Greta has over 5 years of professional experience in coordinating elements of research and evaluation projects at EU and national levels: designing methodological tools and applying them; analysing and synthesising collected data; running prospective analysis and formulating evidence-based recommendations for policy makers; drafting reports and proposals. Her current thematic focus has been on school education and social inclusion policies.
At PPMI, Greta has been involved in a number of projects covering education, lifelong learning, labour market and EU structural assistance contracted by the European Commission, Cedefop, Eurofound and national bodies. Currently, Greta belongs to the core team finalising a Study on Supporting Innovation in European Schools (DG EAC, 2015-2017). Recently she has also worked as an expert creating the National Roadmap for Making Transition from Institutional to Family-based Care for Children in Lithuania (2020) for the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour of Lithuania.
Outside PPMI, Greta gained valuable policy analysis and research experience in the areas of social inclusion & employment policies at the European Commission (DG EMPL), child poverty, early education & care and de-institutionalisation at the European NGOs network for children’s rights and well-being (Eurochild), and migration health issues at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM – UN Migration Agency).
Key areas of expertise
- Policy areas: school education, employment and social policies, de-institutionalisation, migration
- Methods: quantitative and qualitative data collection (surveys, in-depth & semi-structured interviews, focus groups, case studies, desk-based research with administrative/monitoring/secondary data), data analysis (using SPSS, STATA, Nvivo, HLM, UCINET) and data visualisation (VENNGAGE)
- Project management: day-to-day communication with national experts in different countries, contract preparation and management, experience in international proposal writing
Education
- MSc in Social Policy Analysis (Summa Cum Laude), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, 2013
- BA in Political Science, Vilnius University, Lithuania, 2011
- Erasmus Exchange at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary, 2009-2010
Selected projects
Transition from Institutional to Family-based Care for Children in Lithuania: Creating the National Roadmap for Change and Advising the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of Lithuania, 2017
Study on Supporting Innovation in European Schools (European Commission, DG EAC, 2015-2017)
Study How Initial Teacher Education Prepares Student Teachers to Deal with Diversity in the Classroom (European Commission, DG EAC, 2015-2016)
NESET: Network of experts on social aspects of education and training (European Commission, DG Education and Culture, 2015)
Sustainable work throughout the life course: national policies and strategies (Eurofound, 2014-2015)
Second evaluation of Europass (European Commission, DG Education and Culture, 2012-2013)
Mid-term evaluation of FP7 Marie Curie Actions (European Commission, DG Education and Culture, 2011-2012)
Growth and employment: anticipating and managing the effects of greening of industries in the EU (Eurofound, 2011-2012)
Interim evaluation of Erasmus Mundus II (2009-2013) (European Commission, DG Education and Culture, 2011)
Evaluation of the quality, efficiency and sustainability of the applied research and studies in the 2007-2013 programming period (Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania, 2011)
Interim evaluation of the Lifelong Learning Programme (2007-2009) (European Commission, DG Education and Culture, 2010)
Forecasting skills supply and demand in Europe (Cedefop, 2009-2011)
Improvement of the results-based management (VORT-3): preparation of the ex-post impact assessment methodology and implementation of ‘Ex-post impact assessment of the Children’s Maintenance Fund Law’ (Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania, 2010)
Selected publications
Budginaitė, I., Siarova, H., Sternadel, D., Mackonytė, G., Spurga, S., ‘Policies and practices for more equality and inclusion in and through education: Evidence and policy guidance from European research projects funded under FP6 and FP7’, NESET report, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2016. doi: 10.2766/300891.
G. Mackonyte, C. Lomos & W. van Oorschot, ‘Perceived Magnitude of Unemployment: a Dark Horse in the Literature on Public Attitudes towards Governmental Responsibilities to the Unemployed?’, Baltic Journal of Political Science, December 2014.
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