Daniel Firth
Director, Knowledge, Research and Major Programmes @C40 Cities
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WORK HISTORY
Director, Knowledge, Research and Major Programmes @C40 Cities
Stockholm, SE
I manage C40’s knowledge and research team, which works to generate, manage and disseminate data and evidence to drive urban climate action. Knowledge management supports both internal and external knowledge sharing through a range of platforms, including the C40 Knowledge Hub. Our research provides cutting edge analysis on urban sustainability and serves as the leading authority on the role the world’s cities have in responding to global climate change.I also develop and manage major programmes of implementation and advocacy support for cities to advance their Climate Action Plans. I put together the programmes, source funding from philanthropic or corporate donors, recruit teams, develop a theory of change and KPIs, and then oversee implementation. The projects cover multiple global regions and multiple sectors with budgets upwards of $5m.
EDUCATION
Newcastle University
BA & Masters, Town Planning
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning
SKILLS
ABOUT DANIEL FIRTH
Why do I like to embrace difficult, controversial policy and projects? Because they give me the chance to use some of my core skills- Synthesising a diversity of inputs and applying it to complex problems in order to develop effective, equitable strategy and policy- Communicating complexity in a way that is easy to grasp for any audience and gets political buy-in- Bringing together and leading the kind of diverse teams needed to turn complex strategy and policy into reality.I am great at communicating complex things to anyone, but am somehow terrible at communicating what I\'ve done and what I\'m good at. about myself. So, deep breath:1) I led plans for sustainable urban mobility in three of the most ambitious cities in the sector, delivering real increases in accessibility and decreases in costs and emissions- In London I worked on the policy, strategy and technology behind the world-leading Congestion Charge- In Stockholm, I managed the implementation of the sustainable Urban Mobility Strategy and Vision Zero, supported negotiations for infrastructure projects worth in excess of €10 billion, and helped to build some of Europe’s grandest sustainable urban developments- In Vancouver, I managed a major study and public engagement on reforms to road user charging and revenue policies, as well as project to expand of the rapid transit network.2) I am currently applying many of the lessons I learned in these three cities to the 97 global members of C40, helping them to overcome barriers to deliver the most ambitious climate action. I started at C40 on a maternity cover role during the COVID pandemic, keen to find a way use my experience to help cities in their recovery. My daily peeks into the workings of 97 city halls around the world have given me extraordinary and diverse insights on how to get to \"yes\" on contested policies. 3) If you’d asked me five years ago why I was interested in management roles I would probably have said something about being in the room where the big decisions are made. After 10 years in senior management I can tell you it’s the opportunity to help people develop and see them become successful that keeps me coming to work.4) None of my family and few of my friends really understand what urban policy and strategy is - I tell them it’s about ”holding people’s hands when it gets scary”.
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