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My Research Philosophy
My research philosophy revolves around integrating interdisciplinary theoretical, methodological and practical frameworks from political science, network science and data science, communication and cultural studies, organizational development, change management and civic tech, to tackle complex societal challenges.
Guided by a strong commitment to ethics, inclusion, and collaborative methods, I harness advanced tools for data analytics and visualization, and real-time monitoring platforms, to provide actionable insights for decision-makers and support evidence-based policies.
My work seeks to empower vulnerable groups, increase transparency, and strengthen public trust. By developing scalable, innovative solutions — from living lab frameworks to civic tech platforms — I ensure local relevance while addressing global challenges.
Ultimately, my goal is to create meaningful, equitable, and lasting change by uniting rigorous scientific inquiry with genuine community engagement.
Google Scholar (COSTNET CA15109)
Mapping Living Lab Networks
The European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) has been a driving force in fostering innovation ecosystems through living labs across Europe. To enhance collaboration, visibility, and strategic growth, we propose a comprehensive network mapping project aimed at capturing the relational, geographical, and thematic dynamics of the ENoLL member living labs, offering profound insights into living lab ecosystems across Europe (and beyond).
Project Partners: Dimitri Schuurman (ENoLL), Teemu Santonen (Laurea University, Finland), Juan Pablo Centeno (KU Leuven)
Meet us at the next International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM) Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, 17-19 Mar 2025.
Transformation through Culture: The Evolving Ecosystem of Culture in Timisoara
In collaboration with the Center for Projects Timisoara, I am analyzing the evolution of the ecosystem of partnerships under the Timisoara European Captiral of Culture title, the period 2017-2024. The ambition is to develop a comprehensive set of methodologies to measure social transformations through cultural interventions at the scale of European Capitals of Culture.
INTACT Living Lab: INtegrity and TrAnsparency Civic Tech Living Lab
Enabling municipalities, public bodies, and organizations to make data-driven decisions that curb corruption, increase procurement efficiency, and foster a culture of integrity using scalable, AI-driven technologies, network and data analysis, and data visualization tools.
The project had initial partner support from West University of Timisoara, Romania, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa - NOVA Information Management School, Portugal, Association Smart City Timisoara, Romania, the Regional Government of Flanders (Vlaamse Gewest), Belgium, Municipality of Timisoara, Romanian, and Central Alentejo Intermunicipality Community, Portugal.
Safety Perceptions in Urban Environments for Vulnerable Communities
The research project highlights the duality of safety in urban environments, showcasing the experiences of vulnerable communities and inspired an immersive installation featured in the Beta architecture biennale, redefining public space as a medium for community, free expression, and co-creation.
This work is developed in collaboration with Identity.Education Romania and BETA Architecture Biennale.
Gender Equality in Higher Education
Co-created the Gender Equality Plan of West University of Timisoara. Analyzing comprehensive objective and perception data on gender equality.Actively participating in the The Widening Inclusion and Gender Equality Community of Practice (WIGE CoP) of the INSPIRE Project. Teaching and training on gender equality and equity, monitoring and evaluation.
Apply the survey in your institution: https://geam.act-on-gender.eu/
Captured // https://captured.silviafierascu.com/
As a follow-up to my PhD dissertation project, I developed a comparative analysis of levels, varieties and mechanisms of state capture in public procurement across 28 countries, investigating also the best technological solutions and policy answers to support competition, state capacity and good governance, using cutting edge research facilities at the Big Data Science Laboratory at West University of Timișoara.
Read my call-to-action piece on "A more effective way to tackle institutionalised corruption," in Eastern Focus #3: 30 Years Later. The Unfinished Revolution
(UEFISCDI, POCU HE 126766)
Developing and implementing systemic measures in tertiary education, to increase the quality of higher education and to adapt universities to labor market requirements and international standards, with a focus on forecasting demographic developments with an impact on participation in higher education.
