ANI - AGENCIA NACIONAL DE INOVACAO, SA

Their core work

ANI is Portugal's National Innovation Agency, serving as the country's official National Contact Point (NCP) for Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programmes. They help Portuguese researchers, SMEs, and companies access EU funding by providing training, partner searches, brokerage events, and proposal support across virtually all thematic areas. ANI also operates Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) services in Portugal, supporting SME innovation management and internationalization. Their core function is bridging Portuguese organizations with EU research and innovation opportunities — they are a gateway, not a research performer.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2014–2017), ANI focused heavily on building and professionalizing NCP networks — keywords like 'training', 'communication', 'networking', 'best practices', and 'twinning' dominated, reflecting efforts to establish Portugal's support infrastructure across all thematic areas. From 2018 onward, the emphasis shifted toward innovation-focused services, with keywords like 'innovation', 'Pathfinder', 'Accelerator', and 'Horizon Europe' becoming prominent, signaling a move from passive programme support to active innovation agency functions. This mirrors the broader EU shift from Horizon 2020 to Horizon Europe, where NCPs were expected to take on more strategic, innovation-driven roles.

ANI is evolving from a traditional NCP training-and-networking role toward active innovation brokerage, with growing emphasis on EIC instruments (Pathfinder, Accelerator) and innovation procurement.

How they like to work

ANI overwhelmingly participates as a third party (24 of 40 projects), which is standard for national agencies embedded in pan-European NCP networks — the lead partner runs the network, and each country's NCP joins as an affiliated entity. They coordinated only 2 projects, both small-scale peer learning exercises. With 198 unique partners across 49 countries, ANI operates as a high-connectivity hub rather than a deep bilateral collaborator — expect broad reach but a support-oriented rather than leadership-oriented partnership style.

ANI has collaborated with 198 unique partners across 49 countries, giving them one of the broadest networks of any Portuguese organization in H2020. This reach is a direct result of participating in pan-European NCP networks that typically include one partner per EU member state and associated country.

What sets them apart

ANI is not a research organization — it is Portugal's official gateway to EU research and innovation funding, making it a uniquely valuable partner for anyone needing access to the Portuguese innovation ecosystem. Their simultaneous presence across nearly every H2020 thematic area gives them unmatched cross-sector awareness of what Portuguese researchers and companies are working on. For consortium builders, ANI can identify the right Portuguese partner for virtually any topic, and for Portuguese organizations, ANI is the first stop for EU funding guidance.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PEER FOR EXCELLENCE
  One of only two projects ANI coordinated — a peer learning initiative on the Seal of Excellence for SME innovation support, showing leadership in this niche.
• Procure2Innovate
  ANI's largest funded project (EUR 95,438) and a departure from NCP work into innovation procurement competence centres, signaling strategic diversification.
• FLAG-ERA II
  Participation in the Flagship ERA-NET connecting ANI to the EU's largest research initiatives (Graphene, Human Brain Project), demonstrating reach beyond standard NCP activities.