The Connect & Kick Off Meetings are the departing point of the EuroMeSCo Joint Study Groups’ research cycle. In these meetings, the Coordinators of each Joint Study Group will present their Concept Notes in order to get feedback on the objectives, structure, approach and methodology of the resulting Policy Study. The goal of the Connect and Kick Off is to bring the Coordinator – and by extension the whole Joint Study Group – closer to ongoing policy debates in different EU and regional institutions, thus ensuring a policy-oriented research approach.

Kristina Kausch, Senior Resident Fellow, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, is the coordinator of this Joint Study Group and she will present her research proposal to EU policymakers and experts to establish a roadmap for the resulting Policy Study.