This course is based on the contention that a leadership revolution is needed for EIA team leaders to maximize the influence of IA on sustainability outcomes.
Leading EIA teams is a complex activity. To maximize sustainability outcomes, team leaders need to work productively with technical specialists but, importantly, must also engage effectively with the broader proponent team, including project managers, design managers, and many other roles. The increasing risk that environmental, social, and compliance issues present to project costs and delivery schedules provides a particular opportunity to EIA team leaders to embed environmental considerations into project planning and design decisions.

But to do this effectively, EIA team leaders need skills and knowledge beyond what is taught in academic and professional skills training. This course fills this gap, examining the formal and informal leadership roles IA professionals perform, and presenting tools that leaders can use to aid communication, negotiation, and influencing. It will provide insights into how project teams work and the opportunity to put learning into practice. With a strong emphasis on personal reflection and self-development, the intention is to draw out the skills you already possess, and to help you develop the mindset of an IA leader.

Level:	Intermediate to advanced
Prerequisites:	General experience in managing or coordinating IA professional teams in a major project context. An interest in developing strong leadership skills to enhance personal and project team performance, increase ability to influence the environmental protection outcomes of major projects, and improve the effectiveness of IA practice in general.
Language:	English
Duration:	2 days (27-28 April)
Price:	US$520
Min/Max:	10-25
Requirements:	Personal laptop. Pre-reading will be provided in electronic format.
Instructor(s):	Ross Marshall, Leading Green (UK) Claire Gronow, University of Bristol (UK)

 

Ross Marshall is a past President of IAIA with over 25 years’ executive experience in building & leading internationally recognized EIA/SEA teams within Government & Industry. He fully understands the professional demands & pressures placed on EIA team leaders in infrastructure projects by internal & external stakeholders, the demonstrable need for leadership at key points in the EIA process, and the practical leadership issues.
Heavily committed to IA professional development, he is active in IEMA (the UK’s IA professional body) serving as a Director & long-time member of the Standards Committee. He remains one of only two IEMA examiners for IEMA’s Principal EIA Practitioner certificate and participates in IEMA training programs. He won the IAIA Corporate Award in 2004 for excellence in EIA (ScottishPower) and whilst at the Environment Agency, his NEAS became the first UK organization certified to IEMA’s EIA Quality Mark (with its emphasis on staff training & development).  Ross’s EIA/SEA experience covers a wide range of industrial sectors, and includes investment planning, national policy development, climate change adaptation & national infrastructure delivery. He is a current member of the IAIA TPDC committee.
Ross has undertaken training programs with UNEP, World Bank, EC and other capacity building agencies. He has hosted Commonwealth & other government delegations seeking developmental advice & training support in IA executive management & administration, IA program management & delivery (in China, South Korea, Tanzania, Mexico, Azerbaijan, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Thailand, Romania). Ross is a Visiting Professor & lecturer at several universities, and an EIA PhD examiner. He now runs Leading Green - a consultancy specializing in environmental leadership training for the environmental sector.
Claire Gronow has been involved in impact assessment since 1990, practicing in Australia and overseas. She has lead successful EIA teams on over 30 statutory impact assessments for major projects in mining, infrastructure, industry and tourism sectors. A key feature of success in these projects has been the ability to work closely with project planning and design teams to maximise the integration of environmental considerations into proponent decision-making. It was this experience, and a desire to see more consistent results that has led Claire to undertake a PhD on ‘what determines the influence of environmental assessment on the planning and design of major development proposals’. Claire is a Fellow of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ) and a certified environmental practitioner with special certification in impact assessment. Claire regularly sits on certification panels for both general and specialist certifications.

Claire has strong teaching and training experience with excellent feedback from trainees and students. Teaching experience includes both undergraduate and masters level, including her current position as Deputy Programme Director of the MSc in Water and Environmental Management at University of Bristol. Much of Claire’s university level teaching has been in studio and classroom settings rather than lectures. Claire was also contracted to design and deliver the Impact Assessment module of the EIANZ’s Staged Training for Environmental Professionals. This followed from many years of involvement in delivering professional development programmes for EIANZ. Other training experience includes designing and delivering workshops on impact assessment and community engagement in Kuwait, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. A large proportion of students and trainees have been from non-English speaking backgrounds