On September 12, 2024, Tamar Sulukhia, Director of ISET and the ISET Policy Institute, participated as a panelist in a policy discussion at the FREE Network Conference in Chisinau, Moldova. The panel, titled "Research and Capacity Building: The FREE Network Experience," brought together experts from across Eastern Europe and emerging economies to discuss the pivotal role of local institutions in supporting evidence-based policy. Sulukhia spoke about how best-practice, reputable local institutional anchors, such as ISET, play a critical role in building human capital and fostering analytics that can impact policy, particularly on the path toward EU accession.

Sulukhia’s insights emphasized the significance of capacity building and knowledge exchange, aligning with the FREE Network's mission of strengthening research and policy connections in the region. The discussion also featured insights from panelists across the region, including Dzmitry Kruk from BEROC, Belarus, in exile, Marija Krūmiņa from BICEPS, Latvia, Michal Myck from CenEA, Poland, and Julius Andersson from SITE, Sweden.