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Frank Waeltring

In the following you can find some information on my areas of expertise, my working background and -place, some personal information and some answers to often asked questions to me. 

More detailed information can be find in my attached English CV or German CV.

For further questions please contact me

 

 

I. Areas of expertise:

  • Facilitation of change processes in LED
  • Initiation of concrete short- and medium term LED initiatives
  • Participatory strategy development in urban and regional territories
  • Economic development promotion in rural and urban settings
  • Cluster and value chain facilitation
    (see e.g. case studies from Germany)
  • LED and cluster product development
    (see e.g. German Wiki-Cluster Handbook for MFG)
  • Promotion of markets for business development services
    (see e.g. one BDS publication)
  • Matching of SME demands and supply of economic support institutions

 Further information about my work and thought can be found in my personal blog or at other event blogs or product websites I created. See:

 

 

II. Working experience

  • MA in social science with a specialisation in economics (Duisburg 1999)
  • joined mesopartner in 2005, since then consultancy work on LED change facilitation internationally and in Germany (see CV)
  • 2003-2004 Private sector development specialist at GTZ headquarters, special focus on Latin America and Southeastern Europe
  • 2001-2003 Junior professional in GTZ private sector development programme in Honduras
  • 1999-2001 Researcher in joint INEF/IDS local cluster and global value chain project, Institute for Development and Peace, University of Duisburg

I am founder and board member of the Structural Policy Foundation NRW, a network of economic promotion experts from the German Region Northrhine-Westfalia who are interested to exchange their experiences and organize interesting events.

 

 

III. Working place

  • From 2005 until October 2009 I was based in a Business Park in Dortmund, Germany. It is an industrial heritage building and a former laboratory of the former multinational steel production company Hoesch.
  • Since November 2009 I have my office in the Technology Transfer Centre in Rheine, Germany. Created in 1990, the Centre  has a background on international technology transfer and product development. It especially focuses on the application of alternative high tech-technologies like windpower, solar energy and low energy house construction. With complete event facilities like Conference halls, modern equipped workshop rooms and a large Guest house the Centre provides an ideal place for the extension of further mesopartner events.
  • In cooperation with the Technology Centre and with other German and international partners we will extend our work in the field of innovative sustainable economic development in urban and rural areas.

 

 

IV. Personal background:

  • I was born in 1968 in Elte, a lovely village in West Germany located in the Region Muensterland
    (see innovative economic development initiatives in the Region)
  • I always wanted to understand the driving forces of economic and social development in different regions, and the creative factors and pitfalls behind
  • I wanted to get to know other realities outside my village. It provided me with different insights and new perspectives how to see the world and my work
  • It became clear to me that sustainable economic and social growth is the basis for individual and societal satisfaction, creativity, and progress
  • After my scientifc career it became clear to me that I wanted to work with and learn from people with different and international experience
  • I realized that the experiences of private sector promotion in less developed regions in the world is very rich. Many donor organisations active in this field face the challenge to promote economic initiatives in weaker markets under the constraints of low budgets and high political justification. Cosntraints can lead to innovation. They led in many cases to a treasure of impact oriented business development experience, market-driven network initiatives, didactical tools and participatory monitoring procedures. Some of these learning experiences can contribute to innovative ways of promoting local economies also in industralized countries
  • I love to experiment, develop and implement with German and international colleagues new initiatives for economic development
  • "Think global, act local" is a quite superficial phrase, but for me it became a way of life and work
  • I like my way of work, and will more localize it within Germany and the EU in the near future
  • That´s why I am also looking forward to live again in the countryside: to be well grounded in a root-based social and working environment!

 

 

V. Often asked questions:

Why are you working in this field and travel that much?

  • I like to be part of driving elements in human and economic development
  • I like to understand and learn more about how systems and human beings work and interact
  • I like to encourage change processes and to search for new perspectives for myself and within an LED process

Why are you working as meso-Partner?

  • It is a small innovative team that always looks for new ways of doing things differently
  • The different characters and professional backgrounds of the partners provide creative synergies and motivation
  • It provides the opportunity of specialisation on interesting and dynamic topics within a group of committed colleagues and network partners
  • It is a learning team eager to exchange experiences, take new perspectives and pressure each other to move out of comfort zones
  • We take the risk of developing and testing new formats, tools and approaches
  • The firm philosophy of mesopartner is special, approaching territorial economic development from a more holistic human and professional perspective, involving elements of systemic, lateral and creative thinking, and communication- and action-orientation. Such working environment provides the opportunity for learning with the clients, within the team and individually.

What are 3 wishes for your future work?

  1. to be able to support our German and international colleagues even better during changing organisational and economic circumstances
  2. to increase our own learning process, our creativity and engagement
  3. to work more intensively in Germany through
    • transfering innovative German and international good practice experiences in LED to local and international partners
    • initiating with local people and organisational representatives concrete economic initiatives that lead to a creative and dynamic social environment, where people like to live and get involved in new ways of doing things.
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