She obtained her Ph.D. in Political and Social Sciences from the European University Institute and her B.A. in Mass Communication from the American University in Cairo; and a Master in Public Administration (M.P.A.) from the same University in February 1999. She authored several publications on governance, education reform, development assistance, public policy reforms, and innovation in public administration. Sayed participated in the co-supervision and examining boards of doctoral dissertations in Lancaster University and Aix-Marseille Université.
As an international consultant to UNDESA, Sayed, has been conducting major studies on innovation in governance and produced case studies on innovation in public administration, under the Programme for the Promotion of Exchange of Administrative Innovation between Europe and the Mediterranean Region. She also co-edited a key report on Governance in the Mediterranean Region (covering all MENA and the Eastern Balkan Countries).
Sayed is a founding member and member of the Steering Committee of Innovmed The Network of Innovators in Governance in the Mediterranean Region, launched by UNDESA in collaboration with Formez (Italian Government Agency for Training and Research) and The World Bank Institute. Besides, she is a member of the Polibius research team under the European Thematic Network in Public Administration working on higher education in the field of governance in the Euro-Mediterranean Region; and a founding member of the Arab Forum for Basic Education Reform (established by the Lebanese Association for Education Studies and the Kuwaiti Society for Advancing Arab Childhood).