ETHNIKO KENTRO TEKMIRIOSIS KAI ILEKTRONIKOU PERIECHOMENOU

Their core work

EKT (National Documentation Center) is Greece's principal organization for scientific documentation, open access infrastructure, and research policy support. They serve as National Contact Point (NCP) for multiple Horizon 2020 programme pillars — including health, energy, ICT, and research infrastructures — helping Greek researchers and SMEs access EU funding. They also deliver innovation management and Key Account Management services to Greek SMEs under the SME Instrument, and contribute to pan-European open science platforms and research infrastructure catalogues.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2014–2017), EKT focused on building and professionalizing NCP networks — training, twinning, and brokerage events across health and nuclear research programmes. From 2019 onward, their work shifted decisively toward innovation management for SMEs (coordinating three successive Enhancement grants), open science infrastructure (TRIPLE, OPERAS-P, CatRIS), and supporting deep-tech startups. The trajectory shows a move from pure NCP networking toward becoming an active innovation intermediary and open science platform builder.

EKT is evolving from a passive NCP relay into an active innovation intermediary, increasingly combining SME support services with open science and research infrastructure platforms.

How they like to work

EKT overwhelmingly operates as a consortium partner (13 of 16 projects) rather than a leader, joining large pan-European networks — typically NCP coordination actions with 15–30+ partners. When they do coordinate, it is on nationally-focused innovation management grants (Enhancement series). With 171 unique partners across 43 countries, they function as a well-connected hub rather than a loyal-partner organization, making them a useful gateway to the Greek research and SME ecosystem.

EKT has worked with 171 unique consortium partners across 43 countries, reflecting their role in pan-European NCP networks that typically include one partner per EU member state. Their network is exceptionally broad geographically but concentrated in coordination and support actions rather than deep technical research collaborations.

What sets them apart

EKT occupies a rare dual role: they are both Greece's official research documentation and NCP body and an active operator of innovation management services for SMEs. This means they combine institutional knowledge of EU funding programmes with hands-on experience supporting companies through the SME Instrument and Fast Track to Innovation. For consortium builders, EKT provides a single entry point to Greek research policy, SME ecosystems, and open science infrastructure — particularly valuable for projects needing a credible Greek institutional partner with broad NCP experience.

Highlights from their portfolio

• TRIPLE
  Largest single grant (EUR 191,250) — building a multilingual discovery platform for social sciences and humanities within the European Open Science Cloud.
• Enhancement SGA4
  Coordinator role with EUR 82,650 — the culmination of a three-grant series delivering innovation management to Greek SMEs, demonstrating sustained national impact.
• OpenAIRE-Advance
  Part of the flagship European open access infrastructure, contributing to the Open Science Observatory and open research data monitoring.