MENTOR CRITIQUE FORM

Your thoughtful and honest appraisal will be most helpful. We appreciate your input and will try to implement as many of your ideas as possible. Continue comments on the back if necessary.

The IPF program pairs each Fellow with one or two mentors who are Soros foundations network-affiliated (usually Open Society Institute and Central European University), as well as one 'external' mentor who is an expert in the field working outside the Soros foundations network. Mentors should: 1) Work with Fellows to devise a brief policy paper in their field(s) of expertise based on a lengthy research paper written over the course of the fellowship year, 2) Maintain contact with Fellows at least once every six weeks or so by telephone, fax or e-mail to discuss the development of projects, 3) If feasible, meet with Fellows at least once during the fellowship year to discuss the project, 4) Facilitate Fellows' contact with other relevant experts and participation in appropriate meetings (IPF has discretionary funds to support Fellow attendance at relevant events), 5) Complete brief mid-term and final critique forms supplied by IPF to provide the program with feedback regarding the Fellow's progress.

Your name, position:

András Tóth, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Political Sciences Budapest, Centre for European Employment Studies

Name of Fellow you have assisted:

Sabina Avdagic
 

1. What, in your opinion, have you and your Fellow/program/project gained from your cooperation thus far?

Sabina Avdagic has made an important progress in her project on the 'Social Dialogue and the European Union Accession'.  She carefully considered the proposals she got from her mentors.  Having carefully read her policy paper, it is abundantly clear that she was able to translate the theoretical concepts and conceptual ideas of the relevant literature into practical, useful, and applicable policy proposals concerning developing meaningful social dialogue in applicant countries to suit the European style social dialogue oriented environment. I personally also learnt a lot from her project. I already used some of her ideas in a report, written together with László Neumann, on setting up European style sectoral level bipartite social dialogue forums in Hungary in a framework of a PHARE project. I will also use her report in the forthcoming CEU SUN course on 'Market Making and Industrial Relations in Europe', prepared together with Laszlo Bruszt.
 

2. Do certain areas of this Fellow's work need improvement? Which areas?

The thorough work of the fellow concentrated on the current problems of social partners, the quality of social dialogue in candidate countries and the role of EU programs in forming the framework for social dialogue. This is a necessary and very useful work, which certainly helps social partners to be aware of the possibilities of meaningful social dialogue.  Nonetheless, according to my experiences, social partners in candidate countries are not fully aware of the importance of social dialogue in creating a regulative environment due to the authorizations resulting from directives of the European Council and various initiations of the Commission of the European Community. I strongly suggest if the fellow would be given a chance to continue her project, she should definitely look at these European level regulations in order to suggest possible issues for concluding agreements by social partners in the future to be European Union member states.
 

3. In your opinion, does your Fellow's project make a significant contribution to the field?

YES - NO

The policy paper of the fellow is an important contribution. Moreover, it is publishable in its present form in a policy oriented journal, like the South East Europe Review - of which I am an editorial board member -, published by the Hans Böckler Stiftung (Nomos Verlag, Baden-Baden). The CPS might use her project to establish a closer cooperation with other relevant policy institutions active in the region, like the above mentioned Hans Böckler Stiftung, Otto Brenner Stiftung or Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in order to disseminate the results of the project and organize a workshop or round table with union activists on the issues discussed in the report.
 

4. Would the project be important to other countries in the CEE/fSU region?

YES - NO

Yes, social dialogue widely practiced not only in the European area, but also in other industrial countries and promoted by a number of other international bodies all over the world, like ILO or OECD.
 

5. Could the proposed policy research make an impact on the policy environment in specific countries or regions? (Policy makers, experts and policy research community)

YES - NO

Yes, it is very important to raise awareness of social dialogue across the region and to highlight the interlinkages between being an advanced market economy and having channels of social dialogue among social partners at all level of the economy.
 

6. Is the timetable for the project realistic?

YES - NO
 

7. Could the project benefit a large number of people?

YES - NO

It is important to note that trade unions, despite their membership losses, are the most important representative mass bodies in the region, while employers' organisations are representing majority of employees in each candidate countries.
 

8. Does the Fellow show evidence that he/she can think strategically about the relevant project and/or field?

YES - NO
 

9. If the Fellow were to re-apply for continued OSI funding for follow-up work associated with the project, would you support continued funding?

YES - NO
 

10. Are there other appropriate funders that may support the project?

YES – NO

See question 3.
 

Recommendations for other potential senior contacts for this Fellow:

László Neumann, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Labour Research, Budapest, Hungary,

Dr. Mark Pittaway, Lecturer, European Studies Department, Faculty of Art, Open University, London, UK.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Additional Comments (Please comment on your Fellow's work and all aspects of the IPF program using the back of this sheet):