INSTITUTE OF MATHEMATICS AND INFORMATICS AT THE BULGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

Their core work

IMI-BAS is Bulgaria's leading research institute for mathematics and computer science, operating under the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Within the EU research landscape, they serve as a national node for open science infrastructure — building and maintaining systems that monitor, govern, and enable open access to scientific outputs across Europe. They also conduct fundamental mathematical research (spectral theory, Markov processes) and contribute to policy work on researcher careers and talent retention in Southeast Europe.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2015-2018, IMI-BAS focused squarely on open access infrastructure — building monitoring tools, research information systems, and supporting gold open access pilots through the OpenAIRE ecosystem. From 2019 onward, their work shifted toward governance and policy: EOSC national initiatives, researcher career pathways, talent retention, and — most recently — open innovation and entrepreneurship. The trajectory shows a move from technical infrastructure builder to policy-aware advocate for open science ecosystems.

IMI-BAS is moving from back-end infrastructure work toward front-end policy, innovation ecosystems, and FAIR data stewardship — expect them to seek roles in EOSC governance and data management projects.

How they like to work

IMI-BAS overwhelmingly joins projects as a partner rather than leading them — only 1 of 9 projects was coordinated, and 2 were third-party contributions. With 97 unique partners across 42 countries, they operate in very large European consortia (OpenAIRE alone involves dozens of partners). This profile suggests a reliable, low-friction contributor who brings national-level expertise to pan-European initiatives rather than driving project design.

With 97 consortium partners spread across 42 countries, IMI-BAS has an exceptionally wide network for its size — largely built through pan-European open science infrastructure projects like OpenAIRE and NI4OS-Europe that connect national nodes across the continent.

What sets them apart

IMI-BAS is one of very few organizations in Southeast Europe that combines deep mathematical research capability with hands-on experience in European open science infrastructure. For consortium builders, they offer a credible Bulgarian partner with direct connections to the national research ecosystem and proven track record in OpenAIRE and EOSC-related projects. Their dual expertise in mathematics and open science policy is unusual and valuable for interdisciplinary proposals.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MOCT
  Their only coordinated project and largest single grant (EUR 128,994) — a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship in spectral theory, showing core mathematical research strength.
• OpenAIRE-Advance
  Continuation of the flagship OpenAIRE initiative, demonstrating sustained long-term involvement in Europe's primary open access infrastructure.
• NI4OS-Europe
  National Initiatives for Open Science in Europe — positions IMI-BAS as Bulgaria's representative in EOSC governance and national open science strategy.