Research Associates

Elena Loktionova-Mccaffrey. Based in Kent, UK, Elena is a free-lance research and HE consultant. She is currently working with dynamic management coaching companies to bring their expertise and leadership management programmes to Russian and the CIS-based organisations. Elena is a former TV presenter, teacher and university lecturer in linguistics at St.Petersburg State University (Russia), School of Linguistics and School of International relations; and at Hong Kong University (China). Languages and Law have been an integral part of her career, resulting in her extensive cooperation with the Moscow City Government, Ministry of Finance and Judiciary of Kazakhstan, Legal reform bodies in Russia. Throughout her career Elena has experienced a variety of cultures, encountering a wealth of diversity and complexity. During her recent work in Asia, she cooperated with the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA, Moscow, Russia) on MBA and EMBA programs, as well as Lviv Business School of Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv, Ukraine) at programmes hosted in Hong Kong.

Professor David Rotman, is the founder and Director of the Centre for Sociological and Political Research, Belarusian State University (BSU), BELARUS. He is one of the leading specialists in the FSU on the methods and organisation of social and political research. He is the founder of the notion ‘Operative sociological research’ (rapid opinion polling), and developed a range of original sociological and political techniques of survey inquiry, including virtual focus groups. Professor Rotman has published in the fields of sociology of politics, electoral behaviour, international relations, culture and cross-border relations. He has authored over 20 monographs and over 300 articles in peer-reviewed journals. His most recent monographs include Methods of Sociological Inquiry in Political Sciences (BSU: Minsk 2007); and Lifestyle and Health of the Population in the New Independent States (co-edited with C. Haerpfer, 2003); and articles/chapters ‘Belarus in the Context of the ENP: between the EU and Russia’, Journal of Communist Studies & Post-Communist Politics 27(1) 2011 (with N. Veremeeva); ‘Belarus and the EaP’ (with P. Brigadin & N. Veremeeva) in Eastern Partnership: Problems and Perspectives (E. Korosteleva, BSU: Minsk 2011, 130-70); ‘Values of Contemporary Person: Belarus in the project ‘European Values Survey’(with L. Filinaskaya, 2009)

Dr Oleksandr Stegnii is Executive Director of the Centre for social and Marketing Research (SOCIS), and a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences in UKRAINE. He specializes in socio-political and economic aspects of transitional countries, and his interests include sociology of public opinion, environmental sociology, sociology of risk, politics and methodology. Dr Stegnii is the author of over 125 publications, with most relevant including ‘Globalization in the Eastern European context: the case of communities in small towns’, Ukrainian Socium,4 (2007): 66– 82;‘Ukraine’s European Integration: a profile of public opinion’, Ukrainian Socium,1(2009): 67– 79; ‘Ukraine and the Eastern Partnership: “Lost in Translation?”’, Eastern Partnership: A New Opportunity for the Neighbours? (E. Korosteleva, ed.)(Routledge, 2012, 52–74); and ‘Ukraine and the EaP’, in E. Korosteleva (ed.) Eastern Partnership: Problems and Perspectives (BSU: Minsk 2011).

Dr Olga Danii is Director of an Independent Sociological and Information Service OPINIA in MOLDOVA. During her scientific career she has served as coordinator, local expert-consultant and senior researcher for various national and international research projects. Sociologist by training, Dr Danii has extensive experience of coordinating large multi-country data-collection projects and mixed method analysis. Olga is the author of over 50 publications and reports, and country coordinator for over 20 international projects. Her main publications include ‘Moldova under the ENP’, in E. Korosteleva (ed.) Eastern Partnership: A New Opportunity for the Neighbours? (Routledge 2012); Problems of sustainable development in transition society (co-author, Chisinau: University Press, 2007); ‘Moldova and EU Neighbourhood Policy: ‘Falling Between Stools’”, Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, 27(1), 2011; and ‘Moldova and the EaP’, in E. Korosteleva (ed.) Eastern Partnership: Problems and Perspectives (Minsk: BSU 2011, 170-2008).

