APPLIED RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATIONS FUND

Their core work

ARC Fund is a Bulgarian think tank specializing in science-society relations, responsible research and innovation (RRI), and energy citizenship. They design governance frameworks that help territories, universities, and research centres embed public engagement and ethical oversight into their R&I systems. Their practical work includes running citizen consultations, living labs, and co-creation processes that connect researchers with communities — particularly around energy behaviour change and democratic participation in science policy.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2014–2018), ARC Fund focused on innovation ecosystem support, SME capacity building, and international STI cooperation — particularly around the Black Sea region and EU policy frameworks. From 2019 onward, their work shifted decisively toward territorial RRI governance, co-creation methodologies, energy citizenship, and citizen science within democratic systems. The transition shows a clear move from traditional innovation policy advisory toward deeper engagement with how communities and territories govern research and energy transitions.

ARC Fund is consolidating around territorial governance of research and energy transitions, making them a strong fit for future missions-oriented projects that require regional citizen engagement and RRI frameworks.

How they like to work

Predominantly a consortium partner (12 of 14 projects), ARC Fund contributes specialized expertise in RRI, citizen engagement, and policy analysis within larger European teams. Their two coordinator roles — including their largest project RRI-LEADERS (€385K) — came later in their H2020 trajectory, suggesting growing ambition and recognition. With 130 unique partners across 43 countries, they operate as a well-connected hub rather than a repeat-partner organization, bringing broad European network access to any consortium.

Exceptionally broad network for their size: 130 unique consortium partners across 43 countries, indicating they are a trusted node in European RRI and science-society research circles. Their geographic reach spans well beyond their home region, with particular strength in connecting Eastern European perspectives to pan-European projects.

What sets them apart

ARC Fund occupies a rare niche as a Bulgarian research centre with deep European integration in science governance — most RRI expertise is concentrated in Western Europe. They combine policy research with hands-on citizen engagement methods, making them valuable for projects that need to demonstrate real community-level impact rather than just producing reports. For consortium builders, they bring both Eastern European context and a proven track record of working across 43 countries.

Highlights from their portfolio

• RRI-LEADERS
  Their largest project (€385K) and a coordinator role, focused on RRI leadership at territorial level — represents the culmination of their RRI expertise trajectory.
• EnergyPROSPECTS
  Their second-largest funding (€299K) and most recent energy project, mapping energy citizenship typologies and new business models for community energy transitions.
• TeRRItoria
  Key project bridging their RRI and territorial governance expertise, working on quadruple helix models and open science at regional level — a theme they later coordinated in RRI-LEADERS.