Ferenc (HU) is the Lead Expert of the CHANGE! – social design of public services URBACT Action Planning Network, in which city of Eindhoven is the Lead Partner. As a geographer he has been dealing with integrated and sustainable urban development for almost 11 years. He started to work within cooperation projects under the youth initiative of the EU, organizing and facilitating exchange activities between Hungarian and Spanish gipsy youth groups. His personal career started at the Hungarian Managing Authority for Regional Operative Programmes (ROP), where he co-designed the ESF priority and was responsible for the implementation of ESF measures tackling social economy, territorial employment pacts and vocational education and training. It was a great moment to study integrated urban development as the ROP fostered regions to use ERDF and ESF projects together to enhance each other. He continued his career at the National Employment Foundation, managing a nation-wide programme supporting Hungarian employment pacts and social economy organizations. Within this task he contributed to the international work of the OECD LEED Partnership Forum. Since 2009 he develops and manages ETC projects (CENTRAL, NWE, SOUTH-EAST EUROPE, INTERREG IVC, URBACT, DANUBE Programme, etc.) as a consultant. He has an in depth knowledge about the URBACT Programme since he developed the SURE as well as the P4C project, drafted action plans and animated ULSGs. One of his hobbies is to draft articles for the magazine of the Hungarian Geographers’ Association. The CHANGE! network provides exchange and learning activities for nine partner cities coming from different corners of Europe, to co-produce action plans with local stakeholders about how to transform (re-design) existing social services towards a more collaborative provision, towards a people-powered service delivery.