Dr Merab Pachulia is Managing Director of Georgian Opinion Research Business International (GORBI), GEORGIA. Sociologist by training, he has supervised multiple national, regional and international projects. From 1991 to 1994, Dr Pachulia was in charge of the Eurobarometer surveys in Armenia and Georgia. He was also director of the World Values Surveys in the Caucasus in 1995 and of the same project in Georgia in 2008. He led the European Values Surveys (EVS) across the Caucasus in 2008. In 1992, 1995, and 1999 on behalf of the UNICRI, he supervised opinion surveys on crime in Georgia and Azerbaijan. He was the team leader for a repeat survey (funded by EU) in Georgia in 2010 and 2011. Dr Pachulia undertook exit polls for the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan in 2005; and conducted major rural and social assessment projects in Georgia for the World Bank (WB) in 2002, 2003 and in 2011. The WB cited his project implementation as ‘the best practice’ that sets ‘important standards for future projects’. His more recent publications include ‘Voting Behavior and the Stockholm Syndrome in the Republic of Georgia’, American Political Science Review (2014), with V. Hesli; ‘Personality Traits and Candidate Evaluations in the Republic of Georgia’, Journal of Politics (2013), with V. Hesli; ‘Foregoing medicines in the former Soviet Union: changes between 2001 and 2010’ (co-author), Health Policy (2014); and ‘Party Strength as a Function of Political and Social Crisis in Georgia’, (co-author), Midwest Political Science Association (1996).

Dr Tair Faradov is Deputy Director and Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for Social Research (ICSR), AZERBAIJAN. A leading sociologist in Azerbaijan, he is executive board member of the Azerbaijan Sociologists’ Association. He has extensive experience in large-scale international collaborative research projects: European Values Study (EVS, 2006-08); ‘World Values Survey (WVS) in Azerbaijan’ (2011-12); ‘Project for Development and Strengthening of Network on Sociology and Conflict Resolution in the South Caucasus’, MacArthur Foundation (2002-03); ‘Reinventing Citizenship in the South Caucasus’, and many others. He has over 50 publications, most recent including ‘Civil Society in Azerbaijan: Challenges and Opportunities in Transition’, CIVICUS Civil Society Index Report for Azerbaijan (Baku, December 2007, co-author); ‘Foreign Policy Orientations in Azerbaijan: Public аnd Elite Opinion (NATO fellowship report 2003); Mass Political Consciousness and Elections (Baku, 2003); ‘Problems of Regional Integration in the Mirror of Public Opinion’, Rebirth: XXI Century, No.4 (Azerbaijan Institute of State Building and International Relations, 2000, co-author); Formation of the Culture of Interethnic Relations (Baku: Knowledge Publishing house, 1989).

Dr Hovhannes J Grigoryan is the Head of the Institute for Political and Sociological Consulting (IPSC), ARMENIA. He studied Sociology in Yerevan, Moscow and Frankfurt, worked in applied sociology, monitoring, marketing, and project management for 10 years, and has been teaching theoretical sociology and social survey methodology for 9 years. Hovhannes is highly experienced in organization and management, report writing and consulting. At IPSC, Dr Grigoryan directed multiple projects on politics, education, marketing, health care, business development, telecom, and HR. His recent publications include: ‘Interrelations of Georgians and Armenians in social space’ (with S. Manukyan), 21 Vek, 2(31), 2014; ‘Attitudes of Armenian Society to Eurasian and European integration (with S. Manukyan et al), Sociological Research, Integration and Development (Yerevan, 2013); ‘Management of integration processes in the Armenian society’ (with S.Manukyan), Soyuzinfo (Yerevan, 2014)

Professor Alexander Gasparishvili is Director of the Centre for Sociological Studies, Moscow State University (MSU), a highly reputable research unit known nationally and internationally for its extensive research capacity and knowledge transfer in social, economic, political and cultural fields of study. In its research CSR-MSU utilizes a wide range of methods and has the capacity to run nation-wide representative surveys across the Russian Federation, hosting an extensive regional network across 73 regions. CSR-MSU has extensive experience of large-scale research having participated in a number of international research projects funded by the EU Framework Programmes (HITT; ENRI-East; LLH; EU INTAS), European Scientific Foundation, National Science Foundation (USA), Ford Foundation, Carnegie Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Netherlands Economic Institution, Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, and World Bank.  CSR-MSU is also an inter-disciplinary organisation being home to leading scholars in the fields of politics, sociology, social psychology, political economy, international relations and cultural studies. With specialist knowledge of the EaP region, EU-Russia relations, domestic and Eurasian politics, their recent publications include ‘The Dynamics of Changes of Public Sentiments in Russia’ (2013); ‘EU-Russia relations, in the context of the neighbourhood’, in E. Korosteleva (ed.) Eastern Partnership: a new opportunity for the neighbours? (Routledge, 2011); and ‘The Evolution of Ethnic and State Identity in Mass Consciousness in Contemporary Russia’ (2009).