Contacts :: Working Group on Regional Development

Dr. Lyubimka Andreeva is a Chief Assistant Professor at Department of Public Administration at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski”. She works in the field of public administration, including the regulations of energy sector, services of general economic interest, more specifically energy services, public policy, public governance (the regulatory state), administrative systems and development. Her work experience includes teaching courses in the areas of Administrative systems and development, Assessment of the administrative capacity, Human resource management and Energy governance. Main areas of scientific interest are governance, public policies, the effectiveness of their implementation, the role of public services as key policy instruments in the Inter-regional cooperation and development process.

Barabashev, Alexey – National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russiaa, [email protected]

Prof. Alexey G. Barabashev teaches courses at the Research University - Higher School of Economics - on the civil service, including civil service reforms in Russia. His research interests are concentrated in the area of the theory of bureaucracy and applications of the theory towards Russian practical needs and methodology of reflexive systems. From 2004 until the present he has served as President (from 2011) and Dean (2004-2011) of the School of Public Administration and Managementand as the Chair of the Department of Civil and Municipal Service at Higher School of Economics. From 1997 to 2014 he served as a member of the advisors’ expert group forpublic service reformunder the Administration of the President of Russia. He is a member of several attestation commissions and expert councils for federal governmental bodies. He was a Woodrow Wilson (Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies) scholarin 1992 and 2013,President of the Kennan Russian Alumni Association (1992-1996), and President-elect of the Alumni Association for Russia-US Academic Exchange Programmes(1996-2000). From 2015 till the present he has served as a member of the Advisory Council of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies.

Annika Jaansoo, University of Twente, The Netherlands, [email protected]

Annika Jaansoo is a PhD student in University of Twente, The Netherlands. Her research is about cross-border cooperation of subnational governments (regions and local governments) in service provision: "Provision of Services Across International Borders: Factors driving Cooperation of Subnational Governments in Europe". In addition to her academic research interest, through her work experience as an Expert in international organizations (AEBR, AER) (2015 to date), Auditor (2012-2014), Development Manager (2010-2012) and Partner/Senior Consultant (2001-2010), Annika Jaansoo has expertise in subnational governance in practice.

Previous WG Programme Coordinators:

Patrick Gray a Head of Partnerships at the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities at London Metropolitan University, and formerly course director for the Masters in Public Administration (MPA) there. Prior to beginning his academic career, he worked for the Greater London Council and in the policy units of several other local authorities in the UK. He has worked in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Armenia, Romania and Ukraine to improve the training of civil servants. His publications include ‘Public Policy Disasters in Western Europe’ (Routledge) and Gray, P (2008) ´International financial institutions and Russia’s civil service reform: international push or domestic pull?´ in Joachim, J, Reinalda, B and Verbeek, B International organizations and implementation Routledge/ECPR pp147-161. He currently leads the teaching team in the final year module ‘International Aid and Development’ at the London Metropolitan University.

Diana Stirbu is a Senior Lecturer in Public Administration, a devolution expert and acts as an independent trustee for the Centre for Public Scrutiny UK. She specialises in devolution and territorial politics in the UK, with the emphasis on Welsh and Scottish devolution. A particular area of interest is administrative reform in the UK post devolution, with the respective challenges and opportunities brought by new eliberative spaces in Scotland and Wales. She often undertakes advisory and consultancy work in relation to the National Assembly for Wales, provides expert advice on constitutional and legislative matters, and delivers bespoke executive training for overseas civil servants.