Project Partners: Romanian Ministry of Education
Radicalisation Prevention Competences’ Development Programme for Justice Professionals (R4Just)
The R4JUST project aims to prevent and reduce the risk of radicalisation and violent extremism inside prisons by exploring a multi-sectoral approach, intending to enhance the competences of prison staff (RRAP Toolset – Multi-level radicalisation approach towards governors, frontline staff and technical staff), probation staff (e.g., probation officers/supervisors, psychologists), as well as judges and prosecutors while fostering criminal and judicial multi-sectoral cooperation and networking on countering and preventing radicalisation.
Project Partners: BSAFE Lab – Law Enforcement, Justice and Public Safety Laboratory of Beira Interior University, Portugal, IPS Innovative Prison Systems (Qualify Just – IT Solutions and Consulting), Portugal, Directorate-General for Reintegration and Prison Services (DGRSP), Portugal, College of Public Administration Bremen (Hochschule für Öffentliche Verwaltung), Germany, Bremen Senate of Justice and Constitution, Germany, Agenfor International, Italy, Federal Public Service Justice, Belgium, West University of Timisoara, Romania, Penitentiary Bucharest Jilava, Romania, ICPA Stichting Foundation office in Europe, The Netherlands
Civic Anti-Corruption Tech Initiative (CACTI)
Leading a global consortium of civic tech organisations working to build and implement a state of the art data collection, analysis and visualization platform to support anti-corruption in public procurement worldwide.
Founding Members: Big Data Science Laboratory, West University of Timișoara, Romania, Project Poder, Mexico, Datasketch, Colombia, Agency, Mexico, with support from Hivos, the Netherlands.
Developing an analysis and visualization framework using open government data for the most comprehensive and scientific performance evaluation of elected officials in Romania to date, with a wonderful team of volunteers Code for Romania.
Responsibility. Freedom of Expression
Analyzing challenges to freedom of expression for civil society, and building tools to fight against marginalization, fake news, harassment and intolerance to strengthen particularly vulnerable groups of individuals and NGOs. You can read our practical guide on counter-strategies towards hate and disinformation for NGOs, activists and volunteers here.
Project Partners: The World of NGOs, Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Făgăraș Research Institute, Romania, Association “Sustainability of progressive and open communication” (SPOC), Bulgaria, B.a.B.e. Be active. Be emancipated, Croatia
Analyzing the phenomenon of migration of Romanians from the area of Țara Făgărașului, designing strategies and building tools to help local NGOs, businesses and communities re-connect with Romanians in Diaspora, together with researchers from the Făgăraș Research Institute, Țara Făgărașului Community Foundation and MKBT Make Better. You can read our first report here.
Innovatively Outsmarting Toxic Pseudoscience Outspread via Social Technologies (I-OutPost)
Designing and testing cutting-edge research methodologies to analyse and develop effective identification, isolation and prevention tools and techniques for the spread of toxic anti-scientific and pseudo-scientific rhetoric on online social machines.
Project Partners: Department of Philosophy and Communication Sciences, West University of Timișoara, Institute of Logic, Language and Computation, University of Amsterdam, Department of Computation, Mathematics and Physics, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Theoretical Philosophy, University of Helsinki, Faculty of Informatics, Vilnius University, Ripe NCC, the Netherlands, Interactive 4D, France, Baltic Institute of Advanced Technology, Lithuania, Institute e-Austria Timisoara, Romania, TokenMill, Lithuania, Genisoft, Romania.
High-Level Public Policy Events
Investigating trends in representation of speakers invited, topics discussed, and institutions present at high-level public policy conferences in Europe, in a project coordinated by Open Society Foundations. You can read our policy briefs here and here.
Graduates and their employment pathways
Analyzing large and diverse amounts of data on West University of Timisoara (UVT) graduates and their employment pathways. With project founder, Viorel Proteasa (Department of Political Science) and web developer Costin Bleotu (Center for Public Policy), we built the prototype of an automated web platform for the analysis and visualization of these data for data-driven, evidence-based decision-making at the levels of faculties and the university. The actionable insights ensure better employment prospects and outcomes for prospective and current students.
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