for 16 years now. He started his ‘European’ career as a volunteer of the YOUTH Programme, working directly with gipsy youth in Hungary and Spain. His personal career continued at the Managing Authority for Regional Operative Programmes, where he co-designed the Programme’ ESF priority and was responsible for the implementation of ESF measures. It was a perfect moment to study integrated urban development as the ROP fostered regions to use ERDF and ESF projects together to enhance each other. At the National Employment Foundation and by representing Hungary in the OECD LEED Partnership Forum, he learnt about sustainable urban development by adapting good practices in Hungary such as employment pacts and social economy.
Since 2008 he has been developing and managing European territorial cooperation projects in various programmes (CENTRAL, SOUTH-EAST, DANUBE, INTERREG IVC, URBACT, etc.) as a consultant. His main reference is the URBACT Programme, where he designed or co-designed several successful networks in Phase 1 and/or 2 (SURE, P4C, CHANGE, Urban Green Labs, Vital Cities, CityCentreDoctor, Creative Spirits, Come in!, SIBdev, Healt&Greenspace, Cities4CSR).
He was the Lead Expert of CHANGE! – social design of public services, led by Eindhoven, and currently he is the Lead Expert in the “Come in! – Talking Houses / Shared Stories” networks, thus his main reference theme is social innovation (ageing, youth empowerment, community resilience, engagement, and transformation of social services).
He is a regular author of the Hungarian Geographers’ Association’ , a professional publication aiming at explaining urban trends for a wider audience. He is also a professional mountaineering guide and co-author of several books.
ARTICLES
as URBACT expert in the Come in! network
Every single house is interesting!
Article about the network and the topic
http://www.urbact.eu/every-single-house-interesting
Is it time to re-valorise prefabricated housing estates?
Thematic article linked to piloting the good practice in Őrmező (Újbuda, Hungary)
https://urbact.eu/community-between-panels
Case study on piloting the good practice in Őrmező (Újbuda, Hungary)
https://urbact.eu/mind-gap-between-top-down-and-bottom-approaches-while-transferring-good-practice
Thematic article linked to Pori' Participatory Agents
ARTICLES
as URBACT expert in the CHANGE! network
Break out of our comfort zones: Play Szociopoly!
http://www.blog.urbact.eu/2017/02/break-out-of-our-comfort-zones-play-szociopoly/
Reinvent democracy with Aarhus’ “everyday activists” and habit-breaking “Givisme” culture!
People-powered services: big words versus reality?
http://www.blog.urbact.eu/2018/10/people-powered-services-big-words-versus-reality/
From participative to personal budgets: the power of responsibility sharing
http://www.urbact.eu/participative-personal-budgets-power-responsibility-sharing
How Eindhoven unlocks the collaborative capacity of the city through social service delivery
CHANGE! Social design of public services
interview with the project coordinator
http://www.urbact.eu/change-social-design-public-services
Case Studies and other studies
Change!
Social design of public services (Baseline Study)
http://urbact.eu/sites/default/files/media/change_baseline_study_web.pdf
Better orchestrating voluntary resources alongside public services
Case study on how outcomes of service delivery can be boosted by insight, brokerage and design
http://urbact.eu/sites/default/files/media/change_amarante_case_study_orchestrating_resources.pdf
Gdańsk: 100% social
Incentivising community actions and public servants for improved service outcomes (Case study on how alignment between sectors, cultures and silos can be boosted by new approaches to managing risks, incentives and resources)
http://urbact.eu/sites/default/files/media/change_case_study_gdansk_100_social.pdf
Towards people-powered public services
Four case studies reflecting four key aspects of redesigning and opening up public services within the Collaborative Framework
http://urbact.eu/sites/default/files/media/change_case_study_uk.pdf