Connecting evidence-minded policymakers with policy-minded researchers
In 2008 the Research Directorate (DG-Research) of the European Commission invited me to help develop a policy-oriented communications initiative for EU-sponsored research projects in socio-economic sciences and humanities (SSH). Welcoming this opportunity, I began working with the Directorate to cultivate communications capacities within the European Research Area. This work has spawned fruitful cooperation with numerous other institutions and research entities around Europe. Since 2010 I have been offering consulting services through my own agency SPIA.
More about SPIA here
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GREASE
Through my communications agency, SPIA, I led the communication and dissemination activities of the EU-funded research project GREASE (Radicalisation, Secularism and the Governance of Religion: Bringing Together Diverse Perspectives). The project, which ran for four years through September 2023, delivered innovative thinking on secularisation and radicalisation and provided insights into governance of religious diversity.
Odysseus II: European Youth Space Project
I was responsible for media relations and stakeholder engagement in the pan-European space education project Odysseus II. The project, which ran for three years through 2017, organised and executed a multiple-round space science contest involving young people in 41 counties. Co-funded by the EU, Odysseus was supported by several national space centres.
Masterclasses
In association with SCOOP (an EU-sponsored communications project), I co-delivered a series of Communication Masterclasses in Brussels. The highly acclaimed policy-oriented workshops (which ran from 2009 to 2012) were designed to meet the needs of EU-funded research projects.
Moderator and Rapporteur Services
I have moderated conferences and panel discussions for government institutions, think tanks, businesses, and civil society organisations around Europe. I have also served as rapporteur for numerous high-level events, including the conclusion of the European Union’s Public Consultation on the Creation of the European Research Area (internal report for the European Commission).
Here’s a sample of a report I’ve produced as rapporteur:
Summary of the sessions at the Research Connection Conference, Prague, 7-8 May 2009 
(316 KB)
Advisory Boards
(EU-funded research projects)
I have served on the advisory boards of:
- ACCEPT Pluralism
Exploring tolerance of ethnic, racial and religious diversity in 14 EU member states (BG, CY, DK, FR, DE, EL, IE, IT, NL, RO, PL, ES, SE, UK) and Turkey.
- Identities and Modernities in Europe
Investigating European identities (what they are, how they formed, what trajectories they are taking ) in seven EU member states (BG, FI, FR, DE, EL, HU,UK) plus Croatia and Turkey.