Dr. Philip Gounev
Overview
Dr. Philip Gounev is founder and principal consultant at PMG Analytics. He is experienced project manager and expert with over 16 years of consultancy, research, and public policy experience in the field of home affairs and public administration.
Between 2013-2014, Dr Gounev served in three governments as Deputy Minister of Interior of the Republic of Bulgaria where he was responsible for coordination of various policies, including migration, border security, counterterrorism, anticorruption, fraud in EU funds, and electronic government.
Prior to his public policy career Dr. Gounev was Director of the Security Programme at the Center for the Study of Democracy, a leading Bulgarian think-tank, where he managed consultancy, research and capacity building projects. Dr. Gounev spent many years in the US, as finance professional.
As recognised expert on anti-corruption Dr. Gounev was Member of the EU Expert Group on Corruption (2011-2014).
Education:
- PhD in Sociology – London School of Economics
- Master of International Affairs – Columbia University
- MSc Social Anthropology – London School of Economics
- BA Business Administration – Eastern Nazarene College
Languages:
- Bulgarian
- English
- French
- Spanish
- Russian
Publications
Dr. Gounev has authored over forty policy reports and academic publications. Some of the more significant academic contributions include:
Books:
- Gounev, P. and Ruggiero, V. (2012) (eds.) Corruption and organised crime in Europe: Illegal partnerships, London: Routledge
Book chapters:
- Gounev, P. (2013) “Soft and Harsh Penalties in Bulgaria” in (eds.) Ruggiero, V. and Ryan, M., Punishment in Europe: A Critical Anatomy of Penal Systems, London: Palgrave
- Rusev, A., Gounev, P., and Bezlov, T. (2013) “European Lessons from the Bulgarian Serious Organised Crime Threat Assessment”, (eds.) Van Duyne, P., Harvey, J., Antonopoulos, G., von Lampe, K., Maljevic, A., and Spencer, Human Dimensions in Organised Crime, Money Laundering and Corruption, Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers
- Gounev, P. (2012) “Social Background of Organised Criminals in Bulgaria and Corruption” in (ed.) Balica, E. and Decarpes, P. Violence and Crime in Europe – Social Interventions and Research Methods, Bucharest: Ars Docendi
- Gounev, P., Bezlov, T. and Petrunov, G. (2009), “Market regulation and criminal structures in the Bulgarian commercial sex market”, in (eds.) van Duyne, P., Donati, S., Harvey, J., Maljevic, A. and von Lampe, K., Crime, Money and Criminal Mobility in Europe, Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publisher
- Bezlov, T., and Gounev, P. (2008), Vehicle Theft Market in Bulgaria, in Dina Siegel & Hans Nelen (eds). Organized Crime: Culture, Markets, and Policies, Springer 2008.
Journal articles:
- Gounev, P. and Bezlov, T. Examining the links between organized crime and corruption (report excerpts), Trends in Organised Crime, Vol.13, 2010
- Gounev, P. and Bezlov, T. Georganiseerde misdaad, corruptie en politiek in Bulgarije, Boom Legal Publishers, WODC: Justitiële verkenningen, 35 / No. 3, 2009 [in Dutch]
- Gounev, P. and Bezlov, T., From the economy of deficit to the black-market: car theft and trafficking in Bulgaria, Trends in Organised Crime, No.4 / December 2008
Key project experience
| Role | Project name | Client / Donor | Year |
| Second Opinion Expert on Bulgaria | European Commission DG HOME Framework Contract to deliver Consultancy, technical assistance and support in the field against corruption. | European Commission
(DG Home Affairs) |
2019-present |
| Project Manager | Assessing Corruption Risks and Designing Anti-Corruption Reforms in Executive Agency “Automobile Administration” (Republic of Bulgaria) | Ministry of Transport and Information Technology | 2019 |
| Senior consultant | Study on Letterbox Companies | DG JUST | 2019 |
| Project Manager | Assessment of the implementation of Regulation 2017/458 (Systematic checks) | DG HOME | 2019 |
| Project Manager | Conducting criminological research and data collection on organised crime in Bulgaria | Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) | 2019 |
