Advisory and Consultancy Work
Research, strategic insight and collaborative thinking for policy, practice and institutional change
Alongside her academic research, Elena works with universities, humanitarian and civil society organisations, policy actors and international partners on questions relating to displacement, humanitarianism, migration, education and sanctuary. Her advisory work draws on more than two decades of international research and collaboration, bringing research evidence and critical analysis into dialogue with the knowledge and priorities of people and communities directly affected by displacement.
She is particularly interested in collaborations that require intellectual framing, strategic thinking, convening and the development of more equitable approaches to complex institutional and humanitarian challenges.
Humanitarianism, Displacement and Refugee Response
Elena advises and collaborates on questions concerning humanitarian response, displacement, protection and the changing international humanitarian landscape. Drawing on research on refugee-led responses, South-South humanitarianism, faith and humanitarianism, and both refugee-refugee and refugee-host relations, she brings particular attention to the knowledge and leadership of communities affected by displacement and to unequal distributions of power and responsibility within humanitarian systems.
Current areas of engagement include localisation and local leadership, accountability to affected communities, humanitarian access and protection, ethical and equitable partnership, and the future of humanitarian action.
Policy, Strategy and Research Advice
Elena contributes to advisory groups, expert consultations, research programmes and strategic discussions addressing migration, displacement, humanitarianism, inequality and social justice. She brings together research evidence, critical analysis and perspectives emerging from affected communities and different geographical contexts, helping organisations question established assumptions, identify overlooked perspectives and develop more contextually grounded approaches.
Higher Education, Sanctuary and Displacement
A significant strand of Elena’s advisory and institutional work concerns how universities respond to displacement, conflict and inequality. Drawing on work in sanctuary, widening participation, international education and support for displaced students and scholars, she contributes to discussions about institutional responsibility, educational access and inclusion, international partnership, and the role of higher education in responding to humanitarian crisis. This work asks a larger question: how can universities translate commitments to sanctuary and inclusion into meaningful institutional practice?
Ethics, Participation and Knowledge Production
Elena advises on research ethics and the responsibilities involved in conducting research in contexts shaped by displacement, conflict, violence and inequality. Her approach foregrounds questions of power, representation, reciprocity and responsibility: who determines research questions, whose knowledge is recognised, how partnerships are structured, and how research can avoid reproducing the inequalities it seeks to understand.
A central concern is moving beyond treating refugees and conflict-affected communities simply as research participants towards recognising people with displacement backgrounds as producers of knowledge and intellectual partners.
Narratives, Representation and Public Engagement
Elena also contributes to work examining how displacement and humanitarian crises are represented across policy, humanitarian, media, educational and public contexts. This includes questions of narrative ethics, visibility and invisibility, whose knowledge shapes public understandings of crisis, and how writing, photography and other creative practices can open different ways of seeing and understanding displacement.
This work increasingly engages with digital environments and the ways misinformation, disinformation and changing media systems shape narratives about conflict, migration and humanitarian crisis.
Convening, Workshops and Strategic Dialogue
Elena designs and facilitates roundtables, strategic workshops, expert consultations and interdisciplinary conversations bringing together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, community organisations, artists and other partners. Her approach combines intellectual framing with careful facilitation, particularly where the aim is to develop shared questions, identify emerging agendas, rethink established approaches or build new collaborations.
Areas of Expertise
Humanitarianism, displacement and humanitarian futures
Protection, access, accountability and humanitarian diplomacy
Local leadership, participation and equitable partnership
Migration, refuge and refugee response
Higher education, sanctuary and displacement
Research ethics and responsible research practice
Narrative, representation and knowledge production
Strategic research development, convening and international collaboration
Advisory and Consultancy Enquiries
Elena welcomes conversations with organisations and institutions interested in drawing on her research and expertise through advisory roles, strategic consultations, commissioned research, expert contributions, workshops, roundtables, and longer-term collaborations.