[sustran] Request for advice on next appointment

[Jonathan Richmond]

This is a one-off to ask you if you have any ideas for my next assignment -- I 
would certainly appreciate any suggestions! My contract in Dhaka as Public 
Transport Adviser to the Dhaka Transport Coordination Board, Government of 
Bangladesh, is finishing at the end of this month, and I am looking for 
something new. I have had a series of relatively short-term appointments over 
the last few years, so at the end of each one I need to try to act quickly to 
find something else!

My job in Dhaka has been highly stressful, but a great deal has been achieved. 
My number one objective was to complete a series of difficult tasks whatever 
the lack of resources, support or other obstacles, and to put an emphasis on 
building good processes of management and governance. With the government 
understaffed in key areas, and often weakly structured relationships between 
operating departments this was far from easy. However, I developed concepts for 
both a Corridor Restructuring program and a program to restructure bus routes, 
operating practices, management and fares and prepared Terms of Reference for 
both of them.

The key element of the Corridor Restructuring is a BRT system, but I felt it 
important to optimize the flows of all traffic (pedestrians and non-motorized 
vehicles along with cars) through development of enhanced approaches to 
management: by improving the use of road space, it would not be necessary to 
impede traffic to bring in BRT. The opposite is the objective: to make all 
traffic flow more smoothly.

For restructuring of the existing bus system, the key element is to phase it 
realistically to achieve success in collaboratiuon with local operators and 
government, rather than to try to impose massive changes overnight that would 
likely be beyond achievement.

When I could get input from government colleagues, I did so. But if there was a 
gap in knowledge, local or otherwise, I simply did my best to fill in by myself 
and have my ideas checked by a number of international colleagues rather than 
allowing delay to creep in. I managed much of project communication and advised 
the local procurement committee.

My other work has involved coming up with a concept for a new Metropolitan 
Transportation Authority to improve decision making, managerial performance, 
and coordination. I have tried to emphasize modern principles of goal-based 
management and developing an organization that promises to attract talent. It 
is not yet however clear at this point the exact form of the new entity to be 
decided by the Government.

I summarize below the types of assignments I would be interested in, and please 
be in touch if you know of any appropriate opportunities:

1: I would be prepared to take on a further assignment as an adviser to help a 
government or senior policy leader formulate and manage processes of transport 
planning and implementation. I have particular experience in dealing with 
situations where good communication is important and patience is required to 
overcome constraints in management and governance in order to achieve results, 
and will consider taking on further challenging assignments as well as ones 
that require somewhat less elevation of blood pressure!

2: I would be interested in both short or long-term assignments with 
international organizations (such as the World Bank or ADB), consulting 
companies, think tanks, and the like, and would be prepared to join teams in 
submitting bids for projects.

3: Opportunities for long-term employment with such entities would also be 
welcome.

4: I am also interested in returning to teaching. I have a Phd in 
transportation planning from MIT and international experience in teaching as 
well as in professional practice. My teaching in Asia has emphasized developing 
curricula appropriate to developing country professional practice.


I summarize below the content area of possible assignments to which I could 
contribute:

1: General transportation planning, project implementation and management in 
both developed and developing countries. My recent specialized experience is in 
the area of bus project development, including development of complex 
specifications/Terms of Reference for Bus Rapid Transit and bus restructuring 
programs, but I am interested also in work related to other modes and, in 
particular, to the interface between private and public transport to create 
sustainable solutions.

2: Organizational restructuring. While I have contributed to thinking on 
organizational restructuring in Bangladesh, I played a more active role in 
design on my previous appointment to the Government of Mauritius where I came 
up with the concept of a Land TransportAuthority and wrote the Terms of 
Reference for services to implement the new entity. Bringing modern 
performance-based management practices that allow organizational learning and 
growth and putting an emphasis on proper coordination is critical to the 
success of ventures in developing countries (and also developed ones!), and I 
would like to do further work in this area.

3: Good governance. Corruption presents a barrier to growth in many developing 
countries, and new thinking is needed to elimiate its damaging effects. I 
particularly like the example of the Government of Singapore where high civil 
service salaries go hand-in-hand with high expectations in job performance, and 
corruption is not allowed to creep in. A move towards professionalization in 
government is required in many countries, with the establishment of performance 
standards and reward systems that will attract talented young people who do not 
wish to be involved in corruption, and for whom normal incentives will be more 
than enough to keep them focused on doing their job well.

I have stressed providing for good governance in all my recent project work, 
and would like to do work in the area whether or not it is related specifically 
to transportation.

4: Practice development. I have read huge volumes of consulting proposals in 
the last few years. Some have been excellent, demonstrating deep knowledge and 
thought. Many companies do not know, however, how to structure proposals for 
developing country work. When I have seen methodologies proposed that work in 
the West but are inappropriate in the developing world and a lack of 
sensitivity to local circumstances, I have not felt encouraged. With my 
knowledge of what it takes to successfully complete work in a challenging 
developing country environment, I am in a position to help consulting 
conmpanies improve their practice in this area of professional work and enhance 
the likelihood of submitting successful proposals.

5: Professional training. With my most recent teaching practice geared to 
preparing developing country students for professional life, I am interested in 
participating in programs attractive to transportation practitioners in the 
developing world. Too many programs are of a one-way static nature; a move is 
needed both to making content more relevant to the needs of developing 
countries and to taking an interactive approach to communication to make 
student involvement lead to motivation to implement the materials learned in 
training in subsequent practice. A number of international agencies as well as 
educational organizations have been conducting work in this area, and I would 
like to participate in such activities.

6: Sooner or later I am interested in doing further academic work, with an 
emphasis on teaching geared to improving developing country professional 
practice as well as to comparative learning that seeks to establish what 
developed and developing countries have to learn from each other.

If any of you would like to see my cv it can be found at:

http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/professional/resume.pdf

Many thanks, and looking forward to hearing of any appropriate suggestions from 
you.


                                               --Jonathan
-----
Jonathan Richmond
Public Transport Advisor
Dhaka Transport Coordination Board
Ministry of Communications
Government of Bangladesh
Nagar Bhaban, 13-14th Floor
Dhaka-1000
Bangladesh

Phone: +880 (0)1714 179013

e-mail: richmond at alum.mit.edu
http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/