COMISSAO DE COORDENACAO E DESENVOLVIMENTO REGIONAL DO CENTRO

Their core work

CCDRC is the regional development authority for Portugal's Centro region, headquartered in Coimbra. Their primary role in EU projects is driving regional smart specialisation strategies — translating EU research and innovation policy into regional action, particularly around ageing, health, and wellbeing. They coordinate the creation of the Multidisciplinary Institute of Ageing (MIA) as a centre of excellence, and they participate in cross-regional initiatives on circular economy and research infrastructure governance. This is a policy and governance body, not a research performer — they bring regional authority, funding coordination, and institutional anchoring to consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

CCDRC's H2020 trajectory shows a consistent and deepening focus on ageing research as a regional specialisation. The early period (2015-2018) was exploratory — they launched the initial MIA concept while also participating in broader regional policy projects on circular economy (SCREEN) and research infrastructure (InRoad). By 2020, they committed fully to ageing with MIA-Portugal, a long-running project through 2027 that added molecular epidemiology and healthy living to the original multidisciplinary ageing focus, signalling a maturation from concept to implementation.

CCDRC is moving from broad regional coordination into deep, long-term investment in ageing and health research infrastructure in Centro Portugal — their MIA-Portugal project runs through 2027.

How they like to work

CCDRC operates as both a leader and a partner, split evenly across their projects. They coordinate their flagship ageing initiatives (MIA, MIA-Portugal) while joining larger European consortia as a regional authority voice. With 38 unique partners across 16 countries from just 4 projects, they favour broad, diverse consortia rather than tight recurring partnerships — consistent with their role as a regional government body connecting local priorities to European networks.

Despite a small project portfolio, CCDRC has built a remarkably wide network of 38 partners across 16 countries — reflecting their role as a regional hub connecting Centro Portugal to European research and innovation ecosystems.

What sets them apart

CCDRC is not a university or research institute — it is the official regional authority for Centro Portugal, which means it can mobilise regional policy, funding, and institutional commitments that academic partners cannot. For consortium builders, they bring legitimacy and direct access to regional smart specialisation budgets and governance. Their decade-long investment in the MIA ageing initiative makes them a serious anchor partner for anyone working on ageing, health, and wellbeing research in Southern Europe.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MIA-Portugal
  Long-running Widening project (2020-2027) to build a full centre of excellence in ageing research — shows deep institutional commitment beyond typical short EU projects.
• SCREEN
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 103,550) and their main cross-sectoral engagement, connecting circular economy policy across European regions.