CRRC GEORGIA NON-ENTREPRENEURIAL (NON-COMMERCIAL

Their core work

CRRC Georgia (Caucasus Research Resource Centers – Georgia) is an independent social science research center based in Tbilisi, producing survey-based and qualitative research on political, social, and cultural dynamics across the South Caucasus. In H2020, they contributed regional expertise on geopolitics and identity questions — first on the trajectory of EU-Turkey relations and then on how cultural heritage shapes European identities. Their distinctive value is providing a non-EU, Eastern neighborhood perspective that pure Western European research teams lack. They sit at the intersection of political science, cultural studies, and regional area expertise in one of Europe's most strategically sensitive neighborhoods.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

CRRC Georgia's two H2020 projects span 2016–2021, with a visible thematic shift. Their entry point was squarely geopolitical — analyzing the EU-Turkey bilateral relationship, its possible futures, and the drivers of change. The later project moved toward a more societal and cultural register, examining how heritage and identity shape European cohesion. This suggests a broadening from hard foreign policy analysis toward the softer, values-driven dimensions of European integration — a common trajectory for social science institutes as EU funding priorities shifted during Horizon 2020.

Their direction points toward research on identity, belonging, and cultural memory in Europe's eastern margins — a profile well-suited to Horizon Europe calls on democracy, cultural heritage, and EU enlargement sociology.

How they like to work

CRRC Georgia joins exclusively as a consortium participant — they have never led a project — which is typical for non-EU associated country partners contributing regional expertise to teams led by Western European universities. Despite only two projects, they have worked with 24 distinct partners across 15 countries, indicating large, multi-partner RIA consortia rather than tight bilateral collaborations. Working with them means gaining a credible Georgian/South Caucasus research node, but they are unlikely to take on coordination or administrative leadership roles.

With 24 unique partners across 15 countries accumulated in just two projects, CRRC Georgia consistently participates in large, geographically diverse research consortia. Their network skews toward European social science institutions and policy research centers rather than technology or industry partners.

What sets them apart

CRRC Georgia is one of a very small number of Georgian research organizations active in H2020, making them a rare and credible bridge between the EU research space and the South Caucasus. For any consortium studying EU neighborhood policy, Eastern Partnership dynamics, post-Soviet identity, or regional cultural heritage, they offer something no Western European partner can replicate: legitimate institutional presence and research networks on the ground in Tbilisi. Their non-commercial, independent status also gives their social science outputs credibility that government-affiliated institutes in the region often lack.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CHIEF
  The largest project by budget (EUR 307,250) and thematically broad — examining how cultural heritage shapes the future of European identities, a topic highly relevant to EU enlargement and Eastern Partnership discourse.
• FEUTURE
  Politically significant topic — mapping the future of EU-Turkey relations at a moment of high strategic tension — demonstrating CRRC Georgia's access to sensitive geopolitical research networks.