In partnership with the National Democratic Institute, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research conducted public opinion research in Iraq from February to April 2017, capturing citizens’ perspectives on security, the economy, and other key political trends. The research includes a 2,000 person national survey with oversamples in Mosul, Anbar, and Salahaddin, and 12 focus groups including internally displaced persons (IDPs) and citizens who lived under the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), both of which provide insight into Iraqi citizens’ expectations for governance following the liberation of Mosul. Ancuta Hansen, NDI’s Iraq Country Director, will discuss the findings, and NDI's current efforts to support democratic actors in Iraq.

Speaker: Ancuta Hansen

Hansen is NDI’s Iraq Country Director.  She has previously managed NDI programs for political parties, legislatures, and civil society organizations in the Middle East and North Africa and Asia. She also trained NDI political party partners in Eastern Europe and Central America. Before joining NDI in 2010, Ms. Hansen was politically engaged in her home country, Romania, managing election campaigns, advising political leaders, and serving as a member of her party’s Integrity Commission. In 2006, she worked for the European Parliament and was elected as a provincial councilor in 2007. She holds an MA in International and Diplomatic Law from Dimitrie Cantemir University and an MA in Communication and Public Relations from the National School of Political and Administrative Studies. 

Moderator: Sarhang Hamasaeed

Hamasaeed is the director of Middle East Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). Hamasaeed has more than 15 years of strategy, management, and monitoring and evaluation experience in governmental, nongovernmental, private sector, and media organizations. As a deputy director general at the Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (2008-2009), Hamasaeed managed strategic government modernization initiatives through information technology with the goal of helping improve governance and service delivery. As a program manager for the Research Triangle Institute International (2003-2004), he managed civic engagement and local democratic governance programs in Iraq. Hamasaeed has worked as a planning and relations manager at Kurdistan Save the Children (1997-2002). Hamasaeed has also worked for the Los Angeles Times and other international media organizations. He holds a Master’s degree in International Development Policy from Duke University (2007) and is a Fulbright alumnus.