Massimiliano Mascherini is Head of the Social Policies unit at Eurofound since September 2022. He joined Eurofound in 2009 as a research manager, designing and coordinating projects on youth employment, NEETs and their social inclusion, as well as on the labour market participation of women. In 2017, he became a senior research manager in the Social Policies unit where he spearheaded new research on monitoring convergence in the EU. In addition to work on the European Quality of Life Survey, he also leads the preparation and analysis of the COVID-19 e-surveys. Previously, he was scientific officer at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. He studied at the University of Florence, where he majored in actuarial and statistical sciences and attained a PhD in Applied Statistics. He has been visiting fellow at the University of Sydney and at Aalborg University and visiting professor at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
Daphne Ahrendt is a senior research manager in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. Since joining Eurofound in 2013, her work has covered a broad range of social policy areas. At present, she coordinates Eurofound's survey management and development activity and leads the preparation and analysis of the COVID-19 e-surveys. Daphne has more than 20 years of experience as a researcher working on international surveys, having previously worked in the Eurobarometer Unit at the European Commission and at the National Centre for Social Research in London where she worked on the International Social Survey Programme. Daphne holds a Master's degree in Criminal Justice Policies from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from San Francisco State University.
Hans Dubois is a senior research manager in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. His research topics include housing, over-indebtedness, healthcare, long-term care, social benefits, retirement, and quality of life in the local area. Prior to joining Eurofound, he was Assistant Professor at Kozminski University (Warsaw). He completed a PhD in Business Administration and Management at Bocconi University (Milan), after working as a research officer at the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (Madrid).
Eszter Sandor is a research manager in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. She has expertise in survey methodology and statistical analysis, has worked on the preparation and management of the European Quality of Life Survey and most recently the Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey, and is responsible for dataset quality. Her research areas are youth well-being and quality of life in households and families, including subjective well-being, work–life balance and living conditions. She has previously worked as an economic consultant in Scotland focusing on economic impact assessments, evaluations and input–output analysis. She has a Master's degree in Economics and International Relations from the Corvinus University of Budapest.
Daniel Molinuevo is a research manager in the Social Policies unit, having joined Eurofound in 2010. His research on health and social care has focused on the quality and accessibility of services, their digital transformation and the working conditions of staff. His work has mainly focused on services for children, both at Eurofound and at UNICEF, where he worked in 2021 supporting the implementation of the European Child Guarantee. He studied sociology in Salamanca, Spain and at the Humboldt University in Berlin. He has an MA in European Political and Administrative Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges and an MSc in European Social Policy from the London School of Economics, where he also worked as a researcher.
Eleonora Peruffo is a research officer in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. She works on topics related to upward convergence and social cohesion in Europe. During 2021–2022, she provided data analysis for the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey (EWCTS). She joined Eurofound in 2014 and has worked on topics related to restructuring, employment and digitalisation. She holds an MA in Diplomatic Sciences and International Relations awarded by the University of Trieste and an MSc in Computer Science - Data Analytics from the National College of Ireland.
Sanna Nivakoski is a research officer in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. Before joining Eurofound in 2021, she worked as a post-doctoral researcher at University College Dublin's Geary Institute for Public Policy, the Economic and Social Research Institute in Dublin, and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. She has worked in many research areas in microeconomics, including retirement income and wealth, pension saving, intergenerational transfers and the financial impact of widowhood. Sanna holds a PhD in Economics from Trinity College Dublin.
Michele Consolini works as a research officer in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. He provides quantitative support on projects on quality of life, social cohesion and convergence, as well as survey management. His current research involves analysing the social impact of migration and the socioeconomic challenges of the transition to a carbon-neutral economy. He joined Eurofound in 2020 as a trainee and subsequently moved into the role of research assistant. He holds a BA in Sociology and Economics from the Alma Mater Studiorum in Bologna, Italy, and from Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, Netherlands. He also completed a Research MSc in Communication Science from the University of Amsterdam, where he also worked as a teaching assistant and researcher.
Marie Hyland joined Eurofound as a research officer in the Social Policies unit in 2023. Prior to this, Marie spent several years as an economist at the World Bank, where she worked on a range of issues including gender, climate change and private sector development. Marie’s research has looked at the impact of legal discrimination on women’s economic empowerment, considered the role of firm size and managerial practices on productivity and economic development, and analysed the economics of climate change mitigation policies. Marie holds a PhD in Economics from Trinity College Dublin.
Cécile Deneys is an administrative assistant in the Social Policies unit at Eurofound. She provides assistance to the unit in the development and implementation of various research projects. Since joining Eurofound, she has worked across different units including several years with the Directorate. Prior to that, she worked in the private sector in Paris.
Javier Bernier is an administrative assistant in the Social Policies unit. He joined Eurofound in March 2001, having previously worked in the private sector in Ireland and Spain.
