Center for Research and Policy Making has been formed by a multi-disciplinary team bringing together people with different backgrounds and professional and research interests, and includes considerable experience of the way the Macedonian policy process works. The CRPM members are specialized in project management and policy research and analysis, training and capacity building, and policy advice.
Ms. Marija Risteska holds a PhD in Political Science from Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje and Master of Arts in European Public Administration and Public Policy from Katholieke Universitait Leuven. Besides numerous policy studies on European integration of Macedonia, public policy development, good governance, health, gender, and migration, Marija has co-edited the book ‘European Law for SMEs’. She has 10 years of consulting experience with the EU and all UN agencies. She managed a program in NDI, and the education portfolio of the World Bank in Macedonia. Risteska is the founder of the Center for Research and Policy Making.
e-mail: risteska@crpm.org.mk
Mr. Zhidas Daskalovski holds a PhD from the Political Science Department, Central European University. He has published numerous scholarly articles on politics in the Southeast European region, as well as co-edited books including: Understanding the War in Kosovo (Frank Cass: London, 2003) and Ten Years after the Ohrid Framework Agreement: Lessons (to be) Learned from the Macedonian Experience, (CRPM and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung: Skopje 2012). A professor of political science, and one of the most prominent political scientists in the country, he is Director of the Council of Europe supported School of Public Policy |Mother Teresa|. Dr. Daskalovski is a recipient of a number of distinguished research fellowships including the Lord Dahrendorf Fellowship at St. Antony’s College at the Oxford University, the School of Slavonic and East European Studies Macedonian Studies Fellowship, and the Social Science Research Council/ Ethnobarometer Fellowship at the University of North Caroline. He has written Macedonia country reports for Freedom House/Nations in Transit, Open Budget Index, Global Integrity Report, Bertelsmann Transformation Index, UNDP People Centred Analysis, UN Human Development Report. His expertise is prominent in the fields of policy analysis in general and decentralization, democratization, ethnic and multicultural issues in particular. Dr. Daskalovski has a thorough policy research experience working for the Center for Research and Policy Making, War Torn Societies Project (WSP), Local Government Initiative, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the European Stability Initiative.
e-mail: Daskalovski@hotmail.com
Mr. Zarko Cvetkovski is the project manager at the School of Public Policy “Mother Teresa” and financial assistant at CRPM.
Education: Economist – Banking Management, European University- Republic of Macedonia (ЕURМ) – Skopje
e-mail: cvetkovski@crpm.org.mk
Mr. Kristijan Trajkovski holds a B.A. and M.A. from Political Science Department at the Law Faculty of the University of Cyril and Methodius, Skopje. He is a Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Scholar.
e-mail: trajkovski@crpm.org.mk
Mr. Zlatko Simonovski has a Bachelor degree in Journalism. He also holds two MA degrees; in Media and Communications (Ss. Cyril and Methodius – Skopje) and in Human rights and Democracy in South East Europe (University of Bologna and University of Sarajevo). He has a three year working experience as a TV-reporter in Telma. He covered daily events mainly in the domain of labor, economy and social care. Since May 2013, he is part of CRPM.
e-mail: simonovski@crpm.org.mk; zlatkosimon@gmail.com
Mr. Aleksandar Cekov has a Bachelor degree in Political Science, from the Law Faculty of the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, Macedonia. He is Master of Science (120 ECTS) in European Affairs, from Lund University, Sweden. Expert in European studies and EU enlargement Mr. Cekov also holds Diploma in Advanced European Studies, from the European College of Parma, Italy.
e-mail: aleksandar.cekov@crpm.org.mk
Ms. Ljupka Trajanovska is a Chevening scholar and got her Master of Arts in Gender, Violence and Conflict, department of Global Studies at the University of Sussex-Brighton, United Kingdom. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Security from the Institute for Security, Defense and Peace at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University St. Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, Macedonia. Ljupka identifies herself as a feminist and women’s rights activist. She is experienced in research, lobbying, advocacy, peer education and project implementation and management. In addition, she is specialized in working with youth, women victims of violence, kids with difficulties in studying and other marginalized groups of people. Ljupka has won the OSCE scholarship for Peace and Security and gained a UPEACE diploma focused on conflict prevention through arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. Her main fields of interest are Women and Security and Gender Based Violence.
Kristijan Aleksoski holds a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Before joining CRPM, he has gained more than two years of experience working as a tax consultant at PwC Frankfurt and Skopje. He has worked with companies such as Coca-Cola, Philip Morris, Gunnebo, Merck and others, providing consulting advice and assistance in aligning with financial and tax regulations. Kristijan joined CRPM team in June 2018 and has since been working as a project financial manager and analyst. He is also engaged as an expert in econometric research and statistical data analysis, especially in economic and labor market issues, sustainable development and public policies. 
Prior to joining CRPM, Bojana Krstevska has gained project management experience in a few EU-funded IPA projects through the roles of manager and coordinator in the field of youth employment and environmental protection. With a passion for community betterment, she eagerly joined the team at CRPM. As a manager, she has over a decade of involvement in different industries and departments like fashion, marketing, communication, and media.
Dr. Irena Nikolovska is a researcher and program coordinator at the Center for Research and Policy Making. She holds PhD degree in Education, Organizational Learning, and Leadership with specialization of Human Resource Development from Florida, USA. She holds Master’s in Business Administration, Athens, Greece, Master of Science in Integrated-Global Communications, Florida, USA, and BBA in International Business from Oklahoma in USA.
