My Profile

Dr Hans Schlappa is Senior Lecturer in public management at Hertfordshire University Business School. Hans has undertaken assignments as URBACT Lead Expert since 2003, facilitating action planning, practice transfer and capitalization projects concerned with community-led urban regeneration. His current research explores how to tackle long term decline in small and medium sized towns. Hans teaches governance, leadership and strategic management of public services. He has extensive experience in undertaking practice oriented research for national and local government, public agencies and civil society organisations. Prior to his academic career Dr Schlappa worked for 20 years in local government and not-for profit organisations where he managed regeneration initiatives aimed at the socio-economic development of deprived neighbourhoods.

Senior Lecturer Public Service Management, Hertfordshire Business School, University of Hertfordshire.

URBACT Lead Expert since 2003. Network leadership for Action Panning Networks Regenera and SURE. Network Leadership for Transfer Networks Placemaking 4 Cities and RegrowCity. Capitalisation Lead for URBACT II on ‘Shrinking Cities’
PhD Impact of EU funding on third sector organisations, Aston Business School, 2010
Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Professional Practice (with distinction), Coventry University, 2009
MSc Public Service Management (with distinction), Aston Business School, 2001
Diplom Ingenieur für Landschafts und Freiraumplanung (Town and Country Planning), Technische Universität Berlin, 1986

10/2010 – current Senior Lecturer Public Service Management, Hertfordshire University, Business School
09/2009 – 06/2010 Teaching Fellow Public Management, Aston University, School of Languages and Social Sciences
08/2008 – 08/2009 Senior Lecturer Urban Regeneration and Sustainable Communities (p/t), Coventry University
01/2008 – 07/2009 Sessional Lecturer (p/t), Aston Business School
09/2004 – 12/2007 Research Manager, Centre for Voluntary Action Research, Aston Business School
06/2000 – 08/2004 Regeneration and Community Safety Manager, Birmingham City Council
01/1998 – 06/2000 Sustainability and Community Safety Officer, Cannock Chase District Council
06/1996 – 12/1997 Programme Development Manager, National Urban Forestry Unit
04/1992 – 05/1996 Regional Business Development Manager, Groundwork UK
07/1989 – 03/1992 Project Development Manager. Groundwork Leeds
01/1987 – 06/1989 Project Manager, Hammersmith and Fulham Amenity Trust

Post graduate teaching: Public service management; strategic management; collaborative governance; leadership; research methods
Undergraduate teaching: Strategic management, leadership, social enterprise
Programme Director MSc Leadership and Management in Public Services 2011 – 2019

Addressing urban shrinkage in small and medium sized towns: Shrink smart and re-grow smaller with Tatsuya Nishino, 2021, Emerald Points
Relational leadership: An analytical lens for the exploration of co-production with Yasmin Imani and Tatsuya Nishino in: Loeffler, E. and Bovaird,T. (2021) Handbook of Co-production, Palgrave
Who is in the lead? New perspectives on leading service co-production with Yasmin Imani in: Brandsen, T., Steen, T. Verschuere, B. (2018) Co-production and co-creation: Engaging citizens in public services, Routledge
Co-producing the cities of tomorrow: Fostering collaborative actions to tackle decline in Europe’s shrinking cities in: European Urban and Regional Studies, 2017, Vol. 24(2) 162–174
Future directions for the European shrinking city with Neil, W.J.V. (2016), Routledge
Co-management in urban regeneration: New perspectives on transferable collaborative practice in: Pestoff, V., Brandsen, T. Verschuere, B. (2012) New public governance, the third sector and co-production, Routledge