CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT*CASTED

Their core work

CASTED is China's primary government-affiliated think tank for science and technology policy, operating under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) in Beijing. Their work centers on analyzing how research and innovation systems are governed — studying organizational practices, policy frameworks, and the social dimensions of science. In EU projects, they contribute a Chinese institutional perspective: bringing comparative data on how innovation governance works in China versus Europe, and serving as a credible bridge between Chinese policy bodies and European research consortia. Their involvement in urban sustainability research further reflects a mandate to study how cities transition toward more livable, technology-driven futures.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (2016-2019), CASTED focused squarely on responsible research and innovation — organizational studies, best practices, and governance frameworks. Their second project (2018-2021) moved into urban sustainability and EU-China dialogue, with no overlap in keywords, suggesting a deliberate broadening of scope rather than a deepening of the RRI work. With only two projects over five years, it is difficult to call this a firm trend, but the direction points away from pure science policy theory toward applied comparative urban and societal transitions.

CASTED appears to be expanding from internal science governance frameworks toward applied societal policy research — particularly projects that require a credible Chinese institutional counterpart for EU-China comparative work.

How they like to work

CASTED joins as a participant in every project and has never taken a coordinator role in H2020. Despite only two projects, they accumulated 29 unique partners across 15 countries, which means both consortia were large and multi-national — typical of CSA and RIA projects in the Society pillar. They function as a specialist node bringing Chinese policy data and institutional legitimacy, not as a project manager or work package leader.

Despite a very small H2020 footprint of two projects, CASTED has touched 29 unique partners across 15 countries — a sign that both projects ran large, geographically diverse consortia. Their network spans Europe and China, reflecting their role as a bridge institution rather than a regionally concentrated research partner.

What sets them apart

CASTED occupies a rare position as a Chinese government-linked research body with direct H2020 participation, making them one of very few Chinese institutions that European consortium builders can cite as a credible, formally engaged partner — not just an associated country collaborator. For projects requiring genuine comparative analysis between European and Chinese innovation systems, urban policy, or research governance, CASTED brings both institutional authority and access to Chinese government data that no European partner can replicate. Their limitation is a very thin EU track record, so partnering with them works best when the project explicitly needs a China-facing actor.

Highlights from their portfolio

• RRI-Practice
  Largest project by budget and the most thematically central to CASTED's core expertise — studying how responsible research and innovation principles are actually implemented inside research organizations across Europe and beyond.
• TRANS-URBAN-EU-CHINA
  Rare EU-funded project with China as an explicit co-study region, where CASTED served as the Chinese institutional anchor for a comparative urban sustainability analysis — a role no European partner could fill.