About Oxford XXI

Our Team

Christopher Nurse, Director

An Oxford XXI co-founder, Christopher Nurse studied law at Oxford University prior to joining the London practice of accountants Price Waterhouse where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Christopher undertook a wide range of assignments in many different economic and industrial sectors, including restructuring, a secondment to Government to assess the effectiveness of Government economic assistance to businesses in need, and various accounting and consulting projects where he specialised in natural resources industries. In 1989 Christopher Nurse set up his own independent Consultancy Practice where he has co-ordinated legal and financial aspects of due diligence work for investment, worked on a large number of major restructuring, mining law reform projects, legal and privatisation studies and technical assistance programs involving changing law and regulation to strengthen effectiveness. Christopher Nurse is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Dr. Lyudmila Nurse, Director

Team Leader Dr. Lyudmila Nurse, a co-founder of Oxford XXI, is a professional sociologist with more than 20 years of experience in sociological research in social institutions, generational and cohort studies, social monitoring, social analysis and evaluation in Russia and Eastern European countries. Dr. Nurse's experience includes 13 years of social research relating to the countries affected by economic and social restructuring. She has extensive experience in methodology of international, national and regional comparative and longitudinal studies, social and economic monitoring. Lyudmila has extensive consultancy experience with social mitigation, social monitoring and evaluation, human resources and social policy projects in EU new member states and accession countries (Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Estonia) and countries of CIS countries (Kazakhstan, Russia, Georgia, Ukraine). Between 1982 and 1992 Lyudmila Nurse was involved in National (All-union) longitudinal study of the secondary schools leavers "Paths of Generation" (included countries: Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine as a principal researcher in two regions (Kurgan and Tula) and in 1987-1990 as the Secretary-coordinator of the research project.

Professor Claire Wallace
Scientific Advisory Panel

Claire Wallace is President of the European Sociological Association. After graduating with first a Bachelors and then a Doctoral degree from the University of Kent, Claire taught at Plymouth and then at Lancaster Universities. During the early 1990s she helped to set up the Sociology Department at the Central European University, Prague before moving to the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna, where I later became Head of Sociology. For the last five years, Claire has been co-ordinating or participating in research projects for the European Commission under the Fifth Framework Programme. These included the project "Households, Work and Flexibility" (2000-2003) "Living Conditions, Lifestyles and Health" (2001-2004), "Orientations of young men and women to European Citizenship and Identity" (2002-2005)and various INTAS projects. Claire was formerly editor of the international journal "European Societies", official journal of the European Sociological Association. In September 2007 Claire was elected President of the European Sociological Association, based in Paris. At present, Claire is co-ordinating the following projects: INTAS (European Commission) about migration, identity and citizenship on the new European Borderlands to the East , WORKCARE (European Commission Sixth Framework Programme). An international study of the integration of work, care and the implications for the quality of life.

Dr. Christian Haerpfer
Scientific Advisory Panel

Dr. Christian Haerpfer is Reader in Politics at the University of Aberdeen. Research interests are Comparative Politics in Europe, Democratization in Post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe, Electoral Studies, Political Participation, Social Capital and Political Change in Europe, Political Change in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Economic Changes and Democracy. Academic Positions: 2006 - 2008 : Head of Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Aberdeen 2006 - 2007 : Director of Research, School of Social Science, University of Aberdeen 2005 - * : Associate Professor - Reader at the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Aberdeen 1983 - 2004: Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor of Political Science in the University of Vienna, Austria.

