EUROPEJSKIE REGIONALNE CENTRUM EKOHYDROLOGII POLSKIEJ AKADEMII NAUK

Their core work

ERCE PAN is a UNESCO-affiliated research centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences specializing in ecohydrology — the science of how water systems interact with ecosystems. They develop nature-based solutions for flood risk reduction, river management, and urban water challenges. Their work spans from long-term ecosystem monitoring infrastructure to practical applications like restoring river connectivity and designing green-blue urban planning systems. They bridge fundamental ecological research with real-world water management policy implementation under EU directives.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2015-2017, ERCE PAN focused heavily on building European research infrastructure — participating in eLTER and Advance_eLTER for long-term ecosystem monitoring, alongside foundational environmental projects like AMBER (river barriers) and NAIAD (natural insurance). From 2018 onward, their work shifted decisively toward applied nature-based solutions: RECONECT tackles flood risk with NBS demonstration and upscaling, while EuPOLIS brings NBS into urban health planning with citizen engagement tools. The eLTER thread continues (PPP and PLUS phases), but the applied, solution-oriented work now dominates their portfolio.

ERCE PAN is moving from monitoring and understanding ecosystems toward designing and demonstrating practical NBS interventions for cities and river basins — making them increasingly relevant for urban resilience and climate adaptation projects.

How they like to work

ERCE PAN operates exclusively as a participant — they have never coordinated an H2020 project, which is typical for a specialized research centre contributing domain expertise to larger initiatives. With 152 unique consortium partners across 34 countries in just 8 projects, they consistently join large, pan-European consortia rather than small targeted teams. This means they are well-networked and experienced at delivering within complex multi-partner structures, but partners should expect them as expert contributors rather than project drivers.

Remarkably broad network for their size: 152 unique partners across 34 countries from just 8 projects, indicating participation in very large consortia. Their connections span nearly all of Europe, with no visible geographic concentration beyond their Polish base.

What sets them apart

ERCE PAN sits at a rare intersection: they combine UNESCO-affiliated ecohydrology expertise with hands-on participation in Europe's largest environmental research infrastructure (eLTER). Few organizations can offer both deep water-ecosystem science and practical NBS implementation experience spanning rivers, floods, and urban settings. For consortium builders, their dual strength in long-term monitoring data and applied nature-based interventions makes them a strong partner for climate adaptation proposals that need both scientific credibility and demonstration capacity.

Highlights from their portfolio

• AMBER
  Their largest single grant (EUR 252,779) addressing a critical European challenge — river barrier management affecting 1.2 million barriers across Europe, directly tied to three EU directives.
• RECONECT
  Their longest-running project (2018-2024, EUR 150,772) focused on demonstrating and upscaling nature-based solutions for flood risk — representing their strategic shift toward applied NBS work.
• eLTER
  Anchor project in a multi-phase infrastructure initiative (eLTER → Advance_eLTER → eLTER PPP → eLTER PLUS) that positions ERCE PAN as a persistent node in Europe's environmental research infrastructure network.