Public management and governance

Egidijus has more than 20 years’ experience in conducting policy-relevant studies and evaluations, and providing advice to decision makers. His main field of expertise is the digitalisation of public administration, industries and labour markets. He has a strong track record of working with and leading multinational teams of experts. He has worked for a variety of national and international clients at various levels of government: municipal authorities, national ministries, the European Commission and EU agencies. Egidijus conducts training on public policy analysis, and is a lecturer at Vilnius University and author of numerous publications.

Haroldas has more than 20 years’ experience in leading and coordinating complex assignments that deal with the development, management, monitoring and evaluation of public policy interventions – particularly those co-financed by the European Union. He has accumulated in-depth knowledge and proficiency in the development and practical application of research methodologies and tools, managing large-scale, pan-European empirical research, and making use of advanced approaches to data mining and analysis. Haroldas also has extensive experience in providing technical assistance to  both EU institutions and  authorities in Member States, especially in the design of management and control and monitoring systems, as well as the management, simplification and reporting of a variety of public interventions and programmes under both centralised and shared management. He has an in-depth understanding of the latest trends in performance management, applicable EU and national rules and regulations (state aid, public procurement, etc.); and actively trains public sector managers on all the aforementioned issues.

Mantas Budraitis has over 14 years of experience in conducting and managing research projects and supporting policy implementation, mainly at EU level. His passion lies in empowering decisions that shape effective and impactful policies, particularly in the areas of higher education and research & innovation. His expertise also extends to other policy areas as he specialises in the development, feasibility assessment and refinement of simplified grants, Simplified Cost Options (SCOs) and other results-based tools for EU programmes and the European Structural and Investment Funds.

Rimantas has worked as a public policy researcher, evaluator and public management consultant since 2001. His fields of expertise include education and training, social inclusion, labour market policies and good governance. Rimantas is an experienced manager with a strong track record of working with and leading multinational teams of experts and researchers. He has worked for a variety of public sector clients including national authorities, the European Commission, the EU and UN agencies. Most of Rimantas’ assignments have been within the EU, but many have also focused on EU candidate and neighbourhood countries, as well as other countries undergoing social and economic transformations.

Vitalis has been a partner in PPMI since 2003. He currently holds the position of Director of Research and Policy Advice. His main responsibility at PPMI is in evaluation and policy analysis, public administration and governance. Vitalis has around 20 years of research experience, with around 15 years’ experience in evaluations and studies conducted for EU institutions, agencies and other public authorities. He has been involved in more than 60 PPMI projects, and has been team leader in around 30 of them.

Vitalis is also employed as a professor in public administration at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science of Vilnius University, where he researches and teaches public administration and public policy. He is involved in the activities of various government commissions and working groups.

Ieva joined PPMI in 2019 after completing her PhD in Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute in Florence. She has contributed to numerous studies in the areas of education, social, youth and regional policy for the European Commission and currently specialises in European higher education policy. With her strong academic background, Ieva is an expert in developing tailored qualitative and quantitative study methodologies and executing complex research assignments. She is also a researcher and lecturer in EU politics and policies at Vilnius university.

Ieva Petraite is a Research Manager at PPMI, specialising in the assessment of public governance and evaluation. Since joining PPMI in November 2022, she has overseen a diverse portfolio of research projects, focusing on evaluating the performance of EU institutions and programmes, as well as enhancing the capacity of public administrations. Her expertise includes in-depth knowledge of governance structures and the dynamics of multi-level collaboration to achieve policy objectives, and ensure policy learning. Ieva is proficient in a wide range of research methodologies, ensuring seamless integration of different elements to deliver strategic insights. Before joining PPMI, she contributed to studies and evaluations on public administration, governance, and foresight for the Lithuanian Government. Ieva received a Master of Science degree in European Affairs from Lund University and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science.