Tom Houston
Head of Training & Project Coordinator

A training, e-learning and project coordination specialist, Tom Houston is Head of Training and Administration for Oxford XXI and Hart Group (Hart Resources Ltd) and has extensive experience of building consortia and coordinating international projects. Tom has part-coordinated World Bank, EU and DFID-funded projects including an FP7 pilot study, Romania Social Impact Monitoring and Evaluation, Nigeria NEITI 2005 Financial and Physical Audits and Cameroon 2005 EITI Audits. Tom Houston has developed a range of e-learning tools and resources for public-sector organisations including the UK Government's Skills Sector Councils, the former Department for Trade and Industry, Sustrans Scotland and North Yorkshire County Council. Tom also has extensive private sector experience including designing, developing and delivering training programmes for Nissan, Pioneer, Nomura Holdings, Eli Lilly and Dentsu Advertising and developing e-learning resources for utility companies including Western Power and CE Electric (formerly Northern Electric and Yorkshire Electricity). Tom has an MBA from the Imperial College Business School, University of London, with a specialisation in using new technologies for long distance education.

Dr. Dmitry Pozhidaev

Dr Dmitry Pozhidaev is an experienced team leader in development economics with extensive experience in: public financial management, public sector auditing, research projects funded by the United Nations, IOM, World Bank, Russian Government in Afghanistan, Russia, Serbia, Kosovo, Israel (Palestinian Authority), process assessment and improvement, institution and civil society strengthening, civil affairs, public administration and minimising conflict issues.

Professor Nina Ivashinenko
Senior Researcher

Professor Dr Nina Ivashinenko, Senior Researcher, is an economic scientist and monitoring and evaluation specialist with 18 years of experience of research into population, youth, implementation of social policy involving NGOs and civil society development; social surveys/analysis and statistical information systems, income/savings, poverty reduction policies and targeting issues; methodology and management of qualitative/quantitative surveys & focus groups; author of 78 publications.

Professor Ona Gražina Rakauskienė

Professor Ona Gražina Rakauskienė is Professor of Economics at Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania, and Director of the Institute of Equal Opportunities and Cohesion Economics. Ona has 25 years of experience in research and training in the sphere of social and economical cohesion; universal welfare by reducing social and economic differences, creating equal opportunities, reducing discrimination through the integration of equal social opportunities into economic policy.

Professor Sarah Oates

Professor Sarah Oates, Professor of Political Communication at the University of Glasgow, has extensively researched the relationship between information and democracy and its relation to elections, terrorism and newly emergent patterns of socialization fostered by the internet; published extensively on the role of media in elections; covered elections in Russia and Kazakhstan as media observer.

Professor Barbara Pfetsch

Professor Barbara Pfetsch, Professor of Communications at the Free University Berlin, directs the division of Communication Theories, Media Effects and Media Use. Her research focuses on comparative analyses of political communication cultures, media and the public sphere and media content and effects. Previously she was a principal investigators in EU-funded project ― Europub.com

Prof. Paul Robertson

Prof. Paul Robertson is an international violinist, Director and Founder of the Medici Quartet, UK member of the ECP and Director of the Music Mind Spirit Trust, UK. For thirty-four years Professor Paul Robertson performed throughout the world as leader of the internationally renowned Medici String Quartet, of which he was a founder member. They recorded and broadcast prolifically and appeared at International Festivals across four continents. Paul's continuing interest in exploring the implicit meanings of music has taken many forms over the years. For more than twenty years he has worked alongside leading scientists to explore the neurological and scientific basis of music. This work reached a wide public with his highly acclaimed Channel 4 television series 'Music and the Mind'. Along with his busy concert schedule, he is in constant international demand as a speaker and lecturer at medical, scientific and educational conferences as well as business colloquia. He is a Cultural Leader in the World Economic Forum, and is in regular conversation with business, media and political leaders.

Dr Chika Robertson
Senior Researcher

Dr Robertson is a Director of Music Mind Spirit Trust. With her background as a multiple prize-winner solo violinist, Chika Robertson was awarded fellowships to work with distinguished conductors including Ozawa and Bernstein for prestigious music festivals including Aspen, Tanglewood and the Mozarteum. In 2004 Dr Chika Robertson developed the SongTrees project in the UK as a Music Mind Spirit trust project. The main objectives of the initial SongTrees project were; through sharing musical memories with their parents, grandparents and friends, children gain insight into their cultural identity and create a valuable archive for musical/medical research.