Jeff Lovitt

Helping Independent Media to Finance Quality Journalism Leading  Zinc Network 's  USAID-funded project to support financial sustainability of independent digital media in Central Europe (Chief of Party, Central Europe Media Program) through a combination of grant support, hands-on  training workshops, and expert guidance and mentoring, including: oversaw grant support to media partners with a view to growing audiences and revenue and to building sustainable financial models; coordinated expert support and mentoring for independent media outlets  in designing audience dashboards, social media best practice, newsletter development, and short-form video, reaping results, including the average digital platform audience growth rate of 214% and in some cases more than 100% growth in revenue; launched CEMediaTrends, an annual event on the latest trends and tools available to online media outlets, and hands-on workshops for more than 80 representatives of CE media outlets. -...

Inclusive Policymaking and Sustained Stakeholder Engagement Designer of Council of Europe's first Participatory Democracy Academies Lead international expert for   Council of Europe  on policy dialogue and participatory tools for civil society actors and government officials in 11 countries: Lead expert, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Council of Europe, facilitating participatory academies in Moldova and Albania; Designed and led stakeholder consultations on the New Democratic Pact for Europe in Brussels and Barcelona; Advised local authorities in Ukraine, Georgia, Kosovo, and Armenia on policy dialogue; Promoted Civil Participation in Democratic Decision-Making in Ukraine, including designing a Participatory Democracy Academy for civil society organisations and public officials resulting in tools on policy dialogue and participatory budgeting, including for schools, now applied in Georgia and Moldova; Authored Council of Europe studies and guidelines on civil par...

Policy Dialogue and Advocacy for Impact As the first Executive Director of    PASOS (Policy Association for an Open Society), conceived and implemented seminars training think-tank directors and their staff in strategic communications, developed an advocacy handbook for civil society on influencing EU policymaking, and oversaw the emergence of PASOS as one of the leading civil society networks in the region. PASOS is a network of independent policy centres spanning 28 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Achievements: Jeff took strategic leadership in projects and civil society development in the Western Balkans and in the EU’s eastern neighbours (in 2011-12 he successfully lobbied the European Commission to launch the European Neighbourhood Policy Civil Society Facility), and diversified the funding base of PASOS. Highlights included: Designed and led key projects, resulting for example in a breakthrough in relations between the Eastern Partner ...

Strategic Advice to Independent Media: As Chief of Party of Zinc Network's Central Europe Media Program  (2022-2025) provided mentoring to media outlet leadership teams on diversifying revenue streams and building strong connections with audiences: led project support for 13 partners, ensuring strategic alignment with business goals and measurable outcomes across diverse media outlets with a view to securing audience & revenue growth and building sustainable financial models; provided expert support and mentoring for independent media in revenue models, audience engagement, and ethical use of AI, reaping results, including average digital platform audience growth rate of 214% between March 2023 and December 2024 and in some cases more than 100% growth in revenue; conceived and organised hands-on workshops for more than 200 representatives of more than 50 media outlets. As Director of Communications, Transparency International Jeff Lovitt served as Director of Communications at...

Handbook on Open Local Government and Public Ethics (Author of sections on international standards for seven country editions), Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Council of Europe, 2022 Time to End Putin's Impunity   by Jeff Lovitt and Jan Piekło,  bne IntelliNews , 10 June 2021 Do We Trust Democracy? A Future Agenda for Europe , an Open Government Partnership publication (Chapter by Jeff Lovitt: "Does the EU Want What Its Neighbours Need?"), Open Government Partnership, May 2019 Eastern Partnership Index 2017. Charting Progress in European Integration, Democratic Reforms, and Sustainable Development   (Editor in Chief: Jeff Lovitt), Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, December 2018, ISBN 978-2-930970-01-1   Regulatory Impact Assessment and Public Consultations: Comparative Models, Lessons Learned & Recommendations for Belarus   by Goran Forbici and Jeff Lovitt, Council of Europe, July 2018 Eastern Partnership Index 2015-2016. Charting P...

2025- : Chair, Young Speakers Scotland , educational charity that uses debating and public speaking to help young people realise their potential 2015- : Chair, New Diplomacy , non-profit organisation focused on civil society engagement in policymaking, security policy and media standards  2016-2021: Member, International Experts Panel (IEP) of the Open Government Partnership (OGP)  August 2015- Member, Roster of Experts,  GPSA (Global Partnership for Social Accountability),  World Bank January-June 2015 and January-December 2017, Member,  Advisory Group on Media Freedom in the Eastern Partnership countries , chaired in 2015 by the Latvian Presidency of the EU Council and in 2017 by the European Commission 2011-2012, 2013-2014: President and Co-Chair, Steering Committee,  Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum 2012-2013: Chair of Board,  DEMAS - Association for Democracy Assistance & Human Rights,  Czech Republic 2010: Jury member, ...