During and after the completion of his studies in the field of Operational Analysis of Economics, University of Transport and Communication, Zilina, Slovakia, Mr. Pashaj, has worked as Research Assistant for the “Business Consultants” company in Slovakia. After coming to Albania, he joined the staff of the Albanian Center for Economic Research as a Researcher/Analyst and was promoted later in the position of Deputy Director and Research Director of this Center. He was also the Deputy Chief of Party of the Public Administration Program in Albania, an USAID project implemented by Development Alternatives Inc. Mr. Pashaj has been leading and coordinating more than 17 projects for different donors and clients. He has research experience in Finance, Informal Economy, Fiscal Decentralization, Public Service Delivery, Anticorruption Strategies, Labor Market, SME Development etc. Mr. Pashaj is a founder of the Institute for Development Research and Alternatives.
He was one of the analysts in the data processing of the Anti-Corruption Survey and co-author of the ACER/World Bank Report “Governance and Corruption in Albania” presented in the Anti-Corruption initiative workshop organized by Albanian Government and World Bank in Tirana. As well, he acted as the:
Coordinator of the Public Administration Survey ordered by World Bank in 1999;
Project leader of the “Economic Policies for the Improvement of Tirana District”, ordered by the government of Albania;
Project Team Leader of “Strategic Planning For Economic Development in Albanian Municipalities” financed by Fiscal Decentralization Initiative – CEE/World Bank Institute;
Team Leader of the Regional Project ”FDIs in Balkan Countries: Alternatives to reduce existing barriers” financed by Freedom House;
External adviser of the Minister of Public Economy and Privatization for the period October 1999-February 2000;
Permanent Guest of the weekly talk show “Economy in Focus” in National Broadcast from February 1999-September 1999.
Enkelejda PASHAJ – Legal Program Coordinator
Mrs. Pashaj, prior to joining IDRA, worked as a Law Specialist within the Albanian Ministry of Privatization and Public Economy. She is now in charge of the Law and Training Department. During this period she has been in charge of all the legal aspects of the IDRA projects. Mrs. Pashaj is also a certified trainer in management issues as well as legislative drafting. She has conducted a series of training courses for local government officials in Vlora and Pogradec in “Public Services Management” and “Local Government and NGO Cooperation”, supported by Partners for Democratic Change. She holds a Law Degree from the Tirana University.
Enton ÇOKA – Director of Dept. of IT, DP & Statistics
Has joined IDRA full-time in 2003, while in 2001-2002 has been involved at IDRA as external consultant in short-time assignments, while working
at the Conference & Training Center of the National Bank of Greece S.A. (CTC/NBG) in Athens, Greece. Mr. Çoka has worked for 6 years at CTC/NBG in Athens, Greece. Before that, he worked for 1 year in Milan, Italy, as Computer Programmer at Olivetti and at the Institute of Biomedical Advanced Technologies. He studied Computer Sciences at the Athens State sTechnological Institute.
MA. Ledia BOSHNJAKU - Researcher
Mrs. Boshnjaku has graduated from the Agricultural University of Tirana on Agro-food Policies and Economics. She also holds a Master Degree in Agricultural Marketing from the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza, Spain. Since she became a full time employee of IDRA, she has been engaged in different projects as a researcher and coordinator. Her areas of expertise include market research, management and data processing. During her time at IDRA, she has also been in charge of different publications of the Institute. Mrs. Boshnjaku works within an academic background as well, as an Assistant Pedagogue at the Agricultural Faculty, teaching subjects such as Marketing Essentials, International Marketing and Prices of Agricultural Products.
MA. Shefqet SHYTI - Civic and Faith-Based Education Project Coordinator
Mr. Shyti possesses a long and rich experience in educational issues. He comes from an academic background, as a lecturer on British and American History and Civilization and Head of the English Department of the “Alexander Xhuvani” University in Elbasan. In the spring of 2000, he graduated with a MA in Education Administration & Management from the College of Arts and Sciences, American University, Washington DC, USA. He also holds significant previous experiences in other education-related projects.
Florian BABAMETO – Coordinator and Researcher
Mr. Babameto, has graduated from the Economic Faculty of the Tirana University in 2004, with a Bachelor’s in Finance. His successful collaboration with IDRA started in 2001; since then he has conducted research on electronic media development, surveys on the impact of smoking, as well as participated in IDRA’s “Bridges for the New Balkans” project.
One on the youngest members of the IDRA team, Marjeta has recently graduated from the Tirana University, holding a Bachelor’s in Mathematics and a Teaching Certificate.
Lauresha GREZDA – SME Development Specialist (EDEM)
Mrs. Grezda has graduated in Finance from the Economic University in Tirana. During and after the completion of her studies, she has been working in different enterprises, like construction, shoes production, etc. as Financial Officer. For 5 years she has been working as Training and Program Manager at the Tirana Regional Development Agency (RDA). She is a Certified Trainer in Business and Finance Management, master trainer on “Making Cents” Module, “Next Level” Module and expert on Employment Oriented Modular Training Design, Development and Implementation. She was involved in different projects with Soros, USAID, Danida, InWent - Germany etc; as Trainer, Consultant, Project Manager, etc. Now she is working with EDEM/USAID project, as SME Development Specialist under the IDRA contract.
Elona BOCE - Project Coordinator
Mrs. Boce joined the IDRA staff in 2003 as the Lead Coordinator of the Communities Engaged in Social and Economic Development of Albania Project, funded by USAID and World Learning and implemented by World Learning and IDRA. In the CESEDA Project, Mrs. Boce facilitated the process of making citizens more active and local officials more accountable in four rural areas of Tirana district by capacity building, information sharing and linking citizen groups with government. Mrs. Boce has a six year experience in coordinating and implementing projects in areas as civic participation and governance, educational policy reform and social research. Her fields of expertise include public policy, capacity building design and delivery, assessment, evaluation and research, field coaching and team work management. Since 2000, she teaches psychology courses at the University of Tirana . Mrs. Boce is experienced in designing and conducting research and evaluation of programs in the policy area of vulnerable groups' social needs (trauma survivors, children); educational policy issues (parent-school partnerships, school dropout, learning management, child-in-center methodology etc). She is author of several research publications and recently, of a guide book for social researchers on “How to write a research paper.” Currently, she coordinates local governance and civil society projects.
Assist. Prof. Dr. Qamil TALKA – Senior Researcher
Assistant Prof. Dr. Qamil Talka has a rich experience in issues regarding Public Management and Finance. He has an academic background as a lecturer in the Faculty of Economics, Tirana University, for more than 20 years, where he taught courses in the “Planning and Management of Enterprises”. Mr. Talka worked for more than two years as an Advisor of the General Director of the National Commercial Bank. He also used to be Director of the Economic Department in the Ministry of Education. During the time at IDRA, he has been engaged in many projects financed by foreign donors in the field of economics, local government and public administration.
Fjoralba BALLA – Office and Financial Manager
Mrs. Balla joined IDRA in April 2001 as Office and Financial Manager. She brought with herself a rich experience in logistical coordination of different projects. She worked before as Office Manager at the Albanian Center for Economic Research. Her main tasks include organizing and coordinating public events, logistical management, administrative arrangements etc. She has been involved in USAID, Soros, World Learning, OSCE funded projects. She has been active in conducting surveys by designing questionnaires, contacting interviewers, etc
