Cyprus's national research agency providing NCP services, ERA-NET programme management, and SME innovation coaching across all H2020 themes.
The Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) is Cyprus's national agency for research promotion and innovation support. It operates as the country's primary interface with EU research programmes, running National Contact Point (NCP) services across nearly every Horizon 2020 thematic area — from energy and transport to security and space. Beyond programme support, RIF delivers hands-on SME innovation coaching through the Enterprise Europe Network, manages ERA-NET co-funded calls to channel national research funding into European joint programmes, and organizes Cyprus's European Researchers' Night to connect science with the public.
Participated in NCP networks for nearly every H2020 pillar including Idealist2018 (ICT), C-ENERGY 2020, SEREN 3 (Security), NET4SOCIETY4, NCPs CaRE (Environment), COSMOS2020 (Space), and NMP TeAm 4 (Manufacturing).
Partner in 14 ERA-NET Cofund actions spanning water (WaterWorks2014/2015), materials (M-ERA.NET 2), solar energy (SOLAR-ERA.NET), urban futures (ENSUF, EN-SUGI), and smart cities (ENSCC).
Coordinated three consecutive KAM2CY projects (2014-2018) delivering IMP3rove benchmarking and EIMC coaching to Cypriot SMEs through the Enterprise Europe Network.
Coordinated CYPRESS (European Researchers' Night in Cyprus) and recent keywords show growing emphasis on science communication and 'science for all' activities.
Participated in GENDERACTION (EUR 237K — their second-largest project by funding) and SiS.net2, both focused on gender mainstreaming in the European Research Area.
Growing role in international cooperation visible in recent projects like IC4WATER, 4PRIMA (Mediterranean), and BLUEMED, bridging EU research with Mediterranean and global partners.
In the early H2020 period (2014-2017), RIF focused heavily on building and professionalizing NCP services — keywords like 'national contact points', 'capacity building', 'networking', and 'best practices' dominated, reflecting an organization establishing itself as a reliable EU programme intermediary. From 2018 onward, the focus shifted toward direct innovation support (SME coaching, KAM, EIMC), science communication ('European Researchers' Night', 'science for all'), and international cooperation beyond Europe. This evolution shows a maturation from back-office programme support toward front-facing innovation services and public engagement.
RIF is evolving from a passive programme support office into an active innovation ecosystem builder, increasingly focused on SME services, public engagement, and Mediterranean international cooperation.
RIF overwhelmingly operates as a participant (45 of 54 projects), joining large pan-European NCP networks and ERA-NET consortia rather than leading them. They coordinate only when the project is Cyprus-specific, such as KAM2CY (local SME coaching) or CYPRESS (national Researchers' Night). With 263 unique partners across 59 countries, they function as a broad connector — their value in a consortium is not deep technical expertise but rather access to the Cypriot research ecosystem and experience managing EU programme interfaces.
Exceptionally wide network of 263 partners spanning 59 countries, built through systematic participation in nearly every H2020 NCP network and ERA-NET action. This gives RIF connections to virtually every national research agency and NCP office in Europe, plus Mediterranean and global partners through programmes like BLUEMED and 4PRIMA.
RIF is a rare single point of access to the entire Cypriot research and innovation ecosystem. Unlike specialized research institutes, they cover every H2020 thematic area and maintain relationships with both the research community and SME sector on the island. For consortium builders, partnering with RIF means gaining a gateway to Cyprus — its researchers, its SMEs, its national funding — through an organization that already knows every EU programme mechanism inside out.
