Study on “Countering local state capture: Best practices in protecting local governance systems from systemic corruption”
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Date:
28 Nov 2025 - 27 Apr 2026
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Financed by:
The European Committee of the Regions
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Izabela Marcinkowska
Labour market and social policy Director
Dr. Marcinkowska's areas of expertise include the labor market, social policy, and employment. As President of the Management Board, Dr. Marcinkowska is responsible for managing all research and projects in the areas of demography, labor, and social policy, overseeing CASE’s financial administration, and spearheading new business development activities. Dr. Marcinkowska has been cooperating with CASE since 2005, and has participated in numerous Polish and international technical assistance and research projects, including the multi-year MOPACT (Mobilizing the Potential of Active Ageing in Europe) Project, funded by the European Commission’s DG on Research and Innovation; NEUJOBS – Employment 2025: How will multiple transitions affect the European labor market, also funded by the European Commission’s DG on Research and Innovation; the Study on the effects and incidence of labor taxation, funded by the European Commission’s DG on Taxation and Customs Union, and Assessing Needs of Care in European Nations (ANCIEN), funded by the European Commission’s Health Cooperation Program. Dr. Marcinkowska obtained her PhD in Economic Science on Informal Employment from the University of Turin. She holds an MA in Economics from the University of Warsaw and an MA in Economics from CORIPE Piemonte in Turin. She has published extensively in the fields of labor economics, social policy, and health economics.
Projects from this author:
- In-depth analysis on ‘Just transition in the world of work’
- Study on ‘EU school scheme from the regional and local perspective: enhancing impact, alignment, and integration into food strategies’
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Methodologies for Teamworking in Eco-Outwards Research (METEOR)
Key words: doctoral education, transversal skills, sustainable development, On December 1st, the METEOR project started, funded under the Horizon program. The project, led by CASE and implemented with the participation of 11 other partner organizations and one associated partner from Brazil, will last 36 months. The overall aim of METEOR is to improve the transversal skills of current postgraduates and early career researchers, with consequent benefits to research ecosystems, in line with Open Science and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and focused on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. METEOR emphasizes the capacity to collaborate, work in groups and to develop international transdisciplinary projects oriented towards societal challenges and doctoral employment opportunities. METEOR has 6 specific objectives (SO) corresponding to its work package structure: SO1: Effective Management (WP1). SO2: Collect, analyse and report evidence supporting the need for an innovative doctoral training program (WP2). SO3: Develop a comprehensive transversal skills training program comprising a suite of 10 online training resources, using participatory methodologies co-created with the PhDs, ECRs, institutions and researchers, to enhance the skills specified in the Call (WP3). SO4: Implement the resources from WP3 and related activities in online and in-person delivery mode, with online and F2F events, and Peer Mentoring Groups consisting of 4-6 researchers collaborating for 15 months, with a target of 300 +/- individuals in 50 groups, preparing 50+ proposals based on UN SDGs and focused on impact (WP4). SO5: Create policy and exploitation routes for increasing the scope of doctoral training at local and national levels (WP5). SO6: Communicate and disseminate METEOR activities and results to a wider audience and ensure project’s continuity beyond the funded period (WP6). METEOR activities will benefit doctoral candidates (employment prospects/ earnings), institutions (recruiting PhD candidates, better supervision, more impactful research), industry/public sector (employees with high level research and transversal skills) and society generally (more research focused on challenges). Grant: This project has received funding from Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) call: HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01 under grant agreement No 101178320 — METEOR. Project leader: CASE - CENTRUM ANALIZ SPOLECZNO- EKONOMICZNYCH- FUNDACJA NAUKOWA (CASE) Partners: NORD UNIVERSITET (NU), THE OPEN UNIVERSITY (OU), UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI VERONA, (UNIVR), EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY - CYPRUS LTD (EUC), JYVASKYLAN YLIOPISTO (JYU), KASTAMONU UNIVERSITESI (KU), ILIA STATE UNIVERSITY (ISU), CEEI BURGOS (ES), HACETTEPE UNIVERSITESI (HU), ROSKILDE UNIVERSITET (RUC), SYNYO GmbH (SYNYO), State University of Bahia (UNEB, associated partner)
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Agnieszka Kulesa
Lead Social Sciences Researcher
Dr Agnieszka Kulesa is the Lead Social Sciences Researcher at CASE. She supports business development and oversees and contributes to research and analytical projects. Having joined CASE in 2018 as an economist, she served as Vice-President of the Management Board from 2021 to 2024. Agnieszka has authored or co-authored numerous publications, including peer-reviewed articles and reports for European institutions such as the European Commission (EC), the European Parliament (EP), the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).
Projects from this author:
- Study on ‘The local and regional dimension of the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans’
- Barriers faced by migrant workers coming to Poland from other EU countries
- Capacity building for local and regional authorities in the light of the Ukraine Facility (Pillar III)
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Katsiaryna Kasykh
Project Manager
Katsiaryna Kasykh is an experienced project and program and manager with over 18 years of expertise, specializing in territorial and cross-border cooperation program and project management, territorial marketing, ecology, sustainable development, area-based development, and humanitarian aid projects. She has successfully implemented numerous social and humanitarian projects, combining her skills in strategic planning and management with a deep commitment to fostering collaboration across regions. Ms. Kasykh holds a MA degree in Management and Economics from Brest State Technical University and a postgraduate diploma in Customs Law from Belarusian State University. For over 15 years she was on managerial position in NGO Sector in Belarus. Her professional background includes leading roles in designing and managing large-scale initiatives funded by local and international donors (incl. EU, UN,UNDP, UNHCR,USAID), with a focus on environmental issues, sustainable development, and community-led projects. Additionally, Ms. Kasykh has extensive expertise in Eastern Partnership programs, working on cross-border cooperation strategies and contributing to regional development initiatives. Her work in developing regional development strategies, overseeing cross-border cooperation programs, and delivering impactful area-based development projects demonstrates her ability to create solutions that address complex regional challenges while promoting ecological and social sustainability.
Projects from this author:
- Project mBank-CASE
- Study on ‘The local and regional dimension of the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans’
- Study on “The role of local and regional authorities and decentralised cooperation in fragile settings: building on the Nicosia Initiative in Libya”
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