I am senior lecturer and director of the MPA programme at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS London campus). I am also honorary senior lecturer at the University of Exeter, United Kingdom, and research fellow at the Public Governance Institute at KU Leuven, Belgium. In 2020-2021 I held the chair André Molitor Professor on political, administrative and international reforms in the Scool of Social and Political Sciences (PSAD) at UC Louvain, Belgium. As former civil servant and political adviser I have hands-on practical experience in strategic planning, policy formulation, analysis, implementation and monitoring, management of large national and international policy projects, government inter-executive coordination, legislative politics, public administration management and mobilization, EU & international organizations negotiation.

My research crosses the boundaries of comparative politics, public policy and administration, it is multi-method and for its most part internationally comparative. Here are my active research lines

Executive Triangle

I study executive politicians, top civil servants, and ministerial advisers (‘the executive triangle’) from an internationally comparative perspective. 

I currently represent the UK in the Management Committee of the EU Cost-Action Project CA22150 – Comparative Research on the Executive Triangle in Europe (CoREx) and also lead Working Group 4 on Accountability and Transparency in Executive Triangle in Europe. Action CA22150 - COST.

I am also partner to the international Scientific Research Network: The Executive Triangle: politicians, ministerial advisers, and senior civil servants, which is led by the KU Leuven Public Governance Institute and funded by the Research Organisation Flanders (FWO) FWO Scientific Research Network — Public Governance Institute

Political advisers 

I study political advisers, also known as special advisers, political staffers, or ministerial advisers. My research centres on how they influence politics and policy, as well as on issues of transparency, accountability and integrity (scandals and misconduct). I am currently authoring a monograph provisionally titled 'Political Advisers in Modern Democracies: Dark Masters?' to be published by Edward-Elgar.

Parliamentary elites

I study the circulation of legislators in parliaments, also known as legislative or parliamentary turnover. My research originally focused on Western Europe and was part of my PhD Doctoral research: Determinants of Parliamentary Turnover in Western Europe (2014-2017) — Public Governance Institute It has now expanded to cover most legislatures around the world.  

Policy advice, knowledge utilization, advisory systems

I study policy advice and its utilization, as well as policy advisory systems. I have been involved as an invited expert in working group 4 'The policy advisory roles of political scientists in Europe', in the Cost Action project Professionalization and Social Impact of European Political Science, which is now closed. CA15207 - COST. The research line remains active.

Environmental policy implementation

I have recently started to study the implementation of environmental policy in European Union member states.