ASOCIATIA MAI BINE

Their core work

Asociatia Mai Bine is a Romanian NGO based in Iași that works on sustainability, circular economy, and urban food systems. They bring citizen engagement and responsible research practices into EU innovation projects focused on local food production, circular textiles, and product traceability. Their role in consortia centers on community-level implementation, awareness-raising, and connecting research outcomes with everyday citizens and local communities.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Asociatia Mai Bine entered H2020 in 2020 with a focus on urban food systems and citizen engagement (FoodE), reflecting their NGO roots in community-oriented sustainability. By 2021, their involvement shifted toward industrial circular economy topics — circular textiles, bio-based materials, and blockchain-enabled supply chain traceability. This progression suggests a move from localized food and citizen science toward broader circular economy and digital traceability themes.

They are moving from community-level food sustainability toward supply chain transparency and circular economy applications, suggesting growing interest in digital tools for sustainability verification.

How they like to work

Mai Bine participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator, which is typical for a smaller NGO contributing specific community engagement or dissemination capabilities. They work in large consortia — 73 unique partners across 18 countries from just 3 projects — indicating they join broad, well-funded Innovation Action consortia. This makes them accessible and experienced in large multi-national teams, though they are not a project driver.

Despite only 3 projects, they have collaborated with 73 unique partners across 18 countries, giving them a surprisingly wide European network for an NGO of their size. Their connections span food, textiles, and digital traceability sectors.

What sets them apart

As a Romanian NGO working at the intersection of sustainability, citizen engagement, and circular economy, Mai Bine occupies a niche that many consortia need but struggle to fill: the community-facing partner who can translate research into local impact. Their location in Iași gives them access to Eastern European pilot contexts, which is valuable for projects needing geographic diversity. They are best suited for consortia that require citizen engagement, local demonstration, or responsible research and innovation (RRI) components.

Highlights from their portfolio

• FoodE
  Their largest project (EUR 312k), focused on urban food systems with a citizen science approach — a strong fit for their NGO mission.
• TRICK
  Represents a pivot into blockchain and digital traceability, an unusual topic for a community-oriented NGO, signaling expanding technical ambitions.