Advisory & Service | Natalia Grincheva

Professional Memberships

Serving on the UNESCO Institute for Statistics Advisory Group

As an appointed member of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Cultural and Creative Industries Advisory Group (CCIAG), Associate Professor Natalia Grincheva plays a pivotal role in formulating global metrics for measuring cultural vitality. Serving alongside an international panel of cultural policy scholars, econometricians, and statistical leaders, Dr. Grincheva contributes directly to developing the global Cultural and Creative Ecosystem (CCE) Indicators Framework and its accompanying technical manual.

Her advisory mandate spans critical, multi-stage consultations designed to establish standardized indicators, definitions, and statistical tier classifications across key thematic domains—including creative production dynamics, cultural participation, economic value, capabilities, equity, governance, and environmental infrastructure. Participating in high-level working sessions at the UIS headquarters in Montreal and UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, Prof. Grincheva evaluates global consultation findings, resolves complex methodological divergences, and ensures the empirical feasibility of the framework. Through this strategic governance role, she helps establish a rigorous benchmark that guides international cultural statistics and advances evidence-driven cultural policy worldwide.

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Academic Peer Review

Cultivating Scholars: Peer Review & Academic Stewardship

Associate Professor Natalia Grincheva demonstrates advanced scholarly stewardship through her extensive peer-review service across leading academic publishers and premier journals. As an external reviewer for Routledge across its Museum and Heritage Studies, Global Politics & International Relations, and Business, Economics & Law lists, she evaluates high-level book proposals and textbooks, safeguarding rigorous theoretical standards while providing constructive, transformative feedback to authors. Her reviews critically address essential theoretical gaps, advocate for the decolonization of arts management, and champion cutting-edge research in digital humanities, AI, and climate justice.

Her commitment to academic excellence is further reflected in evaluating manuscripts for over 50 prestigious peer-reviewed journals. Her portfolio spans high-impact SSCI, AHCI, and ESCI-indexed publications, including International Organization, New Media & Society, International Journal of Cultural Policy, and Curator: The Museum Journal. Beyond evaluating established research, Prof. Grincheva actively mentors emerging scholars through the peer-review process, guiding authors to refine their theoretical frameworks and articulate unique scholarly voices.

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Juries & Grant Committees

Scholarly Stewardship & International Grant Evaluations

Associate Professor Natalia Grincheva’s international authority in cultural policy, digital humanities, and research innovation is underscored by her appointment to premier national research evaluation panels and award jury committees worldwide. Serving on peer review panels for major international funding bodies, Prof. Grincheva plays a pivotal role in evaluating high-stakes research proposals, allocating competitive funding, and shaping strategic research agendas across multiple continents.

Her grant evaluation service spans leading national agencies, including the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Research and Innovation panel, the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s Canada Research Chairs Fund, and the National Science Centre in Poland. In these roles, she brings critical expertise to bear on assessing interdisciplinary rigor, methodological innovation, and societal impact. Complementing her research grant governance, Prof. Grincheva has also served as an expert juror for prestigious industry honors, including the international GLAMi Awards at the MuseWeb Conference, evaluating groundbreaking digital tools for cultural institutions.

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Convening & Chairing Academic Panels

Leading International Scholarly Conventions

Associate Professor Natalia Grincheva’s academic leadership is defined by her capacity to convene and curate high-impact international panels that drive forward-thinking discourse across cultural policy, arts management, and digital humanities. Spanning prominent conference platforms like the International Cultural Policy Research (ICCPR), International Political Science Association (IPSA), International Studies Association (ISA), and International Digital Storytelling Conferences, her curated panels regularly unite scholars from diverse regions, including the Global South and post-conflict zones, around coherent analytical frameworks.

Her panel curation goes beyond event organizing; it serves as an incubator for intellectual exchanges that frequently translate into major academic outputs, such as edited collections, special journal issues, and collaborative research initiatives. By curating panels on decolonizing cultural management, cross-country cultural statistics, artificial intelligence ethics, and virtual heritage, Prof. Grincheva bridges geographic and epistemic divides. Whether convening sessions at the Osaka World Expo Forum, the International Heritage Symposium at the University of Bologna, or the AIMAC Conference in Lisbon, she demonstrates sustained mastery in elevating diverse voices and fostering cross-continental research networks.

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Curating & Organising Events

Global Forums, Symposia & Research Convenings

Associate Professor Natalia Grincheva demonstrates exceptional organizational acumen in curating high-impact public events, international symposia, and research seminar series that convene global leaders and draw massive international audiences. Her proven capacity for orchestrating large-scale convenings is exemplified by the 2020 Cultural Research Network Global Webinar, which engaged over 600 online attendees, alongside high-level collaborations with institutional partners like the Singapore Tourism Board, the University of Oxford, the National Arts Council, and the National Heritage Board.

A prime example of her event curation, the December 2024 International Symposium “Mapping the Global Impacts of Hallyu, The Korean Wave” at LASALLE, united leading international scholars, government stakeholders, and creative industry executives to explore data-driven cultural diplomacy and big data methodologies. Spanning flagship initiatives such as the Culture Futures Lab Incubators, multi-part research series on emerging technologies, and high-profile public forums, Prof. Grincheva consistently bridges academia, government, and industry, transforming cutting-edge research into vibrant, globally resonant dialogues.

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Institutional Stewardship & Scholarly Governance

Global Advisory, Expert Panels & Research Curations