The Research Network covers policy themes such as employment and job creation, skill mismatches, education and vocational training, health reforms, pension reforms, poverty and social protection, urban conditions and social housing, social entrepreneurship, ethnic minorities and Roma inclusion, decentralisation and spatial inequalities, all with a focus on providing original and relevant research evidence to support effective policy responses to the worsening social situation.
If you are interested to apply to join the Research Network, please fill out the Membership Form and forward it to the LSEE administrator at: EI.LSEE@lse.ac.uk.
The Research Network has been supported by DG Enlargement and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. It builds on collaborative activities carried out with the Regional Cooperation Council(RCC) in Sarajevo through engagement with the Council's Social Agenda for the Western Balkans. Collaboration with the RCC was formalised at a ceremony in Sarajevo at which LSEE Chair, Professor Kevin Featherstone, signed a Memorandum of Understanding between LSEE and the RCC and delivered a public lecture on "Images, meanings, and legitimation: Is the European story changing?" The LSEE Research Network seeks to develop and extend collaborations with scholars in the field of social policy and social inclusion in all the countries of South East Europe.
Members of the network include leading researchers with expertise in social issues from the region and elsewhere in Europe as well as researchers at LSEE. A full list of members will be available soon.
Research Network Activities - Events & Publications
Our members participate in a wide variety of activities that take place both in the region and in other countries throughout Europe. Network members are busy researching topics that contribute to promoting social cohesion throughout the region, and are divided into four main working groups: labour markets, education systems, social protection and decentralisation, all with a focus on providing original research evidence for policy makers to develop effective policy responses.
5th Conference of the LSEE Research Network on Social Cohesion in South East Europe: ''Economic and social inclusion in an age of political uncertainty in South East Europe''
Belgrade, 21-22 November 2019
Organised by LSEE - Research on South Eastern Europe and EBRD
Find out more
4th Conference of LSEE's Research Network on Social Cohesion in South Eastern Europe: "Social Cohesion and Economic Governance"
Date: Thursday and Friday, 6-7 April 2017 | Holiday Inn Hotel, Skopje, Macedonia
Organised by LSEE - Research on South Eastern Europe, National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia (NBRM) and University American College Skopje (UACS), with the support of the European University of Tirana
Conference Programme
Third Conference of LSEE's Research Network on Social Cohesion in South East Europe: "Barriers to Inclusive Growth in the Western Balkans"
Date: 21-22 September 2015
Hosted by Dr Will Bartlett, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSEE; Dr Vassilis Monastiriotis, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSEE
Workshop Programme
LSEE Research Network on Social Cohesion Regional Workshop: Vocational Educational Training and Inclusive Education in the Western Balkans
Date: Friday, 30 May 2014 | Skopje, Macedonia
The workshop was organised in conjunction with the University American College Skopje
Workshop Programme
Second Conference of LSEE's Research Network on Social Cohesion in South East Europe: "Post-crisis Recovery in South Eastern Europe: Policy Challenges for Social and Economic Inclusion"
Date: Thursday & Friday, 27-28 March 2014
The second conference of the LSEE Research Network was held at LSE in March 2014 on the theme of social cohesion in South East Europe. The conference gathered together experts from Albania, Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Italy, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, LSEE researchers, and officials from partner organisations including the DG for Enlargement, ERSTE Foundation, Regional Cooperation Council and Regional Research Promotion Programme Western Balkans.
On 27 March 2014, the first day of the conference, a DG Enlargement Panel debate was organised in partnership with the Directorate-General for Enlargement of the European Commission on the topic of "Social protection actions within the IPA programme".
Conference Programme | Conference Report
EC & IFI Social Sector Workshop
Date: Thursday, 23 October 2012
See the presentation
Members of the research network attended a workshop in Brussels on the social sector organized by the European Commission/IFI Coordination Unit. Dr Nikica Mojsoska-Blazevski from the University American College in Skopje, gave a presentation titled 'Challenges to Successful Employment Policy in the Region: towards more jobs, quality labour force and greater competitiveness'.
Workshop: Skills and the Labour Market in the Western Balkans
Date: Friday, 11 May 2012
Announcement | Programme | Report | Book
The event was organized in collaboration with FREN (Foundation for the Advancement of Economics) at the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade, Serbia.
The workshop gathered the latest research on imbalances between labour demand and supply in the Western Balkans region with special analysis of skills mismatch. It debated ways to improve labour market outcomes, vocational education and training systems, and skill matching policies in context of the difficult adjustment to the global economic crisis and the need to improve economic competitiveness on the basis of European integration.
As a result of this conference, a book was published by FREN and LSEE in October 2012, titled Labour Market and Skills in the Western Balkans. It includes chapters from experts from both South Eastern Europe and the UK.
First Conference of the LSEE Research Network on Social Cohesion in SEE: The Social Consequences of the Global Economic Crisis in South Eastern Europe
Date: Wednesday 14 & Thursday 15, December 2011
Programme | Report | Book Publication (edited by Drs Will Bartlett & Milica Uvalić)
The conference gathered together experts from Albania, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, LSEE researchers, and officials from partner organisations including the IFI Coordination Office in Brussels, DG Employment and Social Affairs, DG Enlargement. The conference was organised with the generous support of DG Enlargement and the IFI Coordination Office in Brussels.
A book has been published by LSEE, including chapters by members of the research network entitled The Social Consequences of the Global Economic Crisis in South East Europe, edited by Drs Will Bartlett and Milica Uvalić.