On 19 September 2024, the 6th Profeedback Evaluation Conference took place in Athens, organized by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. The theme of the event was “Business Development, SMEs, Entrepreneurship, and Competitiveness.” The aim of the Profeedback project (PlatfoRm Of policy Evaluation community for improvED EU policies and Better ACKnowledgement) is to provide networking opportunities within the EU-wide policy evaluation community, raise awareness of the importance of policy evaluation research, and improve its impact on policy making. Against this backdrop, the Athens conference offered an opportunity for further networking and professional dialogue.
The one-day event was opened by Stelios Kotsios, President of the Department of Economics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and Gábor Balás, Head of the PROFEEDBACK project. Following the opening remarks, participants attended a panel discussion featuring Tassos Giannitsis (Professor Emeritus Economics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) and David Audretsch (Professor at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, Director of SPEA’s Institute for Development Strategies), which was followed by five plenary presentations. The topics of the presentations focused on evaluating the effectiveness of requalification programs and innovation strategies, particularly using advanced methods like double machine learning and embedded monitoring tools. They also explored entrepreneurial intentions in Central and Eastern Europe, including how education systems integrate entrepreneurial competencies and how events like techno fairs influence entrepreneurial motivation.
In the second half of the day, participants continued their work in four sessions covering topics like Competitiveness & Innovation, Entrepreneurship and public policy, Youth & Women Entrepreneurship, as well as Social aspects of entrepreneurship. In the second session, titled “Entrepreneurship and public policy,” Tamás Szabó from the HÉTFA Research Institute presented his paper “Evaluating the Economic Impact of Improved Accessibility: An Analysis of Effective Density and Firm-Level Productivity in Budapest”.
The conference was held in a hybrid format, allowing people from anywhere to join the presentations and discussions. A total of 13 abstracts were presented at the conference, and a ProfeedBOOK will soon be published on the official PROFEEDBACK project website.
More conferences will be held in the future as part of the PROFEEDBACK project. Find out more about these events on the official PROFEEDBACK website, for all information regarding upcoming activities.