GOVERNANCE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CENTRE (GOSDEC)

ADMINISTRATION

The Centre’s Governing Board consists of:

a) Professor Panagiotis Tsiris, Director
b) Professor Ioannis Vavouras, Vice-Director
c) Associate Professor Vassilis Kefis
d) Associate Professor Meletis Moustakas
e) PhD Candidate Maria-Eleni Syrmali as members.

AIMS

The Governance and Sustainable Development Center (GOSDEC), which operates as an integral part of Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, is committed to advancing high quality research activity and to address, explore and solve contemporary problems of Public Administration with particular emphasis on the emerging research fields of governance and sustainability. The research interests of the Centre are based on the application of a range of expertise to the practical problems of the wider public as well as the private sector and to further a common focus on aspects of coordination, recruiting and functioning of the state.

The Centre serves as an incubator for interdisciplinary research initiatives and is geared at building effective collaborations and networking with institutes from around the world. A focal point of the Centre’s mission is to conduct international collaborative research and to engage in a number of high profile international research networks. It also aims to further expand its contacts with university departments and research institutions with high institutional standing in related research fields.

The Centre encourages multidisciplinarity and aims to build effective links between academic research and the world of practical development interventions. The establishment of the Centre emerged out of a recognized need for an institution that would give a distinct shape to the realization of social, economic, institutional reforms at the national and the global level. Among the Centre’s objectives is to undertake extensive independent consultancy work to state agencies and develop methods of policy evaluation with which to examine the effects of policy reform on economic outcomes. The Centre also conducts conferences and workshops pertaining to its disciplines.

The primary objectives of GOSDEC, concerned with the implications of governance and sustainability are to:

• Foster inter-disciplinary research and disseminate information relating to political, cultural, constitutional, economic and technological environment.
• Raise awareness on human rights by giving a clear applied flavour to different theories.
• Encourage stronger links between academic research and practical development interventions concerning external policy and international relations.
• Conduct educational seminars for purposes of further training the executives of the public sector.
• Promote research and disseminate knowledge relating to the disfunctions of public administration.
• Formulate policies responding to the practical problems of the public sector and the independent agencies.
• Study issues related to local government and regional development within an international, european, national and local framework.
• Provide a european perspective on public policy initiatives related to political governance and sustainability through cross-country and comparative policy research.
• Put sustainable development and corporate environmental responsibility at the forefront of the academic research.
• Gain a better understanding of public sector reform processes.
• Propose new and innovative policy guidelines concerned with the protection of the environment, use of natural and energetic resources, collaboration between public and private sector, health, employment, social cohesion and research.
• Take a broad approach to corporate governance.
• Disseminate knowledge for the prevention of any major unpredictable event that threaten to harm the organization, its stakeholders, or the general public (crisis management).
• Disseminate knowledge for the prevention against conflict among employees in firms and organizations (conflict management).
• Publish a scientific journal, working papers, conference reports and collective volumes in order to shape debate and discussion concerning with all the above  critical issues.
• To conduct conferences and workshops pertaining to the disciplines of the Centre.

RESEARCH STAFF

The staff attached to the Centre belongs to one of the following categories:

a) Associate researchers. Academic staff of Panteion University, other Greek universities and distinguished international academic institutions, staff of recognized research institutions, qualified researchers or engaged in a number of high profile international research centres, senior or more recent PhDs pecialized in related research topics and public or private sector experts committed to excellent standards of research. Associate researchers bear part of the responsibility of the final outcome of the research projects.

b) Fellow researchers. Senior or more recent PhDs, PhD candidates and reserchers possessing MSc degree with related to the specific project academic studies, as well as public or private sector executives with extensive relevant to the specific project research experience. Fellow researchers bear part of  the responsibility for the completion of the final outcome of the research projects.

c) Research assistants. Undergraduate or graduate students, either domestic or international, undertaking studies related to the specific research project. They assist the Scientific Coordinator of each research project and the associated researchers.