| Project co-manager | Assessment of the Child Protection System in Bulgaria | UNICEF | 2018-19 |
| Senior Consultant | Evaluation of Council Directive 2004/82/EC on the obligation of carriers to communicate passenger data [API Directive] | DG HOME | 2019 |
| Senior Consultant | Ex-post evaluation of two projects: “Biometrics in EU IT borders, immigration and asylum databases” and “LGBTI Survey II”. | Fundamental Rights Agency | 2019 |
| Senior Consultant | Study on Aviation Security in Europe | Industry (confidential) | 2018-19 |
| Senior Consultant | External Evaluation of EMCDDA | DG HOME | 2018 |
| Senior Consultant | Study to assess the impacts related to possible evolutions of EUROSUR | DG HOME | 2018 |
| Project Manager | Monitoring and evaluation of the activity for the period 01.01.2015 – 30.12.2017 of the Local commissions for combating trafficking in human beings (LCCTHB), established by the National commission for combating trafficking in human beings | National commission for combating trafficking in human beings in Bulgaria | 2018 |
| Project Manager | Mid-term evaluation of the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020 | DG JUST | 2017-18 |
| Project Manager | Study in support of a Fitness check and compliance assessment of existing legal migration Directives | DG HOME | 2017-18 |
| Project Manager | Interim evaluation of the Internal Security Fund – Police (2014 – 2017) | DG HOME | 2017-18 |
| Project Manager | The Cost of Non-Europe in the Area of Border Control and Visa Policy | European Parliament | 2017-18 |
| Senior Consultant | The 10 Years’ cooperation and verification mechanism (Bulgaria and Romania) | European Parliament | 2017 |
| Senior Consultant | A Study of Methods and Guidelines to Assess Operational Capabilities, Capacity-based Vulnerabilities, and Countermeasures in Countering Identity and Document Fraud and Assessing Risk at the First Line of Border Checks | FRONTEX | 2014 |
| Senior Consultant | Study on paving the way for future policy initiatives in the field against organised crime – effectiveness of specific criminal law measures | DG HOME | 2014 |
| Senior Consultant | Monitoring Anti-Corruption in EU: Bridging Policy Evaluation and Measurement | DG HOME | 2012-14 |
| Senior Consultant | Ex-post evaluation of the Schengen part of the temporary Cash-flow and Schengen Facility 2007-2009 for Bulgaria and Romania | DG HOME | 2013-2014 |
| Project Manager | National Crime Survey (annual) | CSD | 2008 -13 |
| Project Manager | Enhancing Police Internal Affairs Departments in EU Member States | DG HOME | 2011-14 |
| Project Manager | Study on anti-corruption measures in EU border control | FRONTEX | 2012 |
| Researcher | Sharing Alternative Practices for the Utilization of Confiscated Criminal Assets | DG HOME | 2011 |
| Project Manager | Bulgarian Organised Crime Threat Assessment | DG HOME | 2010-12 |
| Project Manager | Study to identify best practices on the cooperation between border guards and customs administrations working at the external borders of the EU | DG HOME | 2010 |
| Project Manager | Study to examine the link between organised crime and corruption | DG JLS | 2009 |
| Project Manager | Assessing the effectiveness of EU Member States’ practices in the identification, tracing, freezing and confiscation of criminal assets | DG JLS | 2008 |
| Project Manager | Study to Assess the Extent of Abuse of Non-Profit Organisations for Financial Criminal Purposes at EU Level | DG JLS | 2007-2008 |
| Researcher | Fact-Finding Study on Customs Controls of Drug Precursors in the EU | DG TAXUD | 2007 |
| Project Manager | Strategies for Effective Police Stop and Search in Bulgaria | DG JLS | 2007 |
| Project Manager | Study on police racial profiling in Bulgaria | Open Society Institute | 2005 |
| Project Manager | Study on Gun Culture in South Eastern Europe | SEESAC (UN/EU) | 2006 |
| Researcher | Study on gun crime and its effects, and arms export controls in Bulgaria | SEESAC (UN/EU) | 2005 |
| Researcher | Study on Bulgaria’s arms export control system | Saferworld (UK) | 2005 |
| Researcher | Assessing the risk of organized crime in cross-border transportation | Foreign Office (UK) | 2004 |