- Városkooperáció Szimpózium, Pécs
Renewal of the urban planning system of Pécs.
Process adviser, Varoskooperacio, since 2011 In the city of Pécs a civil initiative, Városkooperáció, was formed to initiate public dialogue on urban planning, create communication channels among local stakeholders and decision makers in order to create a wide dialogue on a new city strategy and the renewal of the local planning system and process. This initiative asked me to advise the Board of the initiative and help facilitating the process and the events.
Civil initiative for saving a school, 2011
Although this was not a contracted job, I include it in my professional experience as it was a community building and participatory problem solving process, like the ones I am often hired to support. Being ‘not only’ an adviser but also a member of the group made the experience special. The foundation that provided the school of my child announced one month before the enrollment for first graders that the school would be closed. During the month following the decision I led a process that built a strong community of the families of the kids in the school, maintained them together, valorized the community as a strong negotiating partner with the local government and other foundations that were possible candidates for taking over and we went through recruitment, selection and agreement building for a new provider. During the insecurity the process could not only keep most families together (including first grades for the following academic year) but also encouraged new families to join the community.
Economic Opportunities for the Greater Tirana Region – Technical assistance
Consultant for Local Government Initiative of the Open Society Institute, Tirana, Albania, 2008
In the frame of the project the Municipality of Tirana initiates public dialogue with other local governments and stakeholders within the Greater Tirana Region in order to set up systematic data collection and analysis for local economic development policy making. The project prepares the ground for substantial dialogue on a development strategy for the conurbation. Ms Pallai’s role in the project is to advise process design in order to secure effective participation of stakeholders and substantial transfer of knowledge between the international experts and the local team.
Facilitating better local governance of oil revenues for improved economic and social development – training and coaching
Consultant/trainer/Coach of local team for LGI/Revenue Watch , Indonesia, 2008-ongoing
This project aims to assist local governments in Indonesia to avoid the resource curse by working at the local level to advocate for oil revenue transparency; providing technical assistance and capacity building to stakeholders and helping to establish participatory local planning and budgeting processes; and strengthen civil society and citizens to monitor government service delivery effectively. Ms Pallai’s task is capacity building for the participatory planning process, advising the process design and implementation, and training and coaching the NGOs who lead the process.
Participatory process design and institutional scheme design for Budapest – technical assistance
Adviser/expert for Studia Metropolitana, Hungary, 2008
The Municipality of Budapest initiated a process for renewing the city strategy elaborated in the 1990s under the leadership of Ms. Pallai. Ms. Pallai was invited to advise the design and organization of the participatory process supporting the new city strategy drafting and the institutional scheme that could evolve for the monitoring and up dating.
City Strategy for Belgrade
OSI/LGI adviser, Belgrade, Serbia, 2007
Technical assistance since 2006 and expert team has been working on the elaboration of a City Strategy for the City of Belgrade. Ms Pallai was invited by the team and the city to advise on the strategy development process and on the formulation of the strategy.
Local Government Capacity Building
Key Expert for ICON on EU Project, Croatia, 2006
The project assisted the Croatian government and local governments to (1) execute a comprehensive Training Needs Assessment; (2) elaborate the National Training Strategy for the life-long education of local civil servants; (3) accomplish the foundation of a Local Democracy Academy and (4) train the Academy’s core staff. The Key expert was responsible for managing and leading this whole process.
USAID-GRASP Program in Romania
Senior Policy Reform Director for DAI for the USAID sponsored GRASP project, Romania, 2003-2004
Governance Reform and Sustainable Partnerships (GRASP) was a five years USAID-funded program designed to strengthen Romanian local governance and civil society capacity. The objective of Ms Pallai’s assignment was to provide overall coordination and guidance for the GRASP policy reform program, so as it could lead to substantive professional support for the Romanian decentralization process. Within this work Ms Pallai assisted the Romanian government in the development of the Public Administration Reform Strategy for the EU Accession (adopted in 2004); supported the Association of Local Governments to develop policy position documents; assisted the government to establish a donor coordination mechanism; and lead the development of various policy papers.
Urban Development Strategy and Program for Budapest
Chief Planner and Project Manager (with Ivan Tosics) for Municipality of Budapest, Hungary, 1995-2001
The concept is the first attempt to establish a comprehensive Strategic Plan for the Hungarian capital. The work is to plan, guide and coordinate the process of Strategic Planning. This means both the coordination of the work of experts and the planning and guiding of the participatory process. The team of the Strategic plan is established by leading Hungarian experts of all related fields whose work has to be harmonized and the results must be built into a strategic plan that establishes the synergetic relation among interventions. Besides it is also the responsibility of the chief planners the production and commissioning of all materials to be published during the process. Ms Pallai led the work with Ivan Tosics.
Development Program for the Budapest Agglomeration
Chief planner for Consortium, Hungary, 1998-1999
Ms Pallai was the chief planner with Ivan Tosics. They led the team of experts that was commissioned to elaborate the first development program for the Agglomeration of Budapest, after it has been established as an administrative area. The work on the development concept for the agglomeration of Budapest was to plan, guide and coordinate experts of different related sectors and plan and guide the related participatory process. The task was to harmonize the results from different policy fields and build them into a strategic plan that establishes the synergetic relation among interventions and be responsible for all related publications and communication.