News Update and Recent Work
Examples of EUROPARC Consulting’s work:
EUROPARC Consulting: your own S.W.O.T Team
Posted on: 2nd December 2011
Writing this as a cold winter fog obscures the view from the office window it is easy to see that the year is nearing its end – yet hard to believe where the time has gone. EUROPARC Consulting's activities in 2011 are too many and diverse to mention without it becoming a list of jobs and dates, but it certainly has been a good year with many challenges, opportunities and, happily, increased work which means we are continuing to support the EUROPARC Federation. For further details please scroll through the monthly articles here on our website.
Stocktaking, successes and study tours
Chairman Richard Partington, and Managing Director Wilf Fenten, together with the members of our Advisory Board, have worked to develop a clear direction for EUROPARC Consulting's work over the next five years; consolidating and growth ambitions for the future. Our confidence has enabled us to pitch for contracts large and small with increasing success. For example: to develop a sustainable tourism strategy for the Dutch and German stretches of the famous Wadden Sea UNESCO World Heritage Site; organising and managing the workshop programme for the highly successful EUROPARC 2011 conference in Bad Urach, Germany; organising and running a day learning seminar, in Oxford, U.K, on the economic benefits of designated landscapes on behalf of EUROPARC Atlantic Isles.
Our programmes of learning excursions have also been in demand, with several study tours being run. One group of senior Lithuanian protected-area practitioners visited Scotland to learn about all aspects of Ranger Services. Another group from the Ukraine visited several national and regional parks in southern France studying tourism and ecological education. Study tours are perhaps one of the best ways of learning and sharing expertise – the EUROPARC ethos and EUROPARC Consulting’s ability to provide local expertise and expert guidance, with custom-built programmes developed to specific customer requirements, have proved highly successful. Tours of this kind are a unique and inexpensive way of promoting new ideas through the EUROPARC Federation. Please contact us soon if you want to discuss study tours or learning exchanges during 2012.
Wayfaring, waiting and welcomes
2011 has been a whirlwind of journeys around Europe for EUROPARC Consulting Experts and Staff. Travel to meetings, tender bids, conferences, study tours, to fact-find, to seek out business opportunities, to liaise, problem solve and mentor. Our Charter verifiers visited 17 protected/area destinations in 6 countries to examine work on sustainable tourism. Our approach is to travel at low cost and where practicable use surface public transport, but all travel offers inevitable waiting at airports, train stations and taxi stands. However, we have also waited nervously for the outcome of tender bids, visa applications and overdue Charter dossiers. Our work has supported and encouraged Charter candidate areas while they themselves awaited results of funding meetings, forums or political elections.
One constant throughout the challenging timetable of activities has been the co-operation forthcoming, the support offered, and the friendly welcome given by colleagues, protected areas and organisations we have worked with. Most heart-warming that even in such difficult times people remain so willing to share time and expertise which demonstrates that people working across Europe’s protected areas are very special.
Organisation, own-brand originality and an open door
Our clients often use the support and organisational skills of EUROPARC Consulting to help manage the complexity of projects - essential for a professional and smooth running event or project. Our extensive network of experts, with direct “hands-on” experience of designated landscapes and the wider environmental matters mean we can always offer team members with relevant, up to date and in-depth skills. Another critical aspect of the challenging financial times of 2011 has been our ability to provide services that match and are within clients' often tight budgets. We always deliver to budget with no hidden surprises.
As in any year there were some disappointments - mostly relating to tenders we did not win or potential projects that did not materialise. This is inevitable in a highly-competitive and budget-conscious sector. However, there were many positives and we were often enthused and excited at the prospect of the challenges: working with colleagues developing bids, seeking creative solutions and banking good ideas with team spirit cemented by the process. We end 2011 very positive and have a busy 2012 ahead. Please consider adding EUROPARC Consulting to your tender list so that our adaptable, cost-effective and customer-focused approach can help YOU deliver more for less in 2012.
For more information contact Wilf Fenten wilf.fenten@europarc-consulting.org.
We would like to thank everyone who supported, contributed to or participated in EUROPARC Consulting's excellent 2011. A special thanks goes to the many colleagues throughout the EUROPARC Federation who championed what we can offer - by spreading the word about us and our work.
Finally, we are delighted to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very happy festive season, a peaceful New Year and an exciting and fulfilling 2012.
