Conference: Economic Research and Capacity Building
Thursday, September 12, 2024, 09:15 – 13:00
Artcor, Chisinau, Moldova
On Thursday, September 12, the Forum for Research on Eastern Europe and Emerging Economies (FREE Network), together with the Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies (BICEPS) and the Stockholm Institute for Transition Economics (SITE), will organize a half-day conference dedicated to economic research and capacity building. Drawing on the FREE Network's experience, the conference will focus on how capacity building and research can facilitate the transformation of societies, particularly within the Moldovan context, on the path towards EU accession.
This year’s FREE Network retreat will take place in Chisinau at Artcor, Strada 31 August 1989, no. 137, Chisinau.
The conference is an integral part of the retreat and is open to external participants with an interest in the topic, particularly policymakers, academics, and think tank representatives. It will give SITE and the FREE Network members from Belarus (in exile), Georgia, Latvia, Poland and Ukraine an opportunity to share their various experiences, in terms of capacity building, economic research and policy making, with Moldovan stakeholders.
The Conference will have a clear Moldovan focus and aim to initiate a discussion on the need for and interest in local capacity building, research, and policy making.
A light lunch will be served following the Conference. The FREE Network and the Conference are both supported by the Swedish International Development Agency, Sida.
PROGRAMME
09:15 Registration
09.30 Conference Opening
- Torbjörn Becker, Director, Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics
- Jānis Mažeiks, Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova
- Katarina Fried, Ambassador of Sweden to the Republic of Moldova
10:00 Research and Capacity Building – the Moldovan perspective
- Doina Nistor, Chief of Party, Moldova Future Technologies Activity
- Adrian Lupușor, Executive Director, Independent Analytical Center Expert-Grup
- Kálmán Mizsei, EU Adviser to the Government of Moldova
10:50 Research and Capacity Building: The FREE Network Experience
- Tamar Sulukhia (ISET, Georgia): Capacity building and brain gain
- Dzmitry Kruk (BEROC, Belarus – in exile): Development of a new academic programme
- Marija Krūmiņa (BICEPS, Latvia): Research and policy impact
- Michal Myck (CenEA, Poland): Network building and the FROGEE experience
- Julius Andersson (SITE, Sweden): Network building and the FREECE experience
11:30 Initiatives and the Road Ahead
- Alic Birca, National Institute for Economic Research
- Mihnea Constantinescu, Advisor to the Governor National Bank of Moldova
- Misha Zeldin-Gipsman, the Moldova School of Economics Initiative
12:10 Concluding Comments
- Torbjörn Becker, Director, SITE
- Kata Fredheim, Associate Professor, Stockholm School of Economics in Riga and BICEPS
12:20 Lunch and Networking
The Conference is moderated by Kata Fredheim
SITE and the FREE Network:
Since its foundation in 1989, SITE has been at the forefront of economic research and policy development in transition economies, playing a crucial role in establishing independent think tanks and academic institutions in Belarus, Georgia, Latvia, Poland, Russia and Ukraine. These research institutes collectively established the FREE Network which will have its annual retreat in Chisinau in September.
