Professor Carlos Mendez
Director .
European Policies Research Centre
Personal statement
Prof. Carlos Mendez is a Director at the EPRC and Head of Centre. He was educated at University College London (BA), London School of Economics (MSc) and Strathclyde (PhD). As a specialist on the European Union and regional development policy, Carlos’ main research interests include EU Cohesion Policy, the EU Budget, and regional policy in Europe. He has authored a wide range of articles and policy reports, and worked on research projects and evaluation studies for European, national and regional institutions.
More recently, Carlos is leading a new research stream at the EPRC on citizen engagement and communication. The research is underpinned by two major Horizon 2020 projects funded by the European Commission, as well studies for the European Parliament on EU communication in the public sphere. Carlos has been collaborating with a multidisciplinary team of academic experts across the EU to apply innovative techniques including computational text analysis and framing analysis of online media, focus groups and surveys of citizens, as well as interview-informed case studies of the effectiveness of strategies to improve EU communication.
Prize And Awards
Publications
- What future for EU Cohesion Policy? Reform ambitions and realities
- Mendez Carlos, Kah Stefan
- IQ-Net Thematic Paper IQ-Net Thematic Paper, Vol 59, No. 2 (2026)
- https://doi.org/10.17868/strath.00095319
- Cohesion Policy on the Rocks?
- Mendez Carlos, Bachtler John, Wishlade Fiona
- European Regional Policy Research Consortium, EoRPA Report European Regional Policy Research Consortium, EoRPA Report, Vol 25, No. 3 (2025)
- Cohesion policy : the coming storm
- Bachtler John, Mendez Carlos
- Policy-Making in the European Union (2025) (2025)
- Charting a New Course for EU Cohesion Policy After 2027
- Bachtler John, Mendez Carlos, Downes Ruth
- (2024)
- Innovation Strategies for System-level Transformation
- Fonseca Liliana, Downes Ruth, Mendez Carlos, Johnson Michael Pierre, Smith Madeline
- (2024)
- The quality of government and administrative performance : explaining Cohesion policy compliance, absorption and achievements across EU regions
- Mendez Carlos, Bachtler John
- Regional Studies Vol 58, pp. 690-703 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2022.2083593
Professional Activities
- 46th Annual Meeting of European Regional Policy Research Consortium (EoRPA)
- Chair
- 5/10/2025
- Innovation Policies for System-Level Transformation
- Contributor
- 7/11/2024
- 45th Annual Meeting of European Regional Policy Research Consortium (EoRPA)
- Chair
- 6/10/2024
- Innovation Strategies for System-Level Transformation Workshop 1
- Chair
- 22/3/2024
- Cohesion Policy rationale and evolution, Training to European Union Urban Initiative staff
- Speaker
- 1/3/2023
- Future Perspectives on EU Cohesion Policy, European Week of Regions and Cities, European Commission and academic panel
- Speaker
- 12/10/2022
Projects
- EU Cohesion Policy and its Urban Dimension: training for the permanent secretariat of the European Urban Initiative
- Kah, Stefan (Principal Investigator) Ferry, Martin (Co-investigator) Bachtler, John (Co-investigator) Mendez, Carlos (Co-investigator)
- 1-day on-site training on EU Cohesion Policy for the permanent secretariat of the European Urban Initiative in Lille (France)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 01-Jan-2025
- Regional Policy in Europe: A Comparative Assessment (EoRPA_SCO_25)
- Mendez, Carlos (Principal Investigator) Bachtler, John (Co-investigator) Downes, Ruth (Research Co-investigator) Michie, Rona (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2025
- Regional Policy in Europe: A Comparative Assessment (EoRPA_CH_25_27)
- Mendez, Carlos (Principal Investigator) Bachtler, John (Co-investigator) Downes, Ruth (Research Co-investigator) Kah, Stefan (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2027
- Regional Policy in Europe: A Comparative Assessment (EoRPA_NO_25_27)
- Mendez, Carlos (Principal Investigator) Bachtler, John (Co-investigator) McMaster, Irene (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2027
- Regional Policy in Europe: A Comparative Assessment (EoRPA)
- Mendez, Carlos (Principal Investigator) Bachtler, John (Co-investigator) Downes, Ruth (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2027
- Improving the Quality of Structural Funds Management through Exchange of Experience (IQ-Net)
- Vironen, Heidi (Principal Investigator) Bachtler, John (Co-investigator) Ferry, Martin (Co-investigator) Mendez, Carlos (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2027
Contact
Professor
Carlos
Mendez
Director .
European Policies Research Centre
Email: carlos.mendez@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 3932