PROVIDUS will be lead by the senior policy analyst Iveta Kažoka.

Iveta Kazoka was appointed as the provisional director of PROVIDUS at the end of January 2018 . At its March meeting, the Council of PROVIDUS approved Iveta in the permanent position starting from April.

Since 2005 Iveta Kažoka has been PROVIDUS policy analyst in the areas of good governance and citizen participation both in Latvia and EU level. Her expertise is regularly requested by parliamentary committees and working groups of the Latvian government when elaborating new policies, for instance, regulation of political parties or citizen participation in decision-making.

In addition to developing policy studies and analytical articles, Iveta Kažoka has organised and facilitated public discussions, and developed innovative formats for debate on challenging issues (for example, gudrasgalvas.lv and a voting advice application Try on a Party!). She is generally recognized in Latvia as an opinion leader in her sphere of expertise.

Iveta has a Master’s degree in Law from University of Latvia, as well as an inter-university degree on EU affairs. She has been a guest lecturer for several universities, teaching Public Law, Public Administration Law and Legal Philosophy. Before joining PROVIDUS, Iveta Kažoka worked for the Ministry of Justice in Latvia.

This January members of PROVIDUS decided to work on a new, modern governing model, reducing the administrative costs and increasing the staff of researchers. Iveta Kažoka emphasizes: “In 2018 the focus of PROVIDUS will be strengthening of good governance and political parties as well as issues on smart migration. Together with the colleagues we are full of motivation to work hard on these matters. Taking over the lead in PROVIDUS I commit to work so that PROVIDUS will continue to be one of the leading think tanks in Latvia capable to offer constructive solutions for complicated governance problems.”