About

Open Evidence is an EU-based company with a multidisciplinary team working alongside a strong network of partners to deliver excellent services to its clients.

Who We Are

Open Evidence is an independent research and consulting firm that designs and delivers evidence-based projects to support public policy and private sector decision-making. The company was founded in 2013 as an academic spin-off within the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, but has since evolved into a fully independent firm operating across the two offices in Barcelona and Milan.

Open Evidence has an international and multidisciplinary team of about 20 analysts and researchers with expertise in sociology, political science, economics, management, and behavioural sciences. This combination of competencies allows us to provide full-cycle evidence-based projects using a variety of qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

Our Philosophy

SCIENTIFIC RIGOUR

We combine intellect and academic thinking to deliver successful
services to our clients.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

We provide management of projects at the intersection of policy and academic research.

APPROACH

Our analytical approach combines different core disciplines, including economics, political science and behavioural science.

Josephine Levedag | Research Consultant
Joséphine is a research consultant on public health and social policy projects. She holds a joint Master’s degree in Public Policy from Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals and Erasmus University Rotterdam, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Mannheim. Before joining Open Evidence in 2025, she worked as a research assistant at Erasmus University Rotterdam and was an intern at the OECD and the European Parliament. At Open Evidence, Joséphine works on research projects for different European institutions. Her work involves conducting literature reviews, applying qualitative research methods, carrying out evaluation and impact assessments, and drafting reports and policy recommendations. Originally from France, Joséphine is fluent in French, German and English, with advanced Spanish. In her free time, she enjoys exploring cultural activities, reading and practicing contemporary dance.
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Miriam Madrignani | Research Consultant
Miriam is a health consultant with a background in population health management. She holds a Master’s degree in European Health Economics and Management and has pursued her studies in Italy, Austria, and the Netherlands. After a brief experience in the non-profit sector, Miriam joined Open Evidence, where she contributes to projects for European institutions. Her work includes conducting literature reviews, applying qualitative research techniques, carrying out evaluations and impact assessments, and drafting reports and policy recommendations in the field of public health.
Originally from Italy, Miriam is fluent in Italian and English and is currently learning Spanish to fully integrate into life in Barcelona. She enjoys sightseeing, exploring new places, and travelling to discover different cultures and perspectives.
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Giacomo Stazi | Research Consultant
Giacomo Stazi is a microeconomist with a strong background in statistics and econometrics. His work involves applying econometric and data science methods to analyse social topics, ranging from consumers’ behaviour to policy evaluation. Using data to find innovative links between social phenomena and inform evidence-based policy is what captivates him.
Prior to joining Open Evidence in 2021, Giacomo worked as a data scientist in the Global Pricing Team of HP Inc., building complex models to study the effect of pricing and sales decisions on business performance. Giacomo holds a MSc in Economics from the Barcelona School of Economics and a summa cum laude MSc in Economics from Bocconi University. In addition, he has worked for one year as a Research Assistant at the University of Chicago, studying the impact of social norms on human behaviour in a variety of settings.
Giacomo is a true outdoor enthusiast, practicing rock climbing, cycling and trail running on a daily basis. But he also enjoys photography, and his pictures have been among the finalists of the 2021 World Sports Photography Awards.
Giacomo speaks Italian, English and Spanish.
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Mareike Sehrer | Research Consultant
Mareike is a Research Consultant and economist working on economic, social and digital policy at Open Evidence. She holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the Barcelona School of Economics, and an Undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Edinburgh.
Prior to joining Open Evidence, Mareike interned at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, and worked as a research assistant at the University of Oxford. Her research work sits at the intersection of labour, digitalisation and policy.
She is fluent in German and English, with advanced Spanish. In her free time, she loves going hiking and attending cultural activities in the city.

Silvia Grothe Riera | Research Consultant
Silvia is a consultant working on public health and social policy projects. Before joining Open Evidence, she worked as a research consultant for various EU-funded projects on preventing alcohol consumption and was a trainee at DG SANTE. Silvia has also worked on several projects on the social determinants of health, which led her to gain strong qualitative and quantitative research skills. Silvia holds a research master’s in Comparative Social Policy from the University of Oxford and a bachelor’s degree in European Public Health from Maastricht University. Silvia also received training in cultural anthropology from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Silvia enjoys outdoor activities and practising yoga and is a travel enthusiast in her free time. She is native in Spanish and Catalan, fluent in English and understands German.
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Edoardo Pagnotta | Research Consultant
Edoardo Pagnotta is a research consultant at Open Evidence, where he works on projects in employment and social policies, and public health. He mainly conducts literature reviews, supports the design and coding of surveys for stakeholder consultations, and contributes to the design and implementation of cost–benefit analyses and impact assessments. Previously, he was a consultant at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), where he led impact assessments of vocational training programmes using primary survey data and supported data scientists in mapping entrepreneurship initiatives using large language models. He holds a Master’s degree in Specialized Economic Analysis from the Barcelona School of Economics, a Master’s (cum laude) in International Relations from LUISS Guido Carli, and a Bachelor’s in International Relations from the University of Bologna. He is fluent in English and Spanish. Outside of work, he enjoys playing and watching football, going to concerts, and hiking in the mountains with his dog Paolina.
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Jaume Borras | Research Consultant
Jaume Borràs is a Research Consultant and econometrician at Open Evidence and a PhD researcher in Econometrics. He has extensive research experience and has developed expertise in data analysis and causal inference in consumption, competition and labor market topics, with academic publications in the field of microeconometrics. He has taught several undergraduate courses at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, including Econometrics I and Econometrics III.
Prior to joining Open Evidence in 2025, Jaume worked as a research assistant for the Chair of Econometrics at Universitat Pompeu Fabra and for the Nobel Prize awardee Jean Tirole. Jaume was also a political consultant working to develop new polling methodologies.
He holds a dual degree in Economics from Universitat Pompeu Fabra and the Toulouse School of Economics (summa cum laude) and MSc in Economics from the Toulouse School of Economics (summa cum laude).
Jaume speaks English, Spanish and Catalan. He rarely misses a football match at his team’s stadium and enjoys gastronomy and mushroom foraging.
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Paola Civitelli | Research Consultant
Paola is a research consultant with a background in public policy and sustainable development. At Open Evidence, she contributes to research projects for European institutions, with responsibilities including literature reviews, the application of qualitative research methods, conducting evaluations and impact assessments, and drafting reports and policy recommendations.
Prior to joining Open Evidence, Paola interned at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Vienna, where she worked in the Directorate of SDG Innovation and Economic Transformation (IET).
She holds a double Master of Science in Public Policy and Human Development from the United Nations University (UNU-MERIT) and Maastricht University, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Milan. During her Master’s program, she conducted a three-month field study on the impact of gender inequality on migration in Southern Italy, employing a mixed-methods approach.
Originally from Italy, Paola is fluent in Italian and English and has an intermediate level of Spanish. In her free time, she enjoys traveling across Europe to visit friends and spending time with her mini-schnauzer, Gary.
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Julia Peter | Finance & Admin
Julia is the Administrative and Finance professional at Open Evidence, bringing experience across HR, operations, and financial administration. In addition she supports the company’s social media management, and the art direction of the website.
Prior to joining Open Evidence, Julia gained experience across a range of international environments, her background spans recruitment, onboarding, financial administration, and operations across multiple industries and countries.
She has a Bachelor of Business Administration and is a native English speaker.

Sara Nardoni | Research Consultant
Sara Nardoni is a research consultant with experience in public administration and consulting. At Open Evidence her work consists in conducting research projects for European Institutions and her tasks include carrying out literature reviews, applying qualitative research techniques, conducting evaluations and impact assessments, writing reports and policy recommendations.
Before joining Open Evidence, Sara worked as a consultant at Business Integration Partners and Deloitte Consulting in Milan. Sara holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Economics and Management and a Master’s Degree (cum laude) in Economics and Management of the Government and International Organizations, both from Bocconi University (Milan).
In her free time, Sara enjoys travelling, reading, visiting art exhibitions and painting in watercolours.
Sara is a native Italian speaker, fluent in English, with intermediate French and Spanish.
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Giorgia Spolverato | Research Consultant
Giorgia Spolverato is a research consultant with experience in public policy research and evaluation. At Open Evidence, she works on research projects for DG SANTE and DG HERA. Her tasks include carrying out literature reviews, applying qualitative and quantitative research techniques, conducting case studies and focus groups, and drafting reports and policy recommendations. Before joining Open Evidence, Giorgia worked as a public policy consultant at EY, where she carried out evaluations and impact assessments of EU Directives, initiatives and networks mainly for the European Commission (DG HOME and DG EMPL). Prior to this, Giorgia conducted research on the regulation of the use of technology and Artificial Intelligence in courts at the Max Planck Institute for Procedural Law. Giorgia holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Milan and a master’s degree in European Studies from the University of Strasbourg and the University of Udine. Giorgia is a native Italian speaker, fluent in English and Spanish, and has some knowledge of French.
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Martina Barjaková | Research Consultant
Martina Barjaková is a behavioural scientist experienced in conducting behavioural research aimed at informing policy. Her work has focused mostly on applying behavioural insights to analyse and support pro-environmental and health-related behaviours, on studying risk perceptions, and analysing prevalence, risk factors and interventions to tackle loneliness.
Prior to joining Open Evidence as a research consultant in behavioural science, she worked at the Behavioural Research Unit of the Economic and Social Research Institute in Dublin. Additionally, she has contributed to different research projects of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and the OECD.
Martina holds a PhD degree in Psychology from the University of Milan-Bicocca, a Master’s degree in Economic and Social Sciences from Bocconi University in Milan and a Bachelor’s degree in International Trade from the University of Economics in Prague.
In her free time, Martina loves travelling and dancing Latin-American dances like salsa and bachata. Her native language is Slovak, she is fluent in English and Italian, and intermediate in French.
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Carlos Torrado is a manager with a background in EU public policy, political science, and economics. His work involves conducting studies for European institutions, including evaluations, impact assessments, and conducting data collection activities. His work focuses primarily on health policy but extends to digitalisation and behavioural science. He uses a combination of primary and secondary research to provide accurate and impactful analyses and insights.
Before joining Open Evidence, Carlos worked as an intern at Cancer Research UK. He holds an MSc in European and International Public Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a BA with honours in Politics and Economics from the University of Nottingham. His MSc final project was a policy study on the creation of a European Policy for Preventable Cancers.
Carlos enjoys spending his free time exploring cultural activities in Milan, and playing sports, such as paddle and tennis. Carlos is fluent in Spanish, English, and Italian.
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Marcello Negrini | Manager
Marcello Negrini is a manager with a background in psychology and economics.
His passion is to conduct experiments to generate behavioural insights relevant to policy and organizations. He investigates human decisions, biases, and beliefs using an interdisciplinary perspective that integrates insights and methods from psychology, economics, and neuroscience.
Prior to joining Open Evidence as a consultant, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Paris School of Economics, CNRS (France). He received a PhD in economics from the School of Business and Economics at Maastricht University (The Netherlands) and a Research Master’s (cum laude) and Bachelor’s degrees in psychology from Pavia University (Italy). He published his research in peer-reviewed scientific journals and he presented his findings at several international scientific conferences and workshops. He was a visiting scholar at leading research institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University (USA), University of Pennsylvania (USA), New York University Shanghai (China), and University of East London (UK).
Marcello loves hiking in the Italian Alps and riding his mountain bike. He is a native Italian speaker, fluent in English and learning Spanish.
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Diego Polo-Friz | Partner
Diego Polo-Friz is a Partner at Open Evidence, where he is active on client development.
Before joining Open Evidence, Diego was General Manager of Finint, a financial intermediary (a so-called Payment Institution, according to the EU Payment Service Directive) active as a Western Union agent in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. From 1993 to 2005, he was first a Consultant and then a Partner with McKinsey & Co. He has also been the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tucano Urbano (a motorbike equipment company). Diego holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Bocconi University in Milan.
Diego is also a Professor of Management at the State University of Milan, and a Board Member of MBE Worldwide (of the brand Mail Boxes Etc., globally).
Besides being an Italian native speaker, Diego is fluent in English.
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Andres Katich | Manager
Andres is the Financial and Administrative Manager he is a manager with a background in financial roles and marketing. Prior to joining Open Evidence, Andres worked as a Financial Coordinator. He holds a Master in Business Administration and another one in Marketing and Sales. Andres enjoys spending his free time exploring the world, learning about different cultures, and playing sports, such as volley beach and tennis. He is fluent in Spanish, English, and French.
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Giovanni Liva | Manager & Partner
Giovanni Liva is a Partner and Manager at Open Evidence, where he manages mainly projects on digital policy, innovation and behavioural studies. Giovanni has 7 years of experience working on EU policies and he has been involved in the management and delivery of several projects for European Institutions. He masters a range of qualitative research techniques, analysis and reporting.
Before joining Open Evidence, Giovanni was a consultant at Edelman, a leading public affairs consultancy, where he conducted EU regulatory and political analysis for private companies. He also worked for the European Parliament Research Service, providing policy research and in-depth analysis to support the work of the Members of the European Parliament. Giovanni holds a Master Degree in Philosophy and Public Policy from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor Degree in Philosophy from the University of Milan.
Giovanni is passionate about outdoor sports and football, and he loves spending time with his young daughter.
Besides being an Italian native speaker, Giovanni is fluent in English.
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Lucie Lechardoy | Manager & Partner
Lucie Lechardoy is a Partner and Manager at Open Evidence with a background in political sciences and EU policy. She manages projects for the European institutions including evaluations, impact assessments and exploratory studies in the fields of digital policies, employment and consumer issues. She masters a range of qualitative research techniques, analysis and reporting.
Before joining Open Evidence in 2019, Lucie was a Senior Research Manager at VVA, a public policy consultancy. Previously, Lucie worked at the Executive Agency for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (EASME) as project officer where she participated in the launch and the management of calls for proposals under the COSME programme. Prior to this, Lucie was a junior project manager in the consultancy Business & Strategies Europe, where she managed European framework contracts and tenders for DG DEVCO in the field of economic development. Lucie holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Sciences and a Master’s degree in European Affairs from Sciences Po Bordeaux (France).
In her free time, Lucie enjoys cultural activities such as going to the cinema, museums and music festivals.
A native French speaker, Lucie is fluent in English, with intermediate Spanish and Dutch.
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Cristiano Codagnone | CEO & Partner
Cristiano Codagnone is Partner and CEO at Open Evidence SL, which he founded in 2013. He is involved in client development and supervises projects.
Since 2005 he has designed and managed more that 70 -European applied policy studies for various DGs and agencies of the European Commission and for the European Parliament. He holds a Master of Science in economics from Bocconi University of Milan and a PhD from New York University.
He is a leading expert in behavioural economics as applied to policy. Since 2012 he has designed and directed or contributed to 19 behavioural consumers studies for various DGs and Agencies of the European Commission that have involved behavioural experiments, surveys, focus groups, in depth interviews, systematic reviews, econometric analysis and recommendations. He also worked in various other policy domains such as such as digital transformation, socio-economic and ethical implications of Artificial Intelligence, digital government and digital health, social inclusion, labour market policies, R&D and innovation policy. Recently he has written for the ITRE Committee of the European Parliament a report assessing the European Commission policies for the digital decade and digital autonomy.
Cristiano holds also an academic position at Milan State University. He has been Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Media and Communication Department of LSE, and he has served as Scientific Officer at the United Nations (2003-2004) and at the European Commission (at JRC-IPTS Seville, 2009-2011 and 2015-2016).He has more than 50 scientific publications between articles in peer reviewed journals, books, short monographies, and book chapters.
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