ETHNIKO KENTRO KOINONIKON EREVNON

Their core work

EKKE (National Centre for Social Research) is Greece's primary public research institution for social sciences, conducting studies on migration, social integration, and research policy. They contribute social science data infrastructure and expertise on researcher mobility, refugee integration, and EURAXESS services across Europe. Their work bridges social research with EU-level data infrastructure, providing analytical capacity for projects studying migration patterns and open science ecosystems.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

EKKE's early H2020 work (2015–2018) centered on social science data archiving (CESSDA-SaW) and researcher support for refugees and minorities (BRiDGE). From 2019 onward, their involvement shifted toward migration analytics (HumMingBird) and open science infrastructure (EOSC Future), signaling a move from direct social support toward data-driven research ecosystems. The transition from EURAXESS-style career services to cloud-based research infrastructure suggests EKKE is positioning itself at the intersection of social science and digital research platforms.

EKKE is moving from traditional social research toward digital research infrastructure and data-driven migration studies, making them relevant for future EOSC and social analytics consortia.

How they like to work

EKKE operates exclusively as a supporting partner — never as coordinator — and half their projects are as a third party, indicating they typically provide specialized social science input rather than leading project design. With 138 unique partners across 31 countries from just 4 projects, they work in very large consortia, which is consistent with infrastructure-scale initiatives. This makes them a low-risk, easy-to-integrate partner that adds social science depth without demanding leadership resources.

Despite only 4 projects, EKKE has connected with 138 unique partners across 31 countries — a remarkably wide network driven by participation in large-scale infrastructure projects like CESSDA-SaW and EOSC Future. Their reach is pan-European with no visible geographic concentration beyond Greece.

What sets them apart

EKKE is one of few Greek institutions combining deep social science research capability with involvement in European-scale data infrastructure projects. Their dual expertise in migration/integration studies and research data ecosystems makes them a natural fit for consortia needing a Southern European social science anchor. For projects requiring both quantitative social data capacity and qualitative understanding of migration in the Mediterranean context, EKKE fills a specific niche.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CESSDA-SaW
  Their largest funded project (EUR 38,812), contributing to the pan-European social science data archive infrastructure that serves thousands of researchers.
• EOSC Future
  Participation in the flagship European Open Science Cloud initiative signals recognition as a relevant social science data provider at continental scale.
• BRiDGE
  Directly addressed the crisis-relevant challenge of supporting refugee researchers through EURAXESS, combining social impact with research